I have no problem condemning Maher for some of his language.

[chieftain]

He may think he is funny but he is just being crude and sophomoric. That said, there is no equivalence between Maher and Limbaugh. Whether you compare the volume of vile remarks or impact of same, Limbaugh is a cancer on the body politic while Maher truly is just a comedian.
The GOP, which likes to call Rush merely an entertainer, recognized him as a driving force in their victories in the 90's. They have cultivated Rushbo's audience and his favor over the years. The fact of the matter is that Limbaugh is the authentic voice of a Republican Party that has degenerated into an anti-woman, anti-science and racist conglomeration.
So, Bill, I do wish you would grow up. In the words of the older comics you can be funny without working blue.
And as far as Limbaugh and the GOP is concerned, you are on the wrong side of history and demographics. Ms. Fluke merely provided you the opportunity to demonstrate clearly how despicable you are.

[Warpy]

1. The equivalency is a false one.

Maher is tacky on occasion.

Limbaugh has made a career out of being vicious.

No equivalency there.

[FarPoint]

3. Exactly ...and Maher is a private pay service.

Maher clearly explain his self as a stand up comedian...where the bar for obnoxious is low....its understood and expected. Rush is not in the same entertainment category ....he is on free radio and is not using his offensive language for comedy but rather as a propaganda message. He seeks feedback and discussion.

[gateley]

4. I would agree. I don't always like Maher, but on the whole

he essentially tries to present the truth and to let us know what's going on. Unlike Limbaugh, as you point out.

I don't understand people who throw the baby out with the bathwater. Hell, Obama has done stuff that makes me want to pull my hair out, but I still support him and realize the good he's done outweighs the not good (in my opinion). Same with Maher, I think.

[julian09]

5. Bill is an equal opportunity critic of both parties

he is on a paid HBO format, not free access like Rush. That is why he is on HBO because he can say what he wants, he was first choice wnen Larry King left Cnn, he refused because he knew he could be himself where he is at. He didn't go on and on attacking one person that was in the private sector for three days straight. He may say boob once in a while, but if they created a montage of his time on Hbo, they couldn't come close to what Limba did in three days. The repugs are afraid of him for a reason. He would turn the ditto heads against them. Rush is serious about politics and far from funny. His distaste for Obama or Polosi goes beyond bonds of decency. The uneducated moron isn't qualified to comment on anything. He is simply the glue that holds the hate mongers together with gross distortions and conspricy.

[brewens]

2. There is an "if the shoe fits" factor to Maher's offensive comments. He just should

have picked more acceptable but equally condemning words. You can't exactly say he was lying.

[liberal N proud]

6. Maher is on a premium cable channel

He is not aired on a wide spectrum of networks. That is where his show differs from Limbaugh and lets him get away with the language he uses. Anyone who watches his show, is doing it deliberately.

He has also been chastised for his remarks in the past which lead to his move to HBO.

Limbaugh is broadcast over the air funded by commercials, and on AFR which is funded by taxpayer money. Limbaugh needs to suffer the same fat as Maher at the very least.

We should not have to fund his rhetoric of hate to our troops.

[seabeyond]

7. maher is a misogynist. so is limbaugh. three days of limbaugh spewing crap

about a woman in no way compares to what maher has done.

maher is not a democrat

maher does not represent the democratic party

maher does not have the ear of our democratic elected officials.

[julian09]

9. Boehner doesn't call Maher but calls Limpballs to ask him what to do. nt

[seabeyond]

10. yes, all the stuf i typed in my post would be acknowledging that.

maher is not a democrat

maher does not represent the democratic party

maher does not have the ear of our democratic elected officials.

[Selatius]

16. Maher never painted himself as a Democratic Party partisan.

He's lobbed quite a lot of criticism at the Democratic Party but never as much compared to the Republicans. In fact, the only time I even remember Maher actually encouraging voters to vote for the Democrats was going into the 2008 elections.

[seabeyond]

24. that would be why i said, ... he is not a democrat. nt

[Major Nikon]

17. I wouldn't even call Maher a misogynist

A misogynist is someone who hates females. I don't believe Maher hates females. Certainly he has used words that are offensive to some, and he has even done so with the specific intent of offending some people, but that doesn't make him a misogynist in my book. On the other hand, Limbaugh is definitely a misogynist. He hates women, and his manifestation of this hate causes him to try and use his influence to deny civil rights to women. So not only is he a misogynist, he's the worst sort of misogynist.

