S17.E10: Pete Buttigieg, Preet Bharara, S.E. Cupp, Elissa Slotkin, and Andrew Sullivan

[Guest]

Airs March 29, 2019

Quote

Guests: Pete Buttigieg, Preet Bharara, S.E. Cupp, Elissa Slotkin, and Andrew Sullivan

[ottoDbusdriver]

Mayor Pete !!

[Medicine Crow]

Please Bill, don't fuck this show up!!!

[ZoqFotPik]

I can't stand SE Cupp.

[Cyranetta]

S.E Cupp and Andrew Sullivan? - sounds like a recipe for disaster.

[Caseysgirl]

Pete and Preet - you made this show watchable!

[Gemma Violet]

Love me some Mayor Pete.  

[Pete Martell]

I imagine Bill gave Pete Buttigieg some time because he likes people who go on Faux News, but it was hard to sit through some of that without thinking that he's the exact type of candidate Bill would tear to pieces if he ever had an actual chance. He's still mostly just a flavor of the month candidate. (and I would agree with some of it, mostly because I think Buttigieg has fallen into the "if I talk about religion and say I like Chick Fil A, that will get people who hate everything about me to vote for me" trap).

Still, I wish him luck, as I really am not fond of some of the main contenders in the race.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Pete Martell

[teebax]

9 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

Love me some Mayor Pete.  

He was impressive. I've just started hearing about this guy, but so far I really like him. It's nice to see a young guy who values intelligence running for president. I don't think Bill came off well during the interview by bashing Millenials, implying that the issues trans students face aren't important, and mocking the #metoo movement. Pete held his own. 

[arachne]

8 minutes ago, teebax said:

It's nice to see a young guy who values intelligence running for president.

Mayor Pete appears to think you can be intellectual and spiritual at the same time -- a novel idea these days, and of course Bill would never accept it in a million years. 

[Milburn Stone]

27 minutes ago, arachne said:

Mayor Pete appears to think you can be intellectual and spiritual at the same time -- a novel idea these days, and of course Bill would never accept it in a million years. 

Yeah, his answer on that convinced me that he was sincere, i.e., not pretending to be a person of faith in order to snag votes from people of faith. Maybe I think that because his "maybe you have all the answers, Bill, but I don't" pretty much sums up my worldview too.

[sugarbaker design]

42 minutes ago, arachne said:

Mayor Pete appears to think you can be intellectual and spiritual at the same time -- a novel idea these days, and of course Bill would never accept it in a million years. 

Bill Moyers was doing that for years, much to Bill Maher's chagrin.  I loved the way PB pushed back on BM's ridiculous bete noires:  millenials, University protestors and identity politics.  Someone not familiar with BM would never know he's a liberal from the PB interview.

[GHScorpiosRule]

24 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Bill Moyers was doing that for years, much to Bill Maher's chagrin.  I loved the way PB pushed back on BM's ridiculous bete noires:  millenials, University protestors and identity politics.  Someone not familiar with BM would never know he's a liberal from the PB interview.

There were two men with the initials PB last night!😉 Pete Buttigieg and Preet Bharara!

Bill was just acting like a whiny toddler last night, refusing to listen to anyone regarding what was “revealed” from Mueller’s report. To the point where he CUT OFF PREET!🤬🤬

And, no, Andrew. I don’t think I need to embrace the racists and bigots of this world. What’s he and Sippy Cup smoking, that they think Democrats should woo and reach out to the people who are racists and bigots that make up that cult? And he’s one to talk about smug and arrogant, when those are two of the characteristics that describe him to a T. So he can just STFU about Rachel Maddow.

And Sippy can also STFU about Adam Schiff.

Bill did make up for it with New Ruies though.

I love Mayor Pete.

Preet Bharara is a ROCK STAR.

[izabella]

I was glad Bill at least pushed back on Andrew enough to say that, if we accept that Trump supporters voted because he was speaking to their economic anxiety, why are they still with him when his policies HURT them instead of helping.  We know the answer why, but Andrew, Cupp, and certainly the Rep from Michigan don't want to say it because it would be insulting to those voters.  Turning it around, those voters don't restrain themselves from chanting AOC sucks at Trump rallies but no one tells them to reach out and hug a liberal.  No one even asks them to think about what they're chanting, much less moderate their tone.

Edited March 30, 2019 by izabella

[walnutqueen]

2 hours ago, teebax said:

Pete held his own. 

Pete mopped the floor with Bill's face.  Bill is just too dumb and stubborn to realize it.

And, because I cannot say it enough times during the show: "Shut the fuck up, Maher".

[ProudMary]

What a waste of Preet Bharara! If I were sitting next to Preet, I'd be asking one legal question after another. Maher's got this brilliant, highly experienced former US Attorney and he barely lets him speak? Why bother to have guests at all if you're just going to push your own agenda, Bill? Jeez, Preet didn't even get to discuss his new book, which I'd think was the reason he agreed to appear in the first place.

