The right’s media target of the week

May 24, 2005

Conservatives were launching a crusade against Newsweek, introducing House resolutions condemning the magazine and suggesting congressional boycotts in members’ offices, but that is so last week. Now, there’s a new target: Bill Maher.

A congressman says comedian Bill Maher’s comment that the U.S. military has already recruited all the “low-lying fruit” is possibly treasonous and at least grounds to cancel the show.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., takes issue with remarks on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, first aired May 13, in which Maher points out the Army missed its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April.

“More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club,” Maher said. “We’ve done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies.”

This probably wasn’t Maher’s best-ever quip, but Rep. Bachus isn’t interested in critiquing the comedy, he’s more concerned with treason.

“I think it borders on treason,” Bachus said. “In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country.”

In addition to calling Maher a traitor to the country, Bachus has also demanded that Time Warner remove Maher from the air.

One of these days, Republicans will start to feel embarrassed by such lunacy, right?

Ja mon, maybe, but I don’t think humans get that old.

  • Don’t hold your breath, Mr. Carpetbagger, while waiting for the Republicans to experience embarassment or shame — they had that capacity excised from their brains along with their frontal lobotomies; it was a 2-for-1 special on the day they all had their procedures!! 🙂

    P.S. I’m curious as to whether Rep. Bachus has made any public calls for military-eligible citizens to join the military to help out with the war effort he so righteously advocates?

    P.P.S. Does anyone else think that it is almost too ironic that someone who makes this kind of outrageous claim, almost as if he were drunk on patriotism and power, has a last name “Bachus” eerily close to “Bacchus”, the Greek god of wine (sometimes called Dionysus)?

  • Didn’t Maher listen to Ari Fleischer and Donald Rumsfeld’s exhortations for people to watch what they say and what they do? The gall of these people not to toe the administration line. It’s quite apparent to me that the military’s inability to meet the recruiting goals has nothing to do with young Americans being wise enough not to want to become a walking target in an illegal war in a country where we have no business, but because people like Maher are poisoning the public against the goals of the Bush presidency. These people hate our freedoms. Thanks Rep. Bachus for aiming the spotlight on the problems that this country faces with out of control and unelected comedians.

  • Umm, he’s from Alabama. It is REALLY, REALLY hard for any politician to embarass himself down here

  • By Mr. Bachus’ definition, shouldn’t the entire Republican administration be stood up against a wall for undermining the security of the country through their incompetent policies? Just wondering.

  • A comedian says Congressman Spencer Bachus’ comment that the Republican party has already recruited all the “low-lying fruit” is likely accurate and at least grounds to institutionalize some members.

    Bill Maher takes issue with remarks on C-SPAN’s Real Time with Congress, in which Bachus, R-Ala., points out the GOP missed its IQ goal by 42 points in 2004.

    “More people joined the International Homosexual Conspiracy,” Bachus said. “We’ve done picked all the low-lying Katherine Harris fruit, and now we need warm bodies.”

    “I think it borders on idiocy,” Maher said. “In idiocy, one definition is to ridicule the goals or effectivenes of our Republicans.”

  • Here was an interesting exchange from the May 6th show…

    http://www.safesearching.com/billmaher/print/t_hbo_realtime_050605.htm

    MAHER: Because, you know, nobody wants to join the Army anymore. They are missing their recruiting goals by huge margins.

    […]

    MAHER: So he faked wanting to get into the Army, and he told the recruiter, “I don’t have a high school diploma.â€? The recruiter told him how to fake a high school diploma. He said, “I’m a drug addict.â€? The recruiter said, “That’s okay.â€? [laughter] “We’ll show you how to fake that, too.â€? And I thought it was—

    […]

    MAHER: And they will fake anything except “gay.� [laughter]

    […]

    MAHER: That one, you still can’t get in. That’s hysterical.

    […]

    SULLIVAN: Since – since this crazy “don’t ask, don’t tellâ€? story – policy – they have discharged 10,000 soldiers for being gay. Do you know they’ve discharged 20 skilled Arab linguists?

    CAMPBELL : Yes.

    MAHER: Right.

    SULLIVAN: For being gay?!

    McKEAN: Yes.

    SULLIVAN: One of the reasons 9/11 happened was because we couldn’t translate the intelligence quickly enough.

    MAHER: Right.

    SULLIVAN: And they’re firing linguists because of who they sleep with.

    MAHER: “Cunning linguists.� [laughter] [applause]

  • The relationship between the right-wing and the media is like an abusive marriage. First they viciously attack, then they (as in the Newsweek instance) say they were misquoted (ala McClellan), then they attack somewhere else. This will never end until the media is completely subservient to the right-wing and only prints press releases from the White House and the Republicans in Congress. I saw the show where Bill Maher made his comment. I knew what he was referring to. First he was referring to the problem the military is having in getting recruits. He was also, I am sure, referring to the scandal of how the military recruiters have been acting.

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