S19.E06: Megyn Kelly; Sen. John Tester; Ezra Klein

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Guests: former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, Democratic Sen. John Tester, who represents Montana, and Vox co-founder Ezra Klein.

Original air date: 2021.02.26

[Robert Lynch]

WTH, Bill? We still have to wear our masks and now accuses Fauci of being a downer because of the new variants?!? Listen, I don't like wearing masks as much as the next person, but I will still wear one for respect of others when I do venture outside. I am upset at Bill's attitude on mask wearing. I don't like it, but I have to listen to the science until everything is back to normal. I know there is positive news about the vaccines, but we can't let our guard down now. We must listen to the science.

[littlepaw]

Doing some fact-checking on Megyn's rant. The school did not generate that letter she is referring to. It was written by 28 former and current students of the school as an open letter (from 2019)  it included references to jokes about rape, and also referenced a a leaked video in which two students at Brooklyn's Poly Prep were seen in blackface imitating apes. So...there's that. 

 

[Pike Ludwell]

Not sure why they had Tester on. Middle of the road guy with milquetoast views and really contributed nothing (as could have been predicted). Ezra Klein wasn't that great either. The discussion with Megan Kelly was good. She began with some serious false equivalencies and I question whether her facts are correct and whether she is distorting things, but the general thrust of what they discussed is correct. I never thought I'd agree with her on anything, but like Bill stated, the "social justice" excesses could turn me into a Tucker Carlson character in some ways! That was a good discussion of a sort you would rarely see elsewhere. Questioning these sorts of issues needs to become more mainstream and without people fearing for their reputations and jobs.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Pike Ludwell

[Cosmocrush]

How much time is Bill going to devote to his rich boy problem of installing solar? 

Meghan Kelly is the same Fox racist she's always been (thanks for the fact-checking @littlepaw). 

I like Tester and Klein but I'm guessing they were mostly there to listen to Bill's rant(s) since he did most of the talking. 

A year of only being around people on his payroll has made Bill's transformation to full on crumudgeon complete.  He lost me at "Fauci is a downer" for not delivering only good news (ala Trump I guess).  Bill needs to get out of his Beverly Hills mansion not to perform his act around the country  but to see that marginalized populations have been hit hard this year, through no fault of their own.  Americans have buried over half a million loved ones - who mostly died alone and without funerals.  People can't feed their families and pay their bills. 

This show has mostly become a habit for me but I think I'm finally ready to break it.  

 

 

[Liamsmom617]

3 minutes ago, Cosmocrush said:

How much time is Bill going to devote to his rich boy problem of installing solar? 

Meghan Kelly is the same Fox racist she's always been (thanks for the fact-checking @littlepaw). 

I like Tester and Klein but I'm guessing they were mostly there to listen to Bill's rant(s) since he did most of the talking. 

A year of only being around people on his payroll has made Bill's transformation to full on crumudgeon complete.  He lost me at "Fauci is a downer" for not delivering only good news (ala Trump I guess).  Bill needs to get out of his Beverly Hills mansion not to perform his act around the country  but to see that marginalized populations have been hit hard this year, through no fault of their own.  Americans have buried over half a million loved ones - who mostly died alone and without funerals.  People can't feed their families and pay their bills. 

This show has mostly become a habit for me but I think I'm finally ready to break it.  

 

 

THIS. Totally.

[aghst]

1 hour ago, littlepaw said:

Doing some fact-checking on Megyn's rant. The school did not generate that letter she is referring to. It was written by 28 former and current students of the school as an open letter (from 2019)  it included references to jokes about rape, and also referenced a a leaked video in which two students at Brooklyn's Poly Prep were seen in blackface imitating apes. So...there's that. 

 

Yeah I knew she was full of shit when she said she's center-right.  And how she takes from both sides.

Like both sides are equally bad.

Remember what got her fired from her NBC gig.  She's still full of Kool Aid.

But Maher had her on so they could segue to woeness on university campuses, and old thing for Bill.

He wants to keep whining about cancel culture but says nothing about Republican Senators and Manchin rejecting Neera Tanden for "mean" tweets.  Maybe he will have her on again after her nomination is voted down, but then he'd have to admit cancel culture from the right.

Erza was right about the filibuster bullshit but Bill didn't really want to delve into it.  He's getting more crotchety, maybe trying to pull a Dennis Miller.

