Matt Vespa reporting for Townhall
Bill Maher’s new rule for future officeholders is one that everyone can agree on—if you run, you can’t hate it here. The comedian’s closing monologue was also aimed at conservatives, but most was directed at his side. Liberals have been beating this drum louder in recent years. That rhythm increased when Trump was elected in 2016, with this penchant and affinity for becoming a permanent expat. The HBO host touched upon the illogical position the Left has taken with this trend, namely wanting hordes of illegal aliens to cross into the United States in the hopes of enjoying a better life in a country that cannot stand.
Maher doesn’t ignore America’s problems, listing, as he’s done for years, the social indicators that rank the US of A in not-so-good standings concerning infant mortality, literacy, and female representation in government. Numerous other issues are plaguing the country, but Maher wants people who wish to remain here and fix it. It may sound like a no-brainer, but we also thought gender was one of those topics, and look how that turned out.
The foundation for leftist angst in wanting to jettison from America isn’t serious. The comedian ripped into those making these arguments, like moving away if Trump wins in 2024 because they are the same people who made similar declarations in 2016 and are still here. It’s his out-of-touch, privileged Hollywood colleagues he loathes.
The HBO host also wasted no time torching the Woke Left for their part in this ‘expat forever’ push, citing a gay New Republic writer who penned a piece about minorities who want to flee the country. Maher rightfully mocked the author since this person is supposedly trapped in “the dystopian homophobic hellscape that is New York City.”
He later listed nearly 100 countries where just being gay is a crime. In Burundi, its president urged its citizens to stone gay people to death.
“And Uganda, oh, they don’t just give you a ticket for parking in the rear,” Maher quipped. “You can get the death penalty for it.”
China has 50 crimes that are punishable by death. In 13 nations, atheism is a capital crime.
As for the protesting, which leftists love to participate in for a variety of nonsensical causes, namely in support of radical Islamic terrorism, there are a host of countries where they’ll shoot you on sight. Want to block the roads? You’ll get run over by tanks.
“It also seems like the world is full of suffering, intolerance, and oppression on a scale we can’t even imagine, but that can’t be true because if it was, we’d be protesting it. It must only happen in Israel,” said Maher.
The liberal commentator hasn’t changed his views but has had it with the TikTok generation, a sordid confederacy of entitled whiners with zero perspective. It’s okay to criticize your country, but to leave it because your side isn’t winning a political argument is childish.
In a way, Maher is selling the point that living in America is hard work and that civic engagement isn’t for the light-hearted. You must share this country with people whose views you might find abhorrent. Both sides are guilty of intolerance on this front at times, but the Left is the only group that is actively seeking to stifle debate with speech codes and overly garrulous legal arguments for why hate speech should be outlawed. In short, the Left uses its institutional power to come after its enemies. They do this because they don’t want a healthy discussion, allowing their shallow agenda items to be eviscerated, as they usually are, in less than a minute. Just wanting an open forum or being tolerant of other views is viewed as anathema to leftists.
It’s why they hate Bill Maher, who, despite his attacks on the GOP, loves to debate. He also has conservative friends, one of whom is Ann Coulter. He was cordial and fair with Ron DeSantis when he was invited on Real Time last season. During the COVID pandemic, when everyone called him 'Deathsantis,' he gave the Florida governor props for executing a sensible COVID strategy, which, unlike Andrew Cuomo in New York, didn't lead to mountains of bodies.
Sure, he takes shots at conservatives, but the HBO host’s main gripe appears to be with his side. It’s not a one-off thing, either. There are multiple episodes of Real Time where the comedian puts the Left on blast, especially when it comes to political correctness, free speech, Israel, and fighting radical Islam.
Leave America; it sucks because my side isn’t winning, is a slogan you’d expect from a group of people who think bin Laden had solid reasons for the 9/11 attacks.