I don’t really “hate-watch” Bill Maher. It’s more like “cringe-watch.”
So why watch at all? Because sometimes it’s funny or even informative, and there’s no other show on like it. So I tolerate (barely) his obsession with isolated instances of “political correctness, and lapses into borderline racism, like last week’s “Damn right we should call it the China Virus.” Sometimes I have to fast forward (I cannot abide insufferable twits like Ian Bremmer, for example).
I thought I’d have to do that tonight, with a line-up of the vastly overrated Fareed Zakaria, Dan Crenshaw — creepy right winger turned hero via Pete Davison, and “intellectual racist” Andrew Sullivan. But it was oddly compelling — no FF necessary.
With Crenshaw, Maher stared out with a tongue bath about how Crenshaw supposedly didn’t succumb to political correctness in reaction to Pete Davidson’s joke. Maher missed that Crenshaw didn’t have to say anything because he became an instant right wing martyr, and played the part on SNL the next week. Maher also must have missed Crenshaw’s huge exploitation of political correctness when he grossly distorted a Congresswoman’s statement in a tweet to stoke anti-Muslim outrage
Then Maher, who prides himself on confronting right wingers with lies, began questioning Crenshaw about Trump’s insane, sociopathic record on the Coronavirus. Should be easy, but Crenshaw skillfully employed the gish gallop technique, glibly reciting one misleading fact after another, for example, saying the US was faster to isolate than countries like the UK and Sweden. Maher couldn’t or didn’t point out how disastrous those countries were. No wonder Crenshaw has a a 66% to 33% lies to truth ratio on Politifact.
Next Maher turned to voter suppression and made a fatal error, giving the example of voter lines in Houston, rather than the disgraceful WI and US Supreme Court decisions on the WI election. Crenshaw pointed out that elections are controlled by Dem. local officials in Houston, and Maher didn’t point out that the lines resulted in large part from Republican refusal to agree with Democrats to hold a joint primary election in metropolitan Houston in which voters could cast ballots on any machine. But the real mistake was failing to use the WI example because it is so outrageous and indefensible.
Crenshaw is no Louis Gohmert. His views are the same, but he is smart and smooth, conveying the same sadistic policies with assurance and the facade of reasonableness. Dems must watch out for this guy.
Before Crenshaw, Maher had Fareed Zakaria, or as I call him the Indian Thomas Friedman. Zakaria was mostly a yes man — even for Maher’s loony statement that the May 15 date for “going out” is real, and (macho guy that he is), he won’t be afraid to go to a restaurant. Great, Bill — you’re not scared — but what about the people you might infect?
Finally, I was surprised at not having to cringe during his interview with Andrew Sullivan, another vastly overblown “intellectual.” Sully was actually moving, describing his greater risk from the virus because he’s HIV positive, and his loneliness.
Maher sometimes does OK sparring with right wing liars, but not tonight.
Crenshaw’s likely to get re-elected in a PVI R+11 District, but I hope he gets knocked off in a wave.
He’s dangerous.