 

[angelamh66]

Megyn remains a complete asshole. IF what she says is true about the curriculum at the schools any points she could have made were lost in her smugness. Watching two rich white people talk about how racism isn’t as bad now as in the past just doesn’t sit well with me.  People do need to be able to discuss these things, but Megyn and Bill sailed right by the point. 

Bill also sailed right by the point in his Chris Harrison rant. The problem with Harrison wasn’t that he wouldn’t throw the old south party girl under the bus. It’s the way Harrison spoke to the interviewer, a black woman, and his refusal to acknowledge for a second the importance of the effect of such things as old south parties on people of color. He was completely consumed with the white girl’s feelings while completely disregarding the impact of these kinds of parties. The interview is quite something when watched in its entirety. But predictably Bill sees a rich white guy suffer some consequences so he immediately takes his side. 

 

 

 

 

[Pearson80]

Megyn Kelly is a vile disgusting racist.   Bill Maher has always been an apologist for people like Megan because he is just like her.  

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, Pike Ludwell said:

I never thought I'd agree with her so much, but like Bill stated, the "social justice" excesses could turn me into a Tucker Carlson character in some ways!

That's the goal of constantly ranting about them or making them up. To promote support for white supremacy. 

[Pike Ludwell]

I think Bill is right in that questioning distortions by the folks on the extreme "social justice" left does not constitute white supemacist or racist thinking. I like his general thrust that a lot of the misinterpretations of reality do need to be straightened out. People are too fearful to question the things that need questioning.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Pike Ludwell

[littlepaw]

3 hours ago, Cosmocrush said:

How much time is Bill going to devote to his rich boy problem of installing solar? 

Meghan Kelly is the same Fox racist she's always been (thanks for the fact-checking @littlepaw). 

I like Tester and Klein but I'm guessing they were mostly there to listen to Bill's rant(s) since he did most of the talking. 

A year of only being around people on his payroll has made Bill's transformation to full on crumudgeon complete.  He lost me at "Fauci is a downer" for not delivering only good news (ala Trump I guess).  Bill needs to get out of his Beverly Hills mansion not to perform his act around the country  but to see that marginalized populations have been hit hard this year, through no fault of their own.  Americans have buried over half a million loved ones - who mostly died alone and without funerals.  People can't feed their families and pay their bills. 

This show has mostly become a habit for me but I think I'm finally ready to break it.  

 

 

You're welcome; it's really at the point where I find myself fact-checking at least one or more of Bill's "PC culture is out of control" harangues every week, and every time it's something that's blown out of proportion or taken out of context.

That being said, I was overjoyed when my husband (who is much more centrist than I am but has become increasingly irritated at Bill's turn to the right and his obsessions about (pick one or all) his solar problems, fat people, "cancel culture", COVID restrictions etc etc etc.) said: "I'm done with this guy" and deleted all future recordings of RTWBM. We have been watching Bill since the Politically Incorrect days, have gone to concerts, bought books & merchandise, but.....no. Done with BM and watching an entire show based on his personal gripes instead of actual issues. I'll still check in to the forums though, for my own perverted amusement. 🙂 

Edited February 27, 2021 by littlepaw

[aghst]

One angle to this isn't just ideology but age.

He referred to a certain generation being behind it.

He's said in the past that the younger people in his audiences don't laugh at all his jokes or actually groan at them.  It's a complaint you hear from other older comedians.  You know, too woke, too PC (which is the OG term for "woke," from an older generation), so triggered, too much of a snowflake, how people are such pussies now, because of the pussification of culture, with things like no smoking in public venues, not being able to grope women or make sexually-suggestive remarks or make passes, not being able to tell ethnic jokes, or even use racist epithets without being racist -- 🙄.

You know, because old school comics should be able to do and say things like they used to be able to do back in those glorious days.

Dinosaurs having a hard time adapting -- speaking as a dinosaur myself, who's not too much younger than Bill.

[BrownBear2012]

1 hour ago, littlepaw said:

You're welcome; it's really at the point where I find myself fact-checking at least one or more of Bill's "PC culture is out of control" harangues every week, and every time it's something that's blown out of proportion or taken out of context.

