this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2023
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Ahh I see thanks for the info - I’m not from the US so I’ve not come across those shows. They sound awful. Are they as full of right wing apologist talking points as they sound ?
Believe it or not, he made his name as a wry liberalist, antagonising established conservatives (and Democrats).
I've only watched some Real Time, in the early days it was kind of interesting, but it quickly becomes clear he holds conservative ideals. Nowadays he's mostly a talking puppet for the conservatives. He strikes me as one or two rungs below Sean Hannity.
Yeah my vibe was always that he went Democrat because he was a contrarian, an atheist, and smart enough to understand how ridiculous republican economic policies were. But it’s crystal clear he has no love for marginalized people or the working class and thinks that if he doesn’t understand something it’s ridiculous and that if he pisses people off that means he’s right and speaking truth to power.
I don't know, he always came across as a creep to me, even when he was "left wing"
I'd say more "smarmy" than "creepy". Not that that's better.
I think kinda both. He feels like the sorta guy who’d coerce a yes out of someone who clearly doesn’t want to do stuff with him.
I remember him talking about how much he loves to fuck with some uncomfortable guests. He'd say things like 'its what makes life worth it's
How odd and interesting. Who do you reckon is the main audience for his shows? 🤔
My suspicion is his audience is the “smarter than thou” “centrists”. People who think both sides are the same and miss the Clinton administration. They probably on average think race was a non issue except people on the left keep making it one, they’re not pro union but support an amount of social safety, they may be cool with gay people but think that trans is too far (though they probably don’t like that pride is still a thing), probably support abortion but think it’s too common… And overwhelmingly his audience likely thinks they’re smarter than they are.
Don't know about interesting, I'm guessing he got paid and thought "fuck you, I got mine" as conservatives are wont to do.
I haven't watched in many years, but back then he geared himself towards "intellectuals", but as the politics have become more polarised and the messaging dumbed down, maybe "middle class conservative" is more his brand.
Don't know about actual viewership though, only his presentation.
Last I checked, his audience was those self-proclaimed "intellectuals". The kind of atheists who define their identity by dunking on religious people, and the kind of mediocre people who feel superior by laughing others.
People who look at cherry-picked and out-of-context examples of progressivism and then dismiss the entirety as anti-science wokeness. People who cherry-pick scientific beliefs (without deeper research) in the same way most religious people cherry-pick passages from their holy text. Take the (out-of-context) quotes that reaffirm what you already belief in, ignore the rest, and most importantly: Declare that your "truth" is superior to others.
I imagine the audience of his shows has changed a lot in recent years. HBO went from HBO Go and Now to HBO MAX, which excluded a LOT of customers for a year while they negotiated with Roku and LG. Then HBO changed programming a lot. All the while Bill Maher started using more anti-woke talking points, and Twitter fell apart, this all shakes up who would listen to Bill.
I've seen snippets of Politically Incorrect from the 90s, as there were a few guests I was interested in. It seemed to be just another talk show, not right wing apologist at all. I'm chiming in just so you get an idea of the long career on air this man has, he's been decades on tv.
Whatever he's said recently that may have caused a reaction, I'm also out of the loop. I'm also not from the US.
I'm also not from the US but I've been watching Real Time for many years and I think it's a great show. He's an outspoken democrat (at least since the Trump era).
And while he does invite on republicans and right-wing guests, he's usually quite critical when interviewing them.
But I guess just talking to people makes you an "apologist" in the eyes of some people.
I don't even care about his political views much. They're mostly the sort of thing you would expect from your typical selfish Boomer. I'm more concerned about his health views. Apart from vaccine "skepticism," there's other medical woo. I never liked him much, but I watched his show for the great guests. Then one day he had on the so-called doctor from Mexico who claimed to have cured Charlie Sheen's HIV and didn't push back on a single bullshit claim. I never watched his show again. If that hadn't done it, his vaccine position would have done it by the time COVID rolled around, but this was years before.
Also, as a former professional stand-up, I absolutely hated the way he berated his audience when a joke fell flat. That's like the number one never do.
Yeah he used to be pretty decent to watch but now he is just neoliberal, asshole, rich white dude who is completely out of touch with the people who used to watch his show.
Don't get me wrong, he has my respect for grilling so many right wingers. But he gave a deliberate platform to anti-trans talking points. No pushback provided. And I really hate him for that. He has since gotten much more right-wing in his New Rules. I felt like I was being scolded for being a leftist and enjoying the show. By the show's host.
Fair enough fair enough. Do you know what’s going on with him somehow breaking the writers strike?
He's a malignant narcissist who can't stand being out of the spotlight that long. He's been saying bad things about the WGA strike since it started. It was only a matter of time before he crossed the picket line.
No, I don't really follow him personally and the show is in break, so no idea.
Fair fair thanks for the context tho - appreciate it my dude