[seabeyond]

23. i and many others would. yes, hate women. i know what it means

and i put maher on the same scale, the same feel as limbaugh.

again. that is not comparing what limbaugh did for three days and the different impact it should have, because of what i put int he post you replied to.

[Major Nikon]

39. I just don't get that impression from Maher

I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't believe about Maher, but I read your other posts downthread and you don't seem to be able to produce specific examples of Maher's misogyny. So you may be well convinced of this, but you don't seem to be able to make a good case for it other than to say some others happen to agree with you (which by that logic would make Obama a Kenyan Muslim).

[Major Nikon]

41. Personal attacks are so classy

Perhaps the reason I'm "clueless" is because you haven't produced a single example that would qualify as a clue to support your assertion. So in that respect, yes I'm clueless as to why you'd think Maher is a misogynist unless it's due to misandry (I get that).

I'm sure name calling makes you feel better about yourself, but I just take that as tacit admission that your accusation is void of any reason or accountability.

[seabeyond]

42. it is not a personal attack. it is an understanding thru many of your posts, that you do not

recognize or acknowledge sexism. you have been consistent. that is being respectful, and listening to what you have to say, and being .... understanding. you are allowed not to recognize or believe in , sexism. i respect that you haev your own, very unique view of the genders, even though i strongly disagree.

on edit... to point out, NOwhere was there any kind of name calling what so ever, kinda or sorta. or implied. because you say it, does not make it true.

[Major Nikon]

43. Complete hogwash

For the less than fully literate, the word "clueless" is slang, and when used in the derogatory is pretty much the epitome of a personal attack. So you've well breached the walls of kinda, sorta, or implied, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clueless

Your personal attack doesn't bother me in the least because I recognize that those who use personal attacks generally do so because the logic of their arguments has reached its end. I see it more of a reflection of a character flaw against the attacker than any reflection of me personally. For one thing, you have no clue about who I am and are wholly unqualified to make such observations. The reality is that I've worked for HR for the past 10 years conducting investigations of EEO complaints in the workplace. I've had hundreds of hours of formal instruction on the subject and have processed hundreds of cases (my average has been 32 per year although not all of those involve allegations of gender discrimination). So I'm reasonably sure that I can recognize or acknowledge sexism, because I've devoted a pretty large amount of time doing just that. I'll match my knowledge, skills, experience, and ability in that regard against yours any day of the week.

So the next time you engage in a personal attack, you may want to be a bit more sure that attack has a firm basis. Otherwise some might think you are "clueless" (although I certainly wouldn't make that charge).

Cheers!

[seabeyond]

44. well, there you go. i was not talking in slang nor derogatory. more like, without clue. nt

[Major Nikon]

45. One would have to be what you call "clueless" to believe that

For one thing, the word "clueless" is slang. If you use the word, you are talking in slang. For another, as if more evidence of your defamation is needed, when you aimed that word at me you included reference to your knowledge of my posting history as your evidence of depreciating my opinion. This is clearly derogatory and would again be the textbook example of such.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/derogatory

So unless we are speaking in something other than English, the word you used was slang, and it was used in the derogatory. So the case for it being a personal attack is pretty much round peg, round hole kinda stuff. So much so that I'm not going to continue to argue this point. I can't change your belief if you refuse to be objective and acknowledge facts as factual.

This is the last I have to say on this subject as I've put this one to bed. Feel free to have the last word as I'm sure such things are of great importance to you.

Good day.

[GoCubsGo]

26. As Maher says himself...

...he's a "potty mouth". I have watched him for several years, and he never struck me as being a misogynist, either. He's crude and offensive. He has gone after individual women, like Sarah Palin, but as the Rude Pundit just said, it's not sexist to call a stupid person "stupid".

[seabeyond]

27. and he consistently goes after women as a whole. hence, misogynist. nt

[phleshdef]

29. No he doesn't. Thats just an outright false characterization.

You don't even watch Bill Maher, obviously.

[seabeyond]

30. yes. he does. and you would be wrong i dont watch him. have for years, hence

my ability to argue the fact. further, i still watch him. i like him ok on most of his stuff, i do not like him when he addresses women cause he is a misogynist. the same with stern and flint and cenk. i can appreciate what they have to say, outside the subject of women.

[phleshdef]

33. He isn't a misogynist. And throwing that word around the way you do only weakens its meaning.

And no he doesn't. Show me an example of where he has gone after women as a whole. Please, by all means, produce it.

