I enjoyed the Bill Maher video posted by the liberal menace. I am one of the few people in the country that can still stomach Bill Maher, and I actually think he is funny and makes the occasional "good point". As I said earlier, I agree with 75% of his Libertarian views, but it is his liberal points I have trouble understanding. So, I have some questions for him, because I know he reads this blog.
1) Corporations - What is so wrong with corporations? Why are they the bad guys in every liberal mind in America? I have the chance to speak with a few libs in my life and they all have the same mantra as Bill Maher: corporations are evil and ruining America and we can thank Reagan for that. What is so wrong with corporations? I agree with Bill Maher's libertarian stance that the bailouts were wrong. Most conservatives do. Bush is not a conservative, let's just make that clear right now. Corporations provide jobs, pay tons of taxes, give health insurance and benefits to their employees, help everyone in the stock market make more money for retirement, and provide products to the world that people want/use (although we may not like all of their products, someone does, which is why they make them).
So, what is so wrong with them? They are only concerned about making money? They lobby the government to get legislation that is beneficial to them? Who cares. When they make money, they expand, hire more people, promote people, etc. Sure, not everyone benefits when a corporation makes money, but some do. Plus, the government gets more tax dollars which we can use for the greater good. Who cares that they lobby? Environmentalist groups lobby. GLAAD lobbies. NAACP lobbies. PETA lobbies. Suffice it to say, every legislation passed is a result of some organization lobbying to get something done. Unfortunately our politicians have stopped listening to us and started listening to special interest groups. If we are going to attack lobbyists, attack ALL lobbyists, not just the lobbyists you don't like. Not to mention that envionmentalist lobbies, GLAAD, NAACP, PETA and other activist lobbying organizations do not provide AS MUCH good as corporations do. Sure, they do provide jobs, and benefit some people, but corporations do much more for the world than these groups, IMHO - please let me know if I am wrong here.
Just a note on corporate corruption, which is a legit point against corporations. There is corruption in everything. Let's not single out corporations. Not all corporations are corrupt. Let's not paint all corporations with the same brush. Let's throw the corrupt in prison and replace them with upstanding people, if there are any left.
2) Obama is not a liberal? Compared to who? Come on, even the liberal menace has to admit that Obama is a liberal. As are some Democrats, but I will agree that Congress as a whole is center-right. They should be. Our country as a whole is center-right, according to the last stats I heard. That may be different now, but I don't think so.
3) Bill Maher oulines some things he wishes Congress would do, if they were liberal. I will briefly attack each one...
a) cut military budget - in this world, at this time? He must be joking. You may not like war, but you have to be realistic enough to know that there are evil men waiting for America to cut the military budget so they can attack. I agree cuts can be made in some areas, but we must ramp it up in others.
b) gun control - 2nd Amendment anyone? Just because you don't like something doesn't mean we can throw away the Bill of Rights. Kinda like the Fairness Doctrine.
c) gay marriage - should be a state's rights issue. Is a state's rights issue. What is the problem? Lib states will have it. Conservative states will not. I see no problem here and no reason to whine. It is not a federal issue.
d) high taxes on rich - why? Aren't we all Americans? Shouldn't we all pay taxes? I am not a believer in the fair tax and do believe that the rich should pay more taxes than the poor, but we have almost half our country that pays no taxes at all. Shouldn't they be "patriotic" and "have a skin in the game" like the Obama administration like to say? Let's stop categorizing Americans based on race, wealth, religion, etc. Can't we all just be hard-working, tax-paying, empathetic Americans?
e) universal health care - dead horse, I know. But, the government doesn't do anything well. What is the logical argument for turning our entire health care system over to the government who is grossly abusing, ruining, and rapidly bankrupting Medicaid and Medicare?
f) legalizing pot - I'm all for it. Been all for it my whole life.
g) steeply tax polluters - aren't we all polluters? Again why do we need to separate Americans into groups? "You all are heavy polluters, you all are slightly heavy polluters...etc."? That makes no sense to me and only creates inequality and animosity. Stupid.
But, he is right. The truly liberal (and the truly conservative) in this country do not have a political party that represents them. Unfortunate, but that is the way it works. The two parties inevitably drift towards the center and even switch roles sometimes. What can I say? Politicians are just messed up humans.
A note on Bill Maher personally. Again, I like him and think he is funny. I enjoy getting his point of view and like his delivery. But, for someone that preaches equality and tolerance on issues he agrees with, he is very intolerant of religious people, Republicans, conservatives, corporations, etc. Shouldn't he be tolerant of all groups assuming he is genuine in the way he feels about the poor, the gays, the environmentalists, and the left? Just a thought.
But, the monologue was funny. Liked the iRan joke. Like the "liberal women go to college" joke. Liked the Dave Letterman joke - I don't understand the big dust-up there. We need to stop taking offense at everything anyone says. Come on, let's toughen up, America.
POSTED BY The Conservative Conquistador - taking over the new world one windmill at a time
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