I would, however, probably change my mind if Pam Anderson were on more often.
Posted on 09/26/2001 6:37:20 AM PDT by SJackson
BILL MAHER, host of ABC's "Politically Incorrect," is under attack. Sears and Federal Express pulled their sponsorships of the show. Viewers are angry. Several affiliates have dropped him. His show is teetering on the brink of cancellation, all because he said that the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center weren't cowards. Rather, he said, "We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly."
Now, I'm torn. On the one hand, Maher is not entirely wrong, though his comments were poorly timed and mean-spirited. The Clinton policy of risk-free symbolic strikes against Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden was hardly gutsy.
On the other hand, "Politically Incorrect" deserves to be canceled more than any show not currently on the WB. Maher, his producers and fans have long contended that the show makes a valuable contribution by inviting apathetic Americans into the "national conversation." Of course, it's a mystery to me why any American who can't be bothered to pay attention to politics unless Pamela Anderson is discussing it should be welcome in that conversation.
I'm embarrassed to admit I've been on "Politically Incorrect" a few times but will never again. Still, I think I've identified the two basic problems with the show: the concept and the host.
"Politically Incorrect" is one of the last icons of the 1990s conflation of celebrity and politics: George magazine, "Murphy Brown," "policy summits" at the White House for the likes of Billy Crystal and Richard Dreyfuss, "serious" speeches by Barbra Streisand.
The result of this phenomenon was a profoundly cynical approach to important questions. It said that fame, as opposed to serious work, intelligence or experience, was the best criterion for determining who has a legitimate opinion.
For example, in every issue of George, the editors asked a Hollywood star what they would do if they were president. The first thing Melanie Griffith would do is pass a law saying "no one should make more than $1 billion a year." Such stuff may offer valuable insight into how Melanie Griffith thinks - on the odd chance someone finds value in such things - but in a discussion of public policy, this is as helpful as cricket-chirping.
Similarly, the idea behind "Politically Incorrect" is to get a bunch of pretty people together and have them argue with politicians and other political professionals (journalists, activists etc.).
Of course, the real aim of the show is to make fun of conservatives while sounding "politically incorrect." As Maher told Playboy in 1997, "Ninety percent of show-business people are nutty liberals." So the liberal seats are filled with lefty comedians, movie stars and rappers. This leaves the conservative seats to mockable right-wingers. Worse, not only does the audience root for the celebrities, but the host and producers do too.
Which gets us to the second problem with the show. Bill Maher is anything but an impartial host. He sucks up to Hollywood liberals because A) he needs to get them back on the show, B) he usually agrees with them, and C) they tend to be wildly ignorant.
Maher calls himself a libertarian, but the fact is he's a libertine socialist; he favors guilt-free promiscuity and legal drugs, but everything else is eligible for a government takeover. Remember: Libertarians are for as little government as possible, particularly in the economic and regulatory realm. Maher supported Ralph Nader for president and has said he favors a government takeover of the electoral system. To call himself a libertarian is like a Vishnu worshipper calling himself Catholic.
But that's Maher's approach to everything: getting hung up on what his guests deride as mere "labels" or "details" is just stupid in a world where the opinions of supermodels matter a great deal.
I would, however, probably change my mind if Pam Anderson were on more often.
Hey!! what a good idea, keep the show except with Pam as host instead of Bill!!
Any other host suggestions?
My heart bleeds for Maher ... NOT! The fruitcake deserves to have his show yanked. As far as Jonah Goldberg, I believe he has the quote wrong. Maher didn't say "WE" in the "We have been the ..." In Maher's original quote, the implication was clear that the MILITARY PILOTS/TECHNICIANS who launch the missiles from afar are cowards.
I would, however, probably change my mind if Pam Anderson were on more often.
The show was so good I wrote an e-mail complimenting them, and received a nice reply thanking me for the comments. Shortly after came the announcement of the move to ABC.
And once the move came, it was clear things had changed right from the start. The set was darker, the atmosphere more rigid and formal, as if suddenly everyone regarded it more serious and important. The freewheeling sense of fun that was there on Comedy Central was gone. And so was the balance. The "3 liberals (4, counting Maher) against 1 moderate" panel was born. And Maher's attitude changed a lot. He seemed to affect an attitude of importance, where he was more a likeable guy on Comedy Central.
I only watched a few episodes on ABC -- that's all I could stand. Whatever the show had on Comedy Central was gone, and what was left was hard to endure.
It is interesting that with the long list of hideous things that Maher has said since moving to ABC, all were overlooked by the powers that be until now. Could it be it's because all the other venomous things he said were aimed at the right, and this one time Clinton was the actual target? What else would explain the sudden mood of hyperliberal ABC to consider dumping Maher?
Whatever the outcome, it was kind of sad to see what once was such an entertaining show become something of a dark monster. Too bad.
PI has never been a show intended to draw serious political aficionados but only those who think with their groins. It is a disgusting excuse for "entertainment."
Pamela Anderson, as host, would only seek to further that which fills her empty blond head, her beloved PETA. If that's what you want, then go for it. As for me, I would rather not waste my time submitting my mind to that mush.
No, its just a leftover, and like all leftovers they must be trashed before they stink up the fridge.
HA! This guy is a hoot....
This leaves the conservative seats to mockable right-wingers.
What "seats"? 99% of the time, there's only one conservative. The libs are still out numbered.
Don't stop now, folks:
Update #2 -Politically Incorrect Advertisers Contact List
Like I posted when this whole flap was being debated here on FreeRepublic, Maher is a has-been. He's no longer cool. His mean-spirited malicious jabs (like wishing Kathleen Harris' murder, calling Clinton's women 'pieces of tail' and lying sluts, calling Bush a 'lying sack of $hit') at conservatives brought this on him. Not just his stupid, thoughtless remarks about the hijacker-murderers not being cowards. Duh. The opposite of coward is hero. Does that make the terrorist-murderers' act heroic? Maher was aligning himself with those stupid Palestinians and other Muslim nutcases. It sure sounded like that to me.
As for the Clinton Administration's cowardly bombing of a couple of empty camps and an aspirin factory on the eve of Monica Lewinsky's testimony to the grand jury, Maher refuses to admit that his horney, cowardly, women-degrading hero, Bubba gave the final order without congressional approval. Like his hero who he fails to even name as Commander-in-Chief at that time, Maher tried to pin the blame of the equivalent "sending a 2 million dollar missle into a 10 dollar tent and hitting a camel in the butt" on the Republican-controlled Congress. I am glad that Maher is getting what he deserves. He is a women-degrading, intolerant creep. His humor is out. I find sweet justice in that. There's nothing a Hollywood-type finds more distressing than to discover that he is no longer hip or in.
Cheers.
As are you, my friend. Lets take the red pill:
See link:
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.