Bill Maher hasn't treated women any differently than he has treated men with his schtick. Neither gender is untouchable in that brand of comedy. The only reason you want to say he is a misogynist is because he happens to be a man when a woman is the target of his ridiculing style. But you totally ignore the fact that he is just as harsh on men. He rips everyone. He shows no favoritism one way or the other. That much is undebatable.

[seabeyond]

34. he is misogynist and yes he does. he has a hate on for women.he targets women as a whole

not for anything else but being women, hence... THAT is the reason i give him the label. he does show favoritism even in his ripping all apart. you can keep trying to tell me the whys of what i am saying, and you can continue to be wrong about the whys of what i am saying.

i am FAR from the only person that thinks this.

kinda like saying flint and stern support womens rights, really, they dont denigrate women. lmfao

[phleshdef]

35. LOL, you think others agreeing with you makes you right? Wrong.

And you fail to provide any examples of him making blanket attacks on women in general. You apparently can't even come up with an out of context attack.

There is no favoritism. Bill Maher rips into men probably even more than he has women. You can't deny this because you know its true. To people like you, any joke where a woman is involved is sexism. It disgusts me because it insults every woman that actually has suffered at the hands of true sexism and true misogyny.

You obviously don't even know what misogynist truly means as is evidenced by your abuse of the word. And you provide nothing to back up your assertion but foamy mouthed nonsense and HIDING behind the unfounded group think among certain overly sensitive people with fickle emotions who want to paint Bill Maher as something that he isn't.

Learn how to tell the difference between serious, harmful rhetoric and a fucking joke. You'll find yourself to be more well tempered.

[seabeyond]

36. you sure do hurl a bunch of assumptions about a poster, telling them what, how and why

in their thinking. i always found that a great big fail.

i have never found it successful to provide absolute proof with men that choose not to see something so obvious. if you really felt that you are right, then merely google mahers sexist comments against female and read the longs lists of it. if you cannot do simple research, then i assume even if you heard it, lists of it, would not matter, because it is just a joke, funny, ha ha. so waste of time.

he. hates. women. and shows it clearly, regularly, consistently. he is a poster boy, for a man that hates women. and so sad the picture is.

[phleshdef]

37. He doesn't hate women. You just hate him. And you lack the ability to interpret a joke...

...from serious communication of harmful rhetoric.

The problem isn't Bill Maher. The problem is your refusal to acknowledge when someone is being serious versus when someone isn't. I don't need to google shit. I've followed Maher for quite a long time. I know what his schtick is. I get it. You don't (or you do but just don't want to admit it because then you'd have to face the fact that you are dead wrong, in ever single way about this). Thats where the difference is.

[seabeyond]

38. yes, he hates women. do you note how often you tell me what i think ect.... You just hate him.

does it even matter what a poster says? or is that irrelevant when you argue a point?

i have listened to him for years. i still listen to him. i like and enjoy (even in disagreement) much of what he discusses. EXCEPT his issue with women.

really

no, really

does that sound like i HATE him?

does it count what i have to say about what i do and think?

[phleshdef]

47. Funny, you are asking others to listen to what you say and think while refusing to give Maher...

...that same benefit of the doubt. He has spoken up against accusations of being a misogynist on many occasions, has explained his brand of humor and outright said that he isn't a misogynist and pointed out several areas of his personal character that prove that. But you ignore all that and declare that this man, who you don't personally know, is a misogynist. Then when you get called out for it and people make personal judgements about your feeling based on the shit that you are saying, you whine and complain to no fucking end about how no one is listening to your own views about what you do and what you think. I don't know if you realize how hypocritical you are being or if you just don't care, either way, its something that has to be pointed out.

[HopeHoops]

8. Maher is the George Carlin of our day. Limbaugh is, well, a "fat fuck" in Maher's terms.

One is intelligent. The other is Rush.

Fluke could probably put both in the timeout chair in 30 seconds. She's one of the most intelligent and articulate person I've ever heard. Obama's up there too.

[Liquorice]

14. George Carlin wasn't a sexist though and he was much funnier. nt

[Major Nikon]

18. I could quote some George Carlin that some would definitely consider sexist

He definitely said some things that were specifically intended to offend certain people much in the way that Maher has done.

[HopeHoops]

20. Thanks. I was going to say something similar.

"Twat's twat and that's that." - no ambiguity with that word.

[Major Nikon]

22. He said a lot more than that

He had no qualms about using "cunt" and even vividly describing the female anatomy and it's various functions. He used "cocksucker" quite often. In fact, I can't think of any vulgar word he didn't use in the derogatory. If I posted what he said about radical feminists, it would probably cause some here to pop a vein. So yeah, Carlin and Maher were both politically incorrect and if anything Maher is a milder version.

