S19.E23: Martin Short; Steve Martin; Donna Brazile; Michael C. Moynihan

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Interview:  Martin Short and Steve Martin

Panelists: Donna Brazile and Michael C. Moynihan

Original air date 2021.08.13

[DB in CMH]

Talk about your bad faith arguments, Bill.

McCarthy made his "joke" about Pelosi just a few months after the storming of the capitol where her life was in very real danger. He's also making these ”jokes” to a bloodthirsty crowd who brought a noose to the capitol. 

IIRC, Damon said that he retired the word fag recently. As in not 20 years ago, but in the last few months. I know that he issued a clarification, but his original statement was a poor choice of words.

Being an old white man, Bill doesn't seem to understand how much representation matters. Ellen coming out in 1997 meant the world to be as a young gayling. 

I really wish Bill would move past his woke/cancel culture obsession because, until then, it was a pretty good show. He is beating the same horse week after week after week.

On the other side, Donna was a delight.ni

[letter8358]

I thought Donna was all over the place! I couldn't keep up with whatever topic was brought up. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I enjoyed Steve Martin's responses when Bill tried to get him to rail against cancel culture and complain about Millennials. In a nutshell, each generation has had complaints about the next generation.  Folks had complaints and concerns about him when he started out.  It was a very polite way of saying get over it. 

[Pike Ludwell]

Moynihan didn't have enough chances to speak. And later in the discussion he really had to fight to get any words out.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Pike Ludwell

[teebax]

1 hour ago, Pike Ludwell said:

Moynihan barely had a chance to speak. He had to fight to get any word out - this was very extreme and obvious.  I wanted to hear him. Bill and Donna pretty much ruined the panel discussion. Donna changing the subject to her, and Bill not keeping control. It's funny ... one time Donna interrupted one of her lengthy points and said she would keep it brief, and Bill says "No!" And I'm like wtf? They should want her to shut up!

I disagree. I thought she brought some life to the panel and really enjoyed her. I don't think I've ever seen this side of her. I'd love to have a drink or six with her.

[iMonrey]

Was Donna Brazile drunk? She had an exchange with Moynihan about liquor in his dressing room or something, I wasn't clear on that. She certainly acted like she was.

Did anyone else notice a strange background noise during the opening interview? It sounded like cicadas in the studio.

Steve Martin looks great, but I've never been able to stomach Martin Short. He always seems to reek of desperation.

Good grief, Bill, enough with wokeness and cancel culture already!!!!

To be clear . . . Matt Damon says he never called anyone a f@g. What he did do is use the word f@g when making a joke. About a f@g.

Is that really better?

Quote

Talk about your bad faith arguments, Bill.

McCarthy made his "joke" about Pelosi just a few months after the storming of the capitol where her life was in very real danger. He's also making these ”jokes” to a bloodthirsty crowd who brought a noose to the capitol. 

Not only that but there's a big difference between calling someone a moron and threatening someone with bodily harm, even jokingly.

[opus]

I take it Donna Brazile is an acquired taste?

[deirdra]

40 minutes ago, opus said:

I take it Donna Brazile is an acquired taste?

I usually like her, but she was off kilter and reminded me of Mary Matalin's last visit, where she was too drunk to pundit.

Edited August 14, 2021 by deirdra

[DoctorAtomic]

6 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I enjoyed Steve Martin's responses when Bill tried to get him to rail against cancel culture and complain about Millennials. In a nutshell, each generation has had complaints about the next generation.  Folks had complaints and concerns about him when he started out.  It was a very polite way of saying get over it. 

What I liked about the commentary was that Gen X somehow just didn't bother being part of this debate. It's always Boomers v Millennials. 

I always love the insult comedy. I have a friend that I just tear to shreds sometimes like Short was doing, but he gets mad that it's actually funny. 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

6 hours ago, letter8358 said:

I thought Donna was all over the place! I couldn't keep up with whatever topic was brought up. 

I don't fault Bill for bringing his friends on the show because it's his show, but she's been like that all the time. 

It's not that she's not a smart person or not informed, but I don't know if she views the gig as just a chance to let loose or what. Just in the opening introduction I knew how it was going to go. She's also not nearly as funny as she thinks she is. People like that never have the self awareness to dial it down. 

I don't think you're required to be serious on the show - it's a comedy show about the news. To be fair, she did talk about a bit about some of the topics though with good points. 