The Pete Buttigieg interview wasn't much better. I thought Bill was downright condescending. I'm sick of the negative attitudes toward Millennials (and I'm a Baby Boomer), not just from Maher, but from many other sources too. From what I've seen so far, I like what Mayor Pete has to say, but we didn't really get much that was new from him because, as it often is, it's all about Bill. 🙄

I'd had high hopes for this episode. Instead it was a shitshow mainly featuring Sullivan and Cupp. And to top it off, I think I laughed only once and that was during New Rules. If the panel's not going to be interesting, I'm hoping at least for funny.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't think Bill came off well during the interview by bashing Millenials, implying that the issues trans students face aren't important, and mocking the #metoo movement. Pete held his own. 

God help me, Bill can't leave it alone with millennials being "snowflakes." But aside from that I thought the interview was pretty good and I appreciated the time spent with Mayor Pete. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning but I wish him well.

Aside from Bill's usual diatribe against college kids I thought he was especially effective tonight, mainly because everyone on the panel tried to defend Mueller and Barr and Bill was just not having it. That was some Grade A bullshit right there and Bill laid it on the line very succinctly how there was obvious collusion, and if the "law" says otherwise, the law needs to be changed. Agree 100%.

I'll give credit where it's due, SE Cupp said maybe the only rational thing I've ever heard her say, when she said we shouldn't have to coddle these voters who think America was better 50 years ago when women and people of color "knew their place." I'm so sick of pundits saying "we need to reach out to these people, we need to talk to these people." It's time to face the fact that some voters have to be written off as a lost cause, period.

Also, I think I know why Bill likes Cupp so much. Anyone else notice how many times the camera cut to her reaction shot when Bill said something funny? She's probably his favorite audience.

Elissa Slotkin was another one bending over backwards to defend Trump voters, and I get why but I'm so sick of hearing people say Trump was the only candidate talking about the issues voters care about. Hillary Clinton talked plenty about the issues. Whether you happened to hear her or not is another matter but as I recall she participated in not one, not two, but three nationally televised debates where she made her policies on issues clear. 

Unless, of course, you mean issues like building a wall to keep brown people from entering the country and stealing your jobs. If those are the kind of "issues" certain voters cared about then yeah, Trump was the only candidate talking about those issues.

I really liked Bill's closing monologue about socialism, and I think it's a great idea trying to sell it as a supplement to capitalism rather than a replacement. Because we already have elements of socialism in America like public schools and taxpayer funded fire departments. People need to be reminded of  that so "socialism" isn't some big scary thing to them. I'm positive socialism is going to be the boogyman Republicans will use to scare voters, so I hope the eventual Democratic nominee knows how to handle that.

[ganesh]

Way to derail what was shaping up to be a good interview. Maybe millennials are fed up. Yeah you get a lawyer. I get to say you're a reprehensible person. 

I don't really have a problem with Bill knocking faith though. Religion is far too pervasive in politics, as this week with the heartbeat law showed. I'd still vote for the guy. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by ganesh

[izabella]

1 minute ago, iMonrey said:

I really liked Bill's closing monologue about socialism, and I think it's a great idea trying to sell it as a supplement to capitalism rather than a replacement. Because we already have elements of socialism in America like public schools and taxpayer funded fire departments. People need to be reminded of  that so "socialism" isn't some big scary thing to them. I'm positive socialism is going to be the boogyman Republicans will use to scare voters, so I hope the eventual Democratic nominee knows how to handle that.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are "socialism" and I don't see anyone complaining about those programs except the GOP in Congress that wants to cut them and the POTUS who just issued a budget cutting those programs.  As Bill said, we are not talking about bread lines socialism, which, I wish he had reminded everyone, was due to shortages after WWII when Europe and Russia were decimated.

[Gigi43]

Pete's  interview was bad... for Maher. Jeez. Pete's  talking about bringing people together, alienation can lead to radicalism and  losing elections. Then there was Maher equating religion with unintelligent thinking, questioning if transgender going to the bathroom is really relevant, and blowing by Pete's "Millennials are the troops in Afghanistan " with his usual Safe Spaces gripes. Pete was awesome though. I didn't see his appearance on Fox News but I actually wonder who gave him more pushback Fox or Maher since Maher was the worst version of himself here.

Complete waste of Preet too.

[Eliot]

Quote

What’s he and Sippy Cup smoking, that they think Democrats should woo and reach out to the people who are racists and bigots that make up that cult?

In fairness to Cupp, I heard her say the exact opposite. She's the one who said, "Maybe the 'forgotten man' should just stay forgotten," and I thought that was an excellent point.

Poor Preet. I don't know if he knew what to expect, but he certainly didn't get much chance to chat about his book.

