I used to be a fan of Bill Maher. His talk shows were funny; his movie was great. He dumped on religion and advocated for drug legalization. His politically-oriented comedy was always thoughtful. But not so much anymore. Having watched the last season of Real time, it is clear to me that Maher is degenerating into a partisan hack. He’s so committed more to bashing conservatives and defending democrats that he has a hard time being either smart or funny. While he usually has interesting guests, he often ruins the conversation through his constant political pandering.
A little political pandering is good when you get two member of the Tea Party on the panel. But it totally breaks down when Maher brings in people with more nuanced views. The last episode I saw featured Times columnist and legendary blogger Andrew Sullivan. Sullivan is a pretty smart guy, not obviously partisan on either side, and has clearly thought about many different issues. When he tried to point out to Maher that the debate over tax policy was not simply about ‘higher taxes or lower taxes’, but about various types of tax reform, Maher said, “stop trying to be a conservative.” End of discussion. Earlier in the year, when libertarian thinker and reason TV editor Nick Gellispie showed up to talk about his new book, he pretty much spent the whole time trying to convince Maher that he was not a Republican. When Bloomberg was on, and pointed out that government policy (through Fanny and Freddy) played a role in the financial crisis, Maher was at a loss. It’s surprising to hear this. It’s not like he’s a foaming-at-the mouth conservative, Maher remarked.
You see, that’s the problem. The world is nuanced. But the world of political parties is not. Rep’s and Dem’s are black and white. If you are too much of a hack, this prism obscures all reasonable debate. Gray area is literally non-existent. Comedy is also nuanced. Most politicians are not (intentionally) funny.
As a guy who is so dissatisfied with the American political system, it’s odd that Maher doesn’t realize that the problem is actually political polarization. When you take the view that all conservatives are idiots, and that’s the problem, then you’re really part of the problem yourself. That’s why Jon Stewart is far better. He’s not a black and white guy. He’s a democrat, but he treats many of his rivals (like O’Reilly) with a little respect. As a result, his show is a little more honest, and his comedy is a little better. That’s the sad thing here. Maher is supposed to be a comedian and an entertainer. But lately, his shit just sounds tired, I don’t learn much, and I don’t laugh.