That being said, I was overjoyed when my husband (who is much more centrist than I am but has become increasingly irritated at Bill's turn to the right and his obsessions about (pick one or all) his solar problems, fat people, "cancel culture", COVID restrictions etc etc etc.) said: "I'm done with this guy" and deleted all future recordings of RTWBM. We have been watching Bill since the Politically Correct days, have gone to concerts, bought books & merchandise, but.....no. Done with BM and watching an entire show based on his personal gripes instead of actual issues. I'll still check in to the forums though, for my own perverted amusement. 🙂 

There's more of us than you would think! Our family stopped watching RTWBM a year and a half ago. The endless rants about the same old things, his personal gripes about things that he now uses as material for his show instead of actual events or problems that are plaguing our country/world and his misogyny all became too much for us to invest an hour every week into. We also were watchers of Poiltically Correct and enjoyed his stand up...but he has morphed into this privileged, entitled, old white guy over the past two years and it sounds like he is getting worse. He latched onto the "cancel culture" and "social injustice" right wing bitch fest in 2019 and seems like he's now all in with the likes of some Fox News personalities on this. Someone else brought up that he denounces left wing cancel culture but fails to bring up right wing cancel culture which has been on display all week at the Senate confirmation hearings. 

I find it amusing that Bill once did a monolgue where he called the former president a "Fiftie's kind of guy"...somene locked into a different era of martini's at lunch, women  and black people knowing their place, country clubs and sirloin steak dinners. With the exception of the sirloin steak dinners, sounds like the Bill Maher of 2021 would fit right into that world.

[Kenz]

1 hour ago, BrownBear2012 said:

 We also were watchers of Poiltically Correct and enjoyed his stand up...but he has morphed into this privileged, entitled, old white guy over the past two years and it sounds like he is getting worse. He latched onto the "cancel culture" and "social injustice" right wing bitch fest in 2019 and seems like he's now all in with the likes of some Fox News personalities on this.

 

I'm with you, BrownBear. I think Bill lost his mojo a few years ago. He's just a cranky old man who seems to be behind the times. I'm older than Bill, and I think he is way past his prime. I only watch now if he has an interesting guest on the show who Bill MIGHT allow to talk uninterrupted. I couldn't watch the Megyn Kelly segment because she makes me retch.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Kenz

[heatherchandler]

8 hours ago, Pike Ludwell said:

Not sure why they had Tester on. Middle of the road guy with milquetoast views and really contributed nothing (as could have been predicted). Ezra Klein wasn't that great either. The discussion with Megan Kelly was good. She began with some serious false equivalencies and I question whether her facts are correct and whether she is distorting things, but the general thrust of what they discussed is correct. I never thought I'd agree with her on anything, but like Bill stated, the "social justice" excesses could turn me into a Tucker Carlson character in some ways! That was a good discussion of a sort you would rarely see elsewhere. Questioning these sorts of issues needs to become more mainstream and without people fearing for their reputations and jobs.

Tester is such a politician.  He gives those answers like, “yes, absolutely you are right about that.. and...”  I can’t help but like him.

Yes!  I like that Bill has discussions on his show that I don’t see anywhere else.  I’m glad his show is so popular, it makes me hopeful.

Im a huge fan of Megyn Kelly so I was really happy to see her on, I think she is so smart.  

 

8 hours ago, littlepaw said:

Doing some fact-checking on Megyn's rant. The school did not generate that letter she is referring to. It was written by 28 former and current students of the school as an open letter (from 2019)  it included references to jokes about rape, and also referenced a a leaked video in which two students at Brooklyn's Poly Prep were seen in blackface imitating apes. So...there's that. 

 

Megyn never said the school wrote it.  The letter was promoted and circulated by the school.  The letter was a demand and she was angry about how divisive the letter is, and how the school handled the whole thing.  She is upset that it turned into turmoil, kids don’t need turmoil and anger, they are kids.  

Like Bill said, it is hyperbole.

Edited February 28, 2021 by heatherchandler

[Sharper2002]

7 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

She is upset that it turned into turmoil, kids don’t need turmoil and anger, they are kids.

I’m sure Tamir Rice would agree. But alas...

I think I’m out. I’ve zoned out Bill’s cranky old man rants because I would look forward to seeing some of the guests, but it sounds like he’s going to keep heading right down this path...at least until his solar power shed is cleared.