Edited March 30, 2019 by Eliot

[Pete Martell]

10 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Elissa Slotkin was another one bending over backwards to defend Trump voters, and I get why but I'm so sick of hearing people say Trump was the only candidate talking about the issues voters care about. Hillary Clinton talked plenty about the issues. Whether you happened to hear her or not is another matter but as I recall she participated in not one, not two, but three nationally televised debates where she made her policies on issues clear. 

I'm not even sure why she went on the show. She is in a very competitive Congressional district that she narrowly won in a good year. It's a bizarre choice for anyone in that position (in my opinion). If the idea was to appeal to Trump voters, I doubt most in her district are watching the show of a blathering lounge lizard who makes his disgust for most of them clear in the few times he does address them. 

[ganesh]

Honestly, the only thing to say is - release the report. Let congressional leadership see it unredacted. That's it. Everything else is hot air. 

And to be fair, last night I heard that the redaction processes being done with consulting Meuller. I think it is just good faith to do it as soon as possible and I don't think Barr gets that. 

I don't really buy "voters aren't asking me about this as an argument". Lots of people are misinformed and this is why we're here. 

Bill brought this up before, but Meuller was operating under the principle that the president can't be indicted. That's why he came to these specific conclusions. That's not a law. It's just a thing some people say. There isn't a court ruling. 

Edited March 30, 2019 by ganesh

[Pete Martell]

9 minutes ago, Gigi43 said:

Pete's  interview was bad... for Maher. Jeez. Pete's  talking about bringing people together, alienation can lead to radicalism and  losing elections. Then there was Maher equating religion with unintelligent thinking, questioning if transgender going to the bathroom is really relevant, and blowing by Pete's "Millennials are the troops in Afghanistan " with his usual Safe Spaces gripes. Pete was awesome though. I didn't see his appearance on Fox News but I actually wonder who gave him more pushback Fox or Maher since Maher was the worst version of himself here.

Complete waste of Preet too.

I think Bill knows most of that stuff is bullshit - it doesn't work in the real world, and even politicians who genuinely believe learn the hard way (Obama). I'm not surprised he wasn't going to go along. Bill just brought him on to glom onto someone who has gotten some positive publicity and because Pete seems to be happy to go on right wing news outlets. 

I'm not sure it really did him much good as I've already seen a few people on social media saying they're now less likely to support him, but really, appearing on this type of show is much more likely to be his future than President, so if that is his goal, mission accomplished. I just hope he knows Bill is likely to be less chummy once the hype train has died down. 

[GoldenGirl90]

To echo a few previous posters, I really like Pete Buttigieg. In every interview I’ve seen of him thus far, he comes off as genuine and seems to have a good head on his shoulders.

But when is Bill gonna lay off of us millennials? It’s getting old. We’re not all delicate snowflakes who need a safe space. If we’re being honest here, sometimes Bill comes off as a snowflake, but I digress...

S.E. whining about Adam Schiff sounds very similar to her bff whining on The View about the same thing... 

I did like Bill’s pushback on the panel about collusion. 

And I love Preet Bharara but we didn’t get enough of him on the show tonight. 

[ganesh]

48 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'll give credit where it's due, SE Cupp said maybe the only rational thing I've ever heard her say, when she said we shouldn't have to coddle these voters who think America was better 50 years ago when women and people of color "knew their place." I'm so sick of pundits saying "we need to reach out to these people, we need to talk to these people." It's time to face the fact that some voters have to be written off as a lost cause, period.

How many times have we said that here? I'm amazed Cupp said that. It's wrong to generalize people who voted for Trump, but it's highly likely if someone is a racist they voted for him. It's a documented fact that this element is society has been emboldened by him. So yeah, you can fuck off. I'm under no obligation to talk to you. 

For me, and I know this isn't fair, if you're voting against your own well being, that's not my problem either. I don't really give a shit if you don't like it while you're pumping your gas. Do better. 

The congress woman is flat out wrong. There was only one person talking about what's important in their lives? They voted their interests? No, not at all. People got conned by a con man. No one wants to be called out for doing something stupid. But you did. It's been two years. Grow the fuck up. 

[Victor the Crab]

And, with all that is going on right now, Bill brought up and slammed George Clooney's attempts to boycott hotels operated by the sultan of Brunei because the sultan wants to execute gay people in his country. Why? Why is this so far up his ass? Is he trying to impress Sullivan and Cupp on his panel? Does he even realize he's sounding more and more like a right wing whiner everyday? Like pretty much everything on last night's show, Bill looked his usual bad.

The word "socialism" has always been considered a four letter word used in America since most of its beginning. While people enjoy the benefits of socialism, from Social Security to driving on paved roads, for many, the word makes most people feel rather uneasy to becoming completely enraged. Opponents of socialism will continue to beat this drum - that socialism is bad - because its effects on the populace work, no matter how hard the likes of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez try and convince them otherwise. Just look at the Affordable Care Act. people love the ACA but hate Obamacare, even though they're both the same thing.

