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Calling on the majority of Republicans to "take back their party" from the "crackpots," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Vermont's former Democratic Governor Howard Dean join Bill and his other guests Montana Democratic Senator John Tester, Republican strategist David Avella and Republican pollster Kristen Soltis in this post-inauguration episode of Real Time.
Real Time With Bill Maher airs on HBO Fridays at 10:00 pm ET.
Nancy Pelosi Says Too Much of GOP Made Up of the "Over-the-Edge Crowd"
After noting how Republicans wouldn't have liked President Obama's inauguration unless he finished up by getting into a hot air balloon and flying out to Oz, Bill sat down with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to talk about what is doable for the President and Democrats now. Although the California congresswoman says she is "hopeful we can accomplish a great deal," and perhaps even "re-ignite the American Dream," there are an awful lot of what she called "anti-government ideologues" among the Republicans in Congress. "They don't believe in government."
Bill Challenges David Avella: Saying Someone is "Right Wing" is Name Calling?
When Republican strategist David Avella took issue with the President describing some GOP Congressmen as "right-wing," Bill stopped him and asked, incredulously "Saying 'right wing' is name calling? I've got so many worse than that, David." That started a spirited exchange between Avella and fellow Republican Kristin Soltis on one side and Maher and former Vermont Governor Howard Dean on the other, with Dean noting how his parents were Republicans, but the current GOP is like no Republican Party he ever knew. As he told Avella: "You have 49 percent crackpots in your party; we only have about 10."
Senator John Tester (D-MT): "People Need to Know What They're Eating"
Montana Senator John Tester is a real farmer, still working the land his grandparents homesteaded exactly 100 years ago, as he told Bill. A big supporter of farm subsidies as a "safety net in hard times," the Senator, however, says "we need to stop the corporate welfare part of it." The senator also decried how family farmers are losing their independence to big agro-businesses like Tyson's, and how too many corporations are "farming the Farm Bill" instead of the land.
New Rules and Parting Shots ("Did You Know the Chinese Are Editing Our Movies?")
Before going to his usual New Rules feature, Bill noted how China is editing out huge chunks of Hollywood movies, including taking out the Chinese pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean and trimming out scenes its government finds offensive. This includes, he jabbed, renaming movies, resulting in titles like All Dogs Come With Noodles, Eat, Pray, Eat Again an Hour Later and Honey I Blew Up the Kids...because they weren't making iPhones fast enough. As for the New Rules, Bill took shots at such diverse topics as the headgear Russell Crowe wore in Les Miserables makes him look like he’s “two guys short of making Rice Krispies” to how Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid always seems to look as if his dog just died.
Best Lines:
Bill taking the Beyonce lip-syncing at the inauguration to the next level:
"Lip-syncing? Let that be a lesson. If you are in Washington, D.C. and you open your mouth and another voice comes out, it better be the NRA, an oil company or a bank."
Governor Dean on the President's inaugural address:
"I thought the speech was great. I didn't think it was partisan. I thought it was American and was about time the President of the United States stood up against all this crazy crap on the right wing."
Bill on how the media should stop covering the 2016 election before Obama has barely started his second turn:
"Even Taylor Swift gives a guy a little more time than that."
Bill on how America spends too much on defense:
"Let me ask you: if a guy on your block was so frightened of mostly non-existent prowlers that he spent all of his resources on alarm systems and guns and cameras, so much so that he didn't even have money left to maintain his home or send his kids to college, would you call him 'brave'?"