Will keep up with the forum to see if there are any interesting insights from guests, but won’t miss Bill. 

[RealHousewife]

Anyone else think Bill looked really happy to see Megyn dressed all sexy for his show? lol

I don't agree with everything Bill says, but Tucker Carlson he is not. That dude is the literal worst on TV. I could rant about him all day. 

I am very strongly antiracism, but I am not a cancel culture person. I totally agree Chris was ass the way he spoke to Rachel Lindsay, who showed a lot of grace with him. He absolutely didn't handle that interview well, acting like 2018 was decades ago and that Rachael K was a little girl or something. I'm glad he's apologized, but I don't think him being ignorant and having a bad interview is enough for me to think he should be fired. He's the host of a silly reality show. The racist, hateful hosts/pundits/TV personalities, whatever their official title, there are way too many of them, and they spread hatred and division. These are the people folks go to for news/education each day. That goes for Tucker, Laura Ingraham, the late Rush Limbaugh, etc. I'm so much more offended by people with their very serious platforms either being dismissive of racism or being blatantly racist themselves. It's interesting to me that Chris Harrison could lose his job, and Tucker Carlson's evil ass was just promoted. I know I seem a little inconsistent because I'm usually the person who's considered the "woke police." That's why I still enjoy Bill's show I guess. I don't always agree with any one person, party, etc. I don't agree with my own loved ones on everything, and I really like to hear what someone's truly thinking, because way too many people are scared to be honest these days. 

Oh and I agreed with him about Justin Timberlake too, which is a very unpopular opinion. I'm glad he apologized for throwing Janet Jackson under the bus, and I'm not saying Justin never did anything to hurt Britney, but he was a young guy who had immature, stupid moments. 

[BrownBear2012]

5 hours ago, Kenz said:

I'm with you, BrownBear. I think Bill lost his mojo a few years ago. He's just a cranky old man who seems to be behind the times. I'm older than Bill, and I think he is way past his prime. I only watch now if he has an interesting guest on the show who Bill MIGHT allow to talk uninterrupted. I couldn't watch the Megyn Kelly segment because she makes me retch.

It's amusing to see all these right wingers now come on his show and bond with Bill over all the right wing talking points when four or five years ago they wouldn't go on his show because they did not like his liberal "bias". When he had Steve Bannon, Boris Epsteyn and Roger Stone on that was the when the show took a huge right turn and never turned around. And for me, it wasn't so much that he had these wretched people on the show but the fact that he seemed to give them validation and never once pushed back on anything they said. You're right...he needs to retire.

[MsTree]

5 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

It's interesting to me that Chris Harrison could lose his job, and Tucker Carlson's evil ass was just promoted. I know I seem a little inconsistent because I'm usually the person who's considered the "woke police." That's why I still enjoy Bill's show I guess. I don't always agree with any one person, party, etc. I don't agree with my own loved ones on everything, and I really like to hear what someone's truly thinking, because way too many people are scared to be honest these days. 

I feel the exact same way. And not to add insult to injury, but what some viewers fail to understand (re: Harrison) is that it's his job to promote, defend, and otherwise support Bachelor Nation.

And IMO, being interviewed by one of his favorite bachelorettes gave him the comfort level to speak as freely as he would if the conversation were private.

[Victor the Crab]

NEW RULE: Bill doesn't smugly get to claim he brings right wingers on his show and holds their feet to the fire. Him bringing former Fox News hack Megyn Kelly on to again discuss and deride so-called cancel culture and wokeness is exhibit A on why!

Another show's useless energy spent on things that aren't important right now. Bill should be ashamed of what his show has devolved into, but I doubt that narcissistic personality disorder is capable of shame!

[DB in CMH]

The show is tired. Every week now it's the same two subjects: over regulations and cancel culture. I do happen to agree with Bill (mostly) on both, but good God, man. You're beating it into the ground.

[Hanahope]

I didn’t get Kelly saying Maddow was embarrassed by Russia?  What was that?  does she mean over an incomplete investigation and report that was wrongly blocked by the perpetrator?

and yeah anyone who goes to old south parties in this decade should be shamed and canceled.  It’s called accountability 
 

how come bill doesn’t bring up the right’s canceling at cpac? 

[sistermagpie]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

I didn’t get Kelly saying Maddow was embarrassed by Russia?  What was that?  does she mean over an incomplete investigation and report that was wrongly blocked by the perpetrator?

