Connect with us

Latest

DAVID MARCUS: Bill Maher’s no Republican, he’s just a rare Democrat who thinks

Published

on

Bill MaherBill Maher’s “Real Time” show on HBO has become something of a unicorn in the modern political media landscape, a place where liberals and conservatives can actually have substantive conversations rather than simply sling mud.

A big part of what allows for this unique discourse is that Maher is an unconventional Democrat. He’s something of a dinosaur, with a political view that seems stuck in the tar pits of 1990s Bill Clintonism. He is in some ways the avatar of the Democratic Party that was.

Maher remains pro-Israel, regularly rolls his eyes at the excesses of wokism and the trans movement, has a friendly respect for President Donald Trump, with whom he has dined, and in general is a poster child of “I didn’t leave the party, the party left me.” He’s even friends with Kid Rock!

This has led many conservatives to suggest that Maher is a better fit in the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. Jump in, the water is fine, they say.

GREG GUTFELD: CONSTANT DEMONIZATION BACKFIRED AND MADE TRUMP APPEAR APPEALINGLY DANGEROUS

But this misses an essential point. Maher is not a Republican, he is a Democrat. Conservatives should be rooting for him to influence his party in positive ways, not to abandon it.

Maher always makes me think of my cousin Jimmy, who has been a big fan for decades. Jimmy is in many ways the quintessential Pennsylvania Democrat. He is successful, has a beautiful Catholic family, and like me, grew up believing in the Teamsters and the pope.

I asked Jimmy what he liked so much about Maher and he told me, “I like Bill Maher a lot because he calls a spade a spade, based on facts and science and not ideological craziness. He calls out the crazy for what it is. I like that he does it regardless of who he’s talking about, left or right.”

BILL MAHER GRILLS GAVIN NEWSOM OVER CALIFORNIA’S REGULATIONS, TELLS HIM ‘DOGE THE S—‘ OUT OF BUREAUCRACY

This is maybe a bit more of a glowing review than I would give to Maher, but it’s not far off the mark. More importantly, based on conversations I have with Democrats around the country, more of them think like Maher, than think like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-NY, or commie podcaster Hasan Piker.

In this way, Maher is something like a focus group of one.

And it’s not just Maher clinging to the principles of the old Party of Jefferson and Jackson. Sen. John Fetterman D-Pa., also insists on being an old-school Democrat rather than changing sides and joining the GOP.

BILL MAHER HAS A BLUNT MESSAGE FOR DEMOCRATS IN WAKE OF ELECTION DISASTER: ‘LOSERS LOOK IN THE MIRROR’

But honestly, for all the attacks against Fetterman from the left of his party, there is no major policy issue that the senator supports that was not a mainstream Democratic position as recently as 2020.

The plain truth here is that Maher, my cousin Jimmy and Fetterman are never going to be Republicans. It’s like asking Magic Johnson to play for the Celtics. But they may be the voices that bring their party, and our nation, back from the edge.

On Saturday night, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a third attempt was made on the life of President Trump. It almost feels normal at this point, but it is not normal, and while everyone for the next 12 hours will discuss taking down the temperature, Maher really does it.

MAHER URGES AMERICANS TO ‘NOT LET POLITICS F— UP THE HOLIDAYS’: SHOULDN’T ‘CUT PEOPLE OFF’ FOR TRUMP WIN

Because of the power of the presidency under our Constitution, we will always have two parties, one that controls the White House, and another composed of everyone else. It behooves all of us for both to be measured, responsible and nonviolent.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Maher does our nation inestimably more good as the reasonable, old-timey, joint-smoking Democrat than he does as a turncoat nouveau Trumper, and as beacon of sanity in a party flinging itself wildly to the left, he helps everyone.

So let’s stop trying to turn Maher into a Republican. We don’t need to chant “One of us!” because he is not one of us. He is a Democrat, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the importance of Maher is his remarkable staying power. In a media ecosystem in which political shows and anchors rise and fall like so many ships in a storm, he has been a Rock of Gibraltar.

