*TONIGHT: THOMAS FRANK 'Listen Liberal' | HBO Real Time with BILL MAHER, Fri April 29 10PM

[appalachiablue]

Guests for Bill Maher's Show Fri. April 29: Wayne Pacelle, Thomas Frank, Rob Reiner, Mark Leibovich, Kellyanne Conway.
http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/



In his sharp appraisal of the current political scene,Thomas Frank, founding editor of The Baffler and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper’s, notes that though Democrats have held the White House for the majority of the last twenty-four years, there’s been little commensurate achievement on many social justice issues. With the same common sense and mastery of argument and evidence he wielded in books including Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What’s the Matter with Kansas?, Frank takes Democrats to task and warns the party to shake its complacency or prepare to be voted out.
In 'Listen Liberal, Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?' (2016) Frank's newest book, the political writer outlines the transformation of the Democratic Party of the New Deal and the Big Tent, to a party of the professional class. Recently Frank has appeared on TV and radio shows of Thom Hartmann and Sam Seder to discuss 'Listen Liberal' and held book talks in Kansas City, Seattle and other places:
Kansas City, MO Library Book Talk, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017358989
Elliott Bay Bookstore, Seattle Talk, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017360353
The Big Picture, Thom Hartmann Show, http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=340617
Majority Report with Sam Seder, http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017361838

In These Times, April 26, 2016. "Thomas Frank on How Democrats Went From Being 'The Party of the People' to the Party of Rich Elites", Democrats have gone from the party of the New Deal to a party that is defending mass inequality.
>The Democratic Party was once the party of the New Deal and the ally of organized labor. But by the time of Bill Clinton's presidency, it had become the enemy of New Deal programs like welfare and Social Security and the champion of free trade deals. What explains this apparent reversal? Thomas Frank—best known for his analysis of the Republican Party base in What's the Matter with Kansas?—attempts to answer this question in his latest book, Listen Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? Read More, http://inthesetimes.com/article/19084/listen-liberal-thomas-frank-democratic-party-elites-inequality

[northernsouthern]

1. I will give it a watch.

Sounds nice. Last weeks was a little lame.

[appalachiablue]

2. Show should be interesting, Thomas Frank won't have much time

but at least he and the important book will be introduced to a wide audience.

~ That meter is awesome.

[northernsouthern]

3. Oh, is he the opening guest that vanished after a few.

I always feel weird watching them sit there are the stage changes and Bill walks away leaving them behind.

[appalachiablue]

4. According to info. in the HBO link above, Pacelle of the Humane Society

is the Interview guest and Frank is the mid-show Interview guest. Sometimes they stick around, maybe not.

If interested in longer book discussions by Thomas Frank or broadcast sessions, the DU links are noted above too.

Bernie was the Interview guest several months ago & he had plenty of time. Doubt he wanted to stay around.

[northernsouthern]

6. I watch it more ...

Now that the daily show kind of sucks...but the Nightly Show is epic!!!!!!! I love Larry, and the John Oliver show too...Mahr comes of a bit ham-fisted with some of his more recent critiques of things and he needs to shut up about PC colleges, he is sounding bitter now.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. 99.9% of those opening guests would not sit on a panel, they want to be interviewed alone

and they are delighted to be 'left behind'. Opening guests tend to be either larger name political persons or people with an important idea to discuss unhindered by other guests. I suppose they could cut to some hyped up animated graphic sequence so you don't have to see Bill walk across the stage but to me that would seem artificial and very counter to the live nature of the show and even to the title which is 'Real Time' and not 'Canned Sequences'.

[northernsouthern]

9. I want them to get up too and walk off.

I just think the sitting there is weird. Like when John Stewart would never sit before his guest, it seems out of the ordinary, so I notice it. I do think the one thing wrong with panels is people never seem to control them well enough. I watched the TYT election results this week and they had the annoying Aussie that just never shut up. I had to mute him for minutes at a time and put on music...people have the power of the mic when they interview, f-ing use it.

[appalachiablue]

7. Tommy hopefully will bring up Bill Clinton's plan to privatize Social Security

that he mentioned in the Jan. 1998 State of the Union address. But the plan didn't go ahead because of the Monica Lewinsky scandal that soon broke out. Clinton had worked on it in 1997 with Newt Gingrich in meetings at the White House. Fate intervened thank Heaven.

[MisterP]

10. Frank: "the Democrats have made themselves a purulent abomination that gets many

more Republican policies passed--while vocally condemning them--than any actual Republican, all because they've got a hundred million people convinced that they're still lefties"
Maher: "but that's no reason not to reward them for that!"

[appalachiablue]

11. When did Maher say that?

BILL CLINTON almost managed to Privatize SOCIAL SECURITY, like the WELFARE program begun by FDR that ended as we know it in 1994 with the law enacted to reduce the program to 'Workfare' which threw millions of women and children into poverty. The effort by centrist, neoliberal Democrats since Clinton to cut and privatize social programs, the landmark legislation of the DEMOCRATIC PARTY from FDR's NEW DEAL of the 1930s Depression Era is appalling.

- Bill Clinton at a 'Clinton Global Initiative University' event with guest presenter and billionaire financier PETE PETERSON. Peterson has been lobbying for years to get at the $2.3 Trillion Trust Fund in the SOCIAL SECURITY Program to transfer it to Wall Street to gamble with.
Privatization of Social Security could have taken place by Clinton as THOMAS FRANK discussed in a book talk. But the plan, worked on in 1997 by Clinton and NEWT GINGRICH (R) at White House meetings was interrupted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal in 1998.



The successful, popular Social Security program was created for elderly and those unable to work in the 1930s Depression Era by FDR's NEW DEAL. In Germany, Chancellor Bismarck established the first Social Security old age program in 1889! We're seriously behind.https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html

[appalachiablue]

12. As a result of the initial transition of the Democratic Party from the New Deal

and Big Tent party to the New Dems. and Third Way-- THIS? In 2009 DWS was made head of the DNC when Democrats had the majority and the White House. So what the heck is happening?

[MisterP]

13. ah, it's a joke about Maher's attitude to the party

so Frank will prove absolutely that Clinton is homologous to Trump, and Maher will go "but she's a Democrat!"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511863224

[appalachiablue]

14. Alright. Maher made a big push to offer help to Bernie when he had him

on the show late Feb. early March right after Calif. endured severe droughts and wildfires. Wise Bernie was polite but rather cool to the gestures; and I even don't know or care That much about Maher's official leanings which cause considerable speculation.

[femmocrat]

15. >.

Kellyanne Conway =

I never could stand her.

[appalachiablue]

16. There's at least one usually on every espisode I know.

[femmocrat]

17. Yes, next week it's Ann Coulter.

My FF button will be worn out!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

18. Thank you. He's smart and good and I'm going to get his new book!

Damnit!