[HopeHoops]

25. Trust me, I know. He was also a Libertarian (ref: "Brain Droppings") but he didn't like Repukes.

His mind worked in ways that minds aren't supposed to, but that might have been because of the 60's.

[phleshdef]

28. Bill Maher isn't a sexist. He doesn't believe women are inferior to men.

And he has never given anyone an actual reason to say that he does. He just doesn't walk on eggshells when making cracks about anyone, whether it be a woman or a man or someone of a different color or even someone of his own color. He is an equal opportunity dick (ooo dick thats sexist!) and I love that about him.

[DLevine]

31. IMO you don't have to believe women are inferior to be sexist.

Most sexists do believe that. But with someone like Maher, I think it's more a casual disregard and disrespect for women. It's just so built into our culture that it becomes a habit for some people, especially comedians.

[phleshdef]

32. Bill Maher casually disregards and disrespects everyone. Its not gender specific.

Sexism isn't subject to an opinion. Either someone truly regards one sex as inferior, based purely on gender, or they do not.

[Luminous Animal]

15. "Maher is the George Carlin of our day."

Then I feel sorry for our day.

[HopeHoops]

21. Hey, we still don't have a contemporary Kliban. I'll take a new Carlin rather than no Carlin.

[Dems to Win]

11. When Maher headlines Demoratic fundraisers, he IS a representative of the Democratic party

Misogynists shouldn't be headlining Democratic fundraisers, as Maher is scheduled to do in Alabama

Gleefully touting and publicizing Maher's contribution to Obama's superPac undercuts the
Democratic Party's claim to be the party that respects women as full citizens and competent decision makers.

I'd like to see Democratic officeholders criticize Maher's misogyny, when asked. They shouldn't cower in fear of Maher the way Repubs quiver at the thought of criticizing Limbaugh.

Maher is not on the public airwaves, but rather a premium network that specializes in crudity and vulgarity (from the tiny sampling I've seen). Thus, no reason to campaign to get him off the public airwaves.

At the same time, I'm disgusted when he's associated with the Democrats in any way, shape, or form.

[chieftain]

12. I was unaware of Maher headlining a Democratic fundraiser.

This is troubling to me since I thought an important distinction between us and the GOP was that the Republicans actively identify themselves with Limbaugh. In the case of Maher, I thought it was him trying to identify with the Democrats with us treating him as the entertainer that he is.

[Dems to Win]

13. Hmmmm.....maybe not

This info was in an article by Howie Kurt on
The Daily Beast, so I thought it was accurate. But, when I did a
Google search to find the link, I found this more recent info:

“We have not invited him to attend a Democratic Party event, and he is not attending a Democratic party event,” ADP executive director Bradley Davidson told Weld today.

What is happening, then? Bill Maher is on a stand-up comedy tour, and he’s coming to Huntsville’s Von Braun Civic Center theatre as part of that tour . The Alabama Democrats bought a block of tickets to that show and created a package that includes “prime seating” at the Maher show (indicating that these are perhaps the $85 tickets rather than the $55 tickets) and a “Chairman’s Reception” with Alabama Democratic Party chair Judge Mark Kennedy before the show.


Apparently, this event has now been removed from the Alabama Democratic Party's website.

[Atman]

19. And "That 70's Show," too!

And I'm not even kidding. Filling some time last night, put on the program while waiting for Showtime's Sunday night lineup to begin. In pure comedic sit com style, complete with laugh track, Fez calls his wife-of-convenience a whore and a bitch. That was just in one scene. Women were called "bitch" at least two other times in the episode.

Point is, we on DU appear to be selective in our outrage. Those remarks, even in (or especially in) the context used in this prime time sit com would have surely gotten a post hidden by one of our juries. But a subscription-based, adult-oriented political program on HBO is deserving of condemnation? I choose to watch Real Time because it is edgy and, yes, sometimes a bid rude. But what's the excuse for a free network program aired repeatedly during prime time?

[ibegurpard]

46. If people want to get distracted

from the first real opportunity to take down this asshole who has been poisoning the well of public discourse since before anyone had even HEARD of Fox News then they are being very short-sighted.
This isn't about Bill Maher. It's about Rush Limbaugh and if you let them make it about Bill Maher then you're making the same mistake that liberals always make. Anyone who is trying to equate Bill Maher with Rush Limbaugh is not an ally of women's reproductive rights. Period.