Just as for decades “The McLaughlin Group” was the space for the right and left to respectfully cross rhetorical swords, today it is “Real Time” that fills this vital role, and for better or worse, it only really works, quite specifically, because Bill Maher is, and always will be, a Democrat.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM DAVID MARCUS

Continue Reading

Latest

Florida man allegedly shot woman in neck, dragged her back inside before hiding in backyard pool

Published

on

A Florida man is facing attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting a woman in the neck and dragging her back into her home, authorities said.

Officers with the Wildwood Police Department responded around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to reports of an argument followed by a gunshot, according to an arrest report cited by WKMG.

When police arrived, they found a woman with a gunshot wound to the neck lying in a driveway. She was airlifted to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

FLORIDA MAN WHO WAS HALF-NAKED, ‘HIGH ON METH’ BREAKS INTO HOME, GRABS CARPET CLEANER

Robert Anthony Morgan, 40, was arrested and charged with attempted felony murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharging a firearm in public or on residential property.

Police said Morgan was seen crawling under a partially open garage door before jumping into a backyard pool. Officers pulled him from the water and took him into custody.

The victim’s mother told investigators there was a history of domestic violence between Morgan and the victim. She said she saw him drag the woman back onto the property after the shooting, according to WKMG.

BODY CAMERA VIDEO SHOWS POLICE OFFICER ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPED BY ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECT IN ROADSIDE SHOWDOWN

When she asked if he had called for help, Morgan allegedly replied, “She’s fine,” and threatened to shoot her if she contacted police.

Authorities recovered a rifle from the garage floor and found blood in the street leading to the home, WESH reported.

The woman’s four children were inside the home at the time of the incident, according to reports.

Morgan, who has a prior conviction for felony battery, made an initial court appearance Monday and is being held without bond.

Continue Reading

Latest

University of Nebraska at Kearney pulls trans-focused faculty training after governor’s threat

Published

on

The University of Nebraska at Kearney canceled a transgender-focused faculty training module after backlash erupted online and drew swift condemnation from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen.

The voluntary workshop, titled “How Can I Move From Supporting to Empowering Trans-spectrum Students?”, was part of the school’s Monday Morning Mentor series and referenced a 20-minute program developed by a North Carolina college aimed at helping professors create a more inclusive classroom environment.

The program drew attention after Libs of TikTok shared a university email about the training on X, criticizing the initiative and calling for the school to be defunded.

“University of Nebraska at Kearney … wants faculty to attend a meeting where they’ll be taught about Empowering Trans Students and creating a DEI-inclusive classroom,” the account posted. “This university receives our tax dollars … DEFUND … So sick of this trash.”

TRUMP ADMIN TERMINATES SOME AGREEMENTS WITH DISTRICTS, COLLEGE ON TRANSGENDER STUDENTS

Pillen reposted the criticism Monday and condemned the training.

“This nonsense is completely irrelevant and destructive to the University of Nebraska’s teaching mission, and out of touch with the values of the state it serves,” Pillen wrote on X. “University leaders must immediately root out this and all other similar programming across the entire system.”

He warned that failure to act could lead to investigations or funding cuts.

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD MEETING FALLS INTO CHAOS AMID SJSU LAWSUIT VS TRUMP ADMIN OVER TRANS SCANDAL

“If the University cannot police its own ranks and rid itself of the woke disease that has degraded so many ‘elite’ higher education institutions, it risks investigations, cuts to its funding, and, most importantly, the loss of the confidence of the people it serves,” he added.

The university removed the module Tuesday, according to Nebraska Public Media.

UNK said its focus “remains on rigorous academics and student success through effective teaching and creating a welcoming environment for all students,” the outlet reported, and that “the module referenced has been removed.”

NUMBER OF YOUNG ADULTS IDENTIFYING AS TRANSGENDER PLUNGES BY NEARLY HALF IN TWO YEARS

“We have addressed the issue and corrected our review process moving forward,” the school said.

Pillen later called the decision “good news.”

“Following my post last night, the University of Nebraska at Kearney took down the objectionable content,” he wrote on X. “That is good news.”

He added that higher education institutions must remain aligned with public expectations.