It's one thing if you get in a quip during the flow of the discussion or rib Bill, but when you're derailing it, that's just not funny. It's not your set. I'll agree that 'when you're getting to hurricanes with geek letters, you knew you're in trouble.' That's a good quip. 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[DoctorAtomic]

 

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Not only that but there's a big difference between calling someone a moron and threatening someone with bodily harm, even jokingly.

I don't think she should have called him a moron. It's unprofessional. However, saying you're going to hit an elected official over the head with a gavel is way further out of bounds. This is why we need to be able to tell people to just shut the fuck up sometimes. It's a lost art. Like slamming down the phone on someone. Or actual apologies.

It doesn't have to be some heartfelt, tearing your hair out in the street and weeping to the heavens - Yeah, I'm not actually going to hit her over the head. It was a dumb thing to say. I'm sorry about that. 

Ok. I shouldn't have called you a moron either. I was frustrated about everything. Sorry. 

And then we move on. 

Not everything needs to be a thing about everything all the time over anything. That's really the problem. 

[BrownBear2012]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

What I liked about the commentary was that Gen X somehow just didn't bother being part of this debate. It's always Boomers v Millennials. 

I always love the insult comedy. I have a friend that I just tear to shreds sometimes like Short was doing, but he gets mad that it's actually funny. 

 

I think Bill doesn't understand that Millenials are now in their thirties...not in their late teens /early twenties. What's his beef with people in their 30's? I have a three Millenials and all are hard working, college educated (and one with a graduate degree), tax payers with jobs. I didn't see the show but it sounds like he's the poster boy/old man for the "OK Boomer" moniker. Move on Bill or step aside and let some Millenial take your spot...he/she would probably get better ratings than you do with your weekly rants on "cancel culture" and how awful anyone under 50 is.

11 hours ago, opus said:

I take it Donna Brazile is an acquired taste?

She's arrogant and old school Democrat. Last I heard she was a talking head on Fox News but that was a few years ago. I wonder if she is still there?

[heatherchandler]

10 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

She's also not nearly as funny as she thinks she is. People like that never have the self awareness to dial it down. 

Exactly.

17 hours ago, letter8358 said:

I thought Donna was all over the place! I couldn't keep up with whatever topic was brought up. 

SHE couldn’t keep up with the topic.. She was wasted. 

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, BrownBear2012 said:

I think Bill doesn't understand that Millenials are now in their thirties...not in their late teens /early twenties. What's his beef with people in their 30's? I have a three Millenials and all are hard working, college educated (and one with a graduate degree), tax payers with jobs. I didn't see the show but it sounds like he's the poster boy/old man for the "OK Boomer" moniker. Move on Bill or step aside and let some Millenial take your spot...he/she would probably get better ratings than you do with your weekly rants on "cancel culture" and how awful anyone under 50 is.

It's ironic to me that Bill is super against ageism, but he blasts millennials all the time. I guess it's only a no-no to pick on folks his age and up. Bill said once he hangs out with mostly millennials. I wonder if he's griping about his friends or what. In my personal experience, millennials are often the hardest workers in the office. As a millennial, every now and then Bill does say things that make me laugh and ring true. The thing with attention span reminded me of some my friends. They'll have a hard time focusing on something short, but then they'll binge for hours on shows. I'm sure that's a lot of people these days though, just due to the current culture, plus covid. We do live in an era of Netflix, YouTube, and yes, podcasts. I don't know anyone who just sits there and listens to them. Of course that would bore anybody. They're amazing to listen to as you're cleaning, driving, and doing various other things though. That's why in some ways I actually prefer them to entertainment with a visual element. I can have stuff on in the background and not feel like I'm missing out if I'm not watching. 

[BrownBear2012]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

It's ironic to me that Bill is super against ageism, but he blasts millennials all the time. I guess it's only a no-no to pick on folks his age and up. Bill said once he hangs out with mostly millennials. I wonder if he's griping about his friends or what. In my personal experience, millennials are often the hardest workers in the office. As a millennial, every now and then Bill does say things that make me laugh and ring true. The thing with attention span reminded me of some my friends. They'll have a hard time focusing on something short, but then they'll binge for hours on shows. I'm sure that's a lot of people these days though, just due to the current culture, plus covid. We do live in an era of Netflix, YouTube, and yes, podcasts. I don't know anyone who just sits there and listens to them. Of course that would bore anybody. They're amazing to listen to as you're cleaning, driving, and doing various other things though. That's why in some ways I actually prefer them to entertainment with a visual element. I can have stuff on in the background and not feel like I'm missing out if I'm not watching. 