Presumably just finding a way to repeat the right-wing message that Trump was somehow proved innocent of having anything to do with Russia or that Russia was found innocent of interfering in the 2016 election because Trump went on being president. In her version of events Rachel Maddow agrees with her that the Russia investigation was  "hoax" that she fell for.

"Center right" my ass.

Edited March 1, 2021 by sistermagpie

[cali1981]

I have watched some of the last two shows but on HBO Max not live.  It lets me FF through some of Bill's by now very old and tired crap. It didn't take long to skip most of ex-Fox News propaganda deputy Megyn Kelly.  When she went to NBC she was probably hoping that all of lies and racially tinged nonsense that she spewed at Fox would  somehow be forgotten.  How did that work out?  As soon as Bill got to his typically "philosophical" final New Rule, I bailed.  I did see a clip of his comments about Gina Carano. Maybe Bill should have done some basic research about why Carano was fired before he held her up as a shining example of "cancel culture". Maybe he would have discovered that Carano was given at least three chances by her employer to moderate her social media activity before the final one was a bridge too far for Disney. But hey, when you're Bill Maher you can just say what you say.

 

 

[cali1981]

On 2/28/2021 at 8:06 PM, Hanahope said:

I didn’t get Kelly saying Maddow was embarrassed by Russia?  What was that?  does she mean over an incomplete investigation and report that was wrongly blocked by the perpetrator?

 

Hmm.. I guess that "We all know that Jesus and Santa were white" Barbie must not have been talking about the fact that,  if not for the misguided OLC memo about not indicating a sitting president, Trump might well have been charged with Obstruction of Justice. Taking pot shots at Maddow, who I believe is still on the air in her regular time slot and has more intellectual firepower, just shows who Kelly has been and still is.

 

[AuntieDiane6]

I saw that THIS show is not on the On Demand channel on Spectrum, yet the others are.  Howard Stern seemed to indicate that the show was pulled... not sure if I heard that correctly.  

[heatherchandler]

32 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

I saw that THIS show is not on the On Demand channel on Spectrum, yet the others are.  Howard Stern seemed to indicate that the show was pulled... not sure if I heard that correctly.  

It is on my onDemand.

[deirdra]

My DVR shows a repeat of last Friday's show (w/Megyn Kelly; Sen. John Tester; Ezra Klein) on again tonight (March 5th).

Edited March 5, 2021 by deirdra

[emmawoodhouse]

11 minutes ago, deirdra said:

My DVR shows a repeat of last Friday's show (w/Megyn Kelly; Sen. John Tester; Ezra Klein) on again tonight (March 5th).

My guide has a new episode. Tonight's beleaguered Republican is Joe Scarborough. 

[Mychaser]

17 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

My guide has a new episode. Tonight's beleaguered Republican is Joe Scarborough. 

Joe Scarborough is no longer a Republican. 

 

[AuntieDiane6]

On 2/27/2021 at 12:49 PM, Cosmocrush said:

 

How much time is Bill going to devote to his rich boy problem of installing solar? 

 

I saw it as evidence of the big problem of onerous regulations that tend to proliferate in blue states. 

 

Quote

The show is tired. Every week now it's the same two subjects: over regulations and cancel culture. I do happen to agree with Bill (mostly) on both, but good God, man. You're beating it into the ground.

Someone has to.  

Edited March 15, 2021 by AuntieDiane6

[Avaleigh]

9 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

I saw it as evidence of the big problem of onerous regulations that tend to proliferate in blue states. 

This is pretty much how I see it too. I disagree that Bill should avoid talking about his issues with getting solar simply because he's rich. I don't see anything wrong with him highlighting how much bureaucratic tape a person can run into when it comes to this sort of issue.

That being said, I do think it would come off better if he did a more thorough job of explaining exactly what the hold up is so that people can understand what role the government is allegedly playing here. OTOH he'd probably be criticized if he spent more time elaborating on why this thing has taken so long. It would be interpreted as him whining about his rich boy problems as opposed to it being about his understandable frustration that he lives in a state where it can be difficult to get certain things done. 

I was born and raised in LA and only moved to another blue state two years ago. I love California and will probably move back one day, but I definitely understand where Bill is coming from here.