“The mission of education in America is not the advancement of woke indoctrination — it’s to grow critical learners and thinkers prepared to become the next generation of leaders and business builders,” Pillen said. “That’s the mission, and we cannot allow Nebraska institutions to be distracted from it.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the University of Nebraska at Kearney for comment.

Continue Reading

Latest

Why Iran talks are in limbo as Trump scrambles for a way out of the war he started

Published

on

The “peace talks” with Iran – if they can even be called that – are going nowhere fast.

First, President Donald Trump canceled a visit by JD Vance to the non-existent talks. Then he canceled the lower-level delegation of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Now the Iranians have come back with a proposal that entirely favors them – and which Trump has already rejected. 

The murderous mullahs say they want to end their blockade of the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. halts its blockade of Iranian ports. So far so good.

TRUMP PUSHES SHAKY DEAL WITH IRAN AS HORMUZ IS SHUT AGAIN, BUT OPPONENTS GIVE HIM NO CREDIT FOR PROGRESS

But then – guess what – they would put off the question of nuclear disarmament till some undetermined time in the future.

The president’s response to their pitch: How about never? Does never work for you?  

Trump has told advisers he is not satisfied with the proposal, submitted through the mediators in Pakistan. Frustrated might be a better word.

TRUMP’S LAST-MINUTE DELAY: WHY HE WAS NEVER GOING TO OBLITERATE IRAN IN THE FIRST PLACE

The president posted before Saturday’s attempted assassination: “Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!”

Marco Rubio said: “What we’re dealing with here is a regime that’s run by a bunch of lunatics. They chant ‘death to America, ‘death to Israel,’ and we have to take that seriously.”

He added: “The goal here is simple: they can never have a nuclear weapon. And if you want to make sure they never have a nuclear weapon, you have to take away the things that would allow them to deliver one. That means their missiles, their drones, and their ability to threaten the region. So yes, that includes going after those capabilities.”

Since U.S. airstrikes killed all of Iran’s top leaders, Axios reports, the government is consumed by “warring factions” that cannot settle on a “coherent” position.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, has been taking a hard line.

Meanwhile, despite a ceasefire orchestrated by Trump, Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, continue to attack each other in Lebanon. Hezbollah has rejected the peace plan.

“The United States is no longer in a position to dictate its policy tto independent nations,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik, adding that the Trump administration “must abandon its illegal and irrational demands.”

Oil prices have shot up as the peace process remains in limbo. Gas prices rose yesterday to an average of $4.18 a gallon, their highest level in four years.

All this has fueled criticism that Trump, under pressure from Israel, launched the war impulsively and without a clear exit strategy.

The president keeps saying he’s won the war and “we have all the cards.”

But Trump is boxed in at the moment. He badly wants out of an unpopular war, but Iran, as usual, is being intransigent. And no agreement on nukes is worth anything without independent inspections. This was the same dilemma that faced the Obama administration.

WHY TRUMP’S WAR SPEECH FAILED: DECLARING VICTORY BUT STILL BOMBING IRAN BACK TO THE ‘STONE AGES’

The United Arab Emirates, which just left OPEC, could provide additional oil shipments now freed from the alliance’s restrictions.

There is a political dimension to this standoff as well. If Trump can’t come to terms on Iran’s nuclear enrichment – the very reason for going to war – it will undermine his ability to claim victory, as Tehran well knows.

The president posted yesterday:

“Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse.’ They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible.” Now why would they tell him that?

Here’s one thing I know from decades of covering the man: Despite his threats to destroy Iranian civilization, Trump will never do that. His heart isn’t in it. He doesn’t want to go down in the history books as having wiped out an ancient civilization.

That’s why Trump keeps extending the ceasefire deadlines in hopes of reaching anything he can pronounce a reasonable agreement.

The U.S. military, as the president says, has obliterated Iran’s air force and navy. In that sense, it’s been a major victory, even if Democrats and some of Trump’s former allies in conservative media don’t want to admit it.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

But Iran does have one card to play, and that is doing nothing.

Donald Trump started this war, and after two months, is still trying to figure out how to get out of it.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Political Signal