I’m a Boomer and I find Bill to be a bore. I call bullshit on his claim that he hangs out mostly with Millennials. Bill hangs out with a very select group of Hollywood insiders and entertainers…most of them established and around his age. He’s a few years younger than me but he seems so much older…in thought and in demeanor. 

[burghgal]

I liked tonight's show -- I enjoy when the guests bring a bit of levity.  I liked Martin and Martin coming back at Bill with the valid point of "people said the same thing about us" -- its true that each generation blasts those below them and sometimes its not warranted.  

D. Brazille's best quote was when she was like "They don't like women there, if I can't smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol, the he$$ with you".   She was a little over the top, but I kinda like that on this show, as its supposed to be a comedy show interjected with current events, not just Bill griping about woke culture (which he does ad nauseam every show)

[After7Only]

13 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

 

She's arrogant and old school Democrat. Last I heard she was a talking head on Fox News but that was a few years ago. I wonder if she is still there?

I don’t think D. Brazille is any more arrogant than any other pundit on TV.   She is an old school Democrat who ran Al Gore’s campaign.   She’s currently a regular on This Week on ABC.    Even on a serious Sunday morning news program she brings levity to discussions.    But she was definitely dialed up to 10 on Bill’s show.   

[Winston Wolfe]

On 8/14/2021 at 7:41 AM, letter8358 said:

I thought Donna was all over the place! I couldn't keep up with whatever topic was brought up. 

It almost appeared like she was auditioning for a sitcom. In all honesty, due to the similar appearances and speaking styles, for a moment I though she was Anna Marie Horsford.

On 8/14/2021 at 9:05 AM, Pike Ludwell said:

Moynihan didn't have enough chances to speak. And later in the discussion he really had to fight to get any words out.

True. I don't ever remember any other RT panelist having less of a chance to participate. It was like the Donna and Bill Comedy Hour with a little politics mixed in.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think Bill doesn't understand that Millenials are now in their thirties...not in their late teens /early twenties.

To be fair I can't remember the last time Bill actually name-checked millennials in one of his myriad rants about wokeness or cancel culture. But I agree it's actually younger kids responsible for what he seems to think is the most important problem in the whole wide world right now. Millennials by and large aren't even on social media that much anymore, they've gotten too busy with work and children. 

I just don't know where Bill gets this idea that "liberals" as a group are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness, It's like he watches too much Fox News or something.

[BrownBear2012]

1 hour ago, After7Only said:

I don’t think D. Brazille is any more arrogant than any other pundit on TV.   She is an old school Democrat who ran Al Gore’s campaign.   She’s currently a regular on This Week on ABC.    Even on a serious Sunday morning news program she brings levity to discussions.    But she was definitely dialed up to 10 on Bill’s show.   

Like I said..."OLD" School Democrat.

[BrownBear2012]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

To be fair I can't remember the last time Bill actually name-checked millennials in one of his myriad rants about wokeness or cancel culture. But I agree it's actually younger kids responsible for what he seems to think is the most important problem in the whole wide world right now. Millennials by and large aren't even on social media that much anymore, they've gotten too busy with work and children. 

I just don't know where Bill gets this idea that "liberals" as a group are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness, It's like he watches too much Fox News or something.

Has anyone challenged Bill on this premise the "liberals" are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness? Really Bill? The right actually started cancel culture when they "canceled" the Dixie Chicks and burned all their records and banned them from Country music stations. And let's talk about the canceling of Colin Kaepernick by the right that they are still canceling and trashing on all the right wing media. Why doesn't anybody push back on Bill's tired and flawed arguments? And yes...it's pretty apparent that Bill is watching a lot of right wing TV and having Amy Holmes as a writer on his show is definitely having an affect on his skewed opinions.

[giovannif7]

 

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

To be fair I can't remember the last time Bill actually name-checked millennials in one of his myriad rants about wokeness or cancel culture. But I agree it's actually younger kids responsible for what he seems to think is the most important problem in the whole wide world right now. Millennials by and large aren't even on social media that much anymore, they've gotten too busy with work and children. 

I just don't know where Bill gets this idea that "liberals" as a group are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness, It's like he watches too much Fox News or something.

18 minutes ago, BrownBear2012 said:

Has anyone challenged Bill on this premise the "liberals" are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness? Really Bill? The right actually started cancel culture when they "canceled" the Dixie Chicks and burned all their records and banned them from Country music stations. And let's talk about the canceling of Colin Kaepernick by the right that they are still canceling and trashing on all the right wing media. Why doesn't anybody push back on Bill's tired and flawed arguments? And yes...it's pretty apparent that Bill is watching a lot of right wing TV and having Amy Holmes as a writer on his show is definitely having an affect on his skewed opinions.

Seriously, it isn't like it's hard to find evidence of how the roots of cancel culture were encouraged to spread over the years, decades and even centuries... but I guess that wouldn't fit into Bill and Amy's narrative regarding the evils of the ultra-left-wing libs.

 

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I just don't know where Bill gets this idea that "liberals" as a group are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness, It's like he watches too much Fox News or something.

Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk (a millennial!) talks about cancel culture of the right. Bill has gotten so annoying blaming liberals for everything. 

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Folks, We are going very far afield from the episode topics.  Let's get back on track. 

[Tiggertoo]

Donna Brazile dialled it up to 11.  I like the political discussion with a dash of biting humour.  I felt like I didn’t get any political discussion and her humour was...lacking.  Bring up climate change, ‘oh honey, I’m always hot’ or whatever stupid comment she made.  I’m sure I’ve seen her on the show before and she hasn’t been that over the top.

I thought it was interesting that she brought up the subject of alcohol.  When the other panelist bantered back, she said, I don’t drink before the show.  Yeah, right.

I feel like cancel culture is alive and well on both sides of the political spectrum.

Speaking of age, I looked up the ages of Short, Martin and Maher.  I was quite surprised that Steve Martin is older than Martin Short.  I thought it would be the other way round.

If you’re interested,

Short: 71

Martin: 76

Maher: 65

Edited August 15, 2021 by Tiggertoo

[DXD526]

Steve Martin looks amazing, more like 56 than 76.

Martin Short needs adulation the way crack addicts need...crack. 

[deirdra]

Steve Martin went grey at 30, so if people didn't look closely at his young face, they'd guess he was 50, so most of his life people have thought he was in his 50's LOL.

Edited August 16, 2021 by deirdra

[ApocalypseThen]

Donna Brazile lost all credibility when she leaked the debate questions to Hillary's campaign ahead of time while being the DNC Chair. She can be amusing at times but Bill should have really made sure she talked less by asking Moynihan more direct questions at least. At one point Brazile said something like "I'm gonna finish this point and then shut up for a while". She literally started talking 10 seconds later after Bill said something, not even giving Moynihan a chance to reply first. 

While I understand and respect that Bill has chosen cancel culture one of his main "battles", I do have an issue with him making 90%+ of all his ending monologues about that. Those monologues used to be my favorite part of the show. Bill has had some truly epic ones about a variety of topics over the years. Recently, it's just rotating different "cancel culture cases" and making most of the exact same points. It's a shame coz there are so many other issues he could be ranting about.

[Winston Wolfe]

12 hours ago, deirdra said:

Steve Martin went grey at 30, so if people didn't look closely at his young face, they'd guess he was 50, so most of his life people have thought he was in his 50's LOL.

I started greying in my early 30s, so I can relate. Steve Martin and Michael McDonald were always my Heroes, making the premature Grey thing look really, really cool.

[DoctorAtomic]

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I just don't know where Bill gets this idea that "liberals" as a group are responsible for cancel culture and wokeness, It's like he watches too much Fox News or something.

In taking the ending monologue with Pelosi and McCarthy as an example, Bill was pointing out that the responses to McCarthy's (inappropriate, stupid, and unprofessional) comment by the left were way way over the top and histrionic. Whereas saying, 'hey dumbass, don't threaten to hit the speaker of the house over the head with a gavel. Knock it off' would have been better, was what I took was his point on this commentary. 

He's said on the show plenty of times that these types of responses play right into the gop's hands, so to speak, in terms of 'winning the narrative', which they do tend to do. Not that only the left wants to cancel everything, but that things like this don't help themselves in terms of winning elections. 

He's pointed out plenty of times on the show that the right has their shit together way tighter and hammer the same (false) narratives in a more unified way. On the show, brings up Fox News people doing this all the time, regardless of any accuracy. 

I think it's problematic that he's bringing it up so many times on the show, that the point kind of gets lost in the 'oh, here we go again.' 

[Tachi Rocinante]

I never got Martin Short, I don't think he's as funny as he thinks he is.  Most of his characters are one-note and survive way past their expiration date. And now he looks like Rand Paul.

Steve Martin looks great.

Brazille can be insufferable when she's on this show.  If she were a man acting that inappropriately toward the host and guests as she has, she'd be in serious trouble.