[ganesh]

I do have to give Bill credit for just not giving a fuck on the panel. More of that. 

He's absolutely right about Iowa. It's stupid. I would love for any candidate to just not even bother with Iowa. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

46 minutes ago, Eliot said:

In fairness to Cupp, I heard her say the exact opposite. She's the one who said, "Maybe the 'forgotten man' should just stay forgotten," and I thought that was an excellent point.

Poor Preet. I don't know if he knew what to expect, but he certainly didn't get much chance to chat about his book.

Right,  but she was on the train with Sullivan and Slotkin  that those who voted for Trump shouldn’t be thought of as bigots or racists. Then she said later about how we shouldn’t coddle those who wish it the the ‘50s would come back. And then that crack about Rep. Schiff.😒

[ganesh]

4 minutes ago, Victor the Crab said:

The word "socialism" has always been considered a four letter word used in America since most of its beginning. 

Never underestimate the ability of Democrats to shoot themselves in the foot. Rebrand the fucking concept. Like you said, ACA vs Obamacare. 

[ganesh]

I have no idea what in the ever living fuck they were talking about with the hotel. It's the point of the free society to boycott things. 

Well why not boycott oil? We can literally do that with nuclear power Bill. You going to finally grow up and support nuclear? 

[kicksave]

4 hours ago, teebax said:

He was impressive. I've just started hearing about this guy, but so far I really like him. It's nice to see a young guy who values intelligence running for president. I don't think Bill came off well during the interview by bashing Millenials, implying that the issues trans students face aren't important, and mocking the #metoo movement. Pete held his own. 

Bill was an asshole as usual...he is really becoming very rigid in his thinking...very old fartish. His obsession with millennials ALL being lazy, self absorbed and vapid is insulting and incorrect. What about the Parkland students who have mobilized thousands of people to fight for better gun laws? What about all the students in this country and overseas that walked out of school a couple of weeks ago to demand that real action be done for climate change ASAP? The millennials were crucial to the Democrats winning back the House...in my district, I saw first hand how many millennials were canvassing neighborhoods and working for Democrat candidates...it was amazing. His comment about trans kids was astounding...apparently Bill is too stoned most of the time to read the news. Trans kids and transgenders in general are the single most targeted group in this country for bullying and hate crimes...so yes, it is an issue that needs attention. And don't get me started with his #metoo obsession...college students are allowed to protest a professor's choice of defending someone who has been accused of raping and assaulting women. It's called free speech Bill. That's what college students do...they participate in policies and have disagreements and protest. And thank god they do or we would still be in Vietnam fighting and losing more American lives. Bill hates the #metoo movement...as a former regular visitor at the Playboy Mansion and a  dater of Playboy "bunnies", I'm hardly surprised at his abhorrence of women standing up to expose misogyny and sexual harassment.

And yes...he was very rude to Preet Bahrara. It was disgraceful. Mayor Pete handled Bill well despite Bill's sarcasm and condescension. 

[meowmommy]

8 minutes ago, Alexis2291 said:

But when is Bill gonna lay off of us millennials? It’s getting old. We’re not all delicate snowflakes who need a safe space. If we’re being honest here, sometimes Bill comes off as a snowflake, but I digress...

Probably the same day that millennials stop demonizing baby boomers as selfish, entitled geezers who stole Santa Claus.  I so much hate generalizing about generations, in any direction.

I just don't get why Bill put it on Mayor Pete to defend student protestors, just because Pete is a millennial.  And Bill needs to recognize that just because he is a militant atheist and thinks that those who aren't are idiots, said idiots still vote.  You try to win their support by recognizing and validating their beliefs as much as you can and still stay true to your own beliefs, not just writing them off to the other team.

"The pregnancy test was negative, but that doesn't make you a virgin" was a great line, and very apropos.

So Andrew Sullivan says that the Barr letter was right in that Mueller didn't make a decision to prosecute because it's Congress's job.  But then Congress has the information it needs to make its own decision deliberately withheld.  Yup, makes sense to me.

1 minute ago, Victor the Crab said:

The word "socialism" has always been considered a four letter word used in America since most of its beginning. While people enjoy the benefits of socialism, from Social Security to driving on paved roads, for many, the word makes most people feel rather uneasy to becoming completely enraged.

Socialism is government control of the means of production, which for the most part we do not have.  Social security and highway construction are government programs designed to promote desirable common societal goals, but they are not socialism.  The Democrats need to throw off this mantel of socialism, because it's a complete loser for them.  Most people are not sophisticated enough to differentiate between socialism and a social democracy.  They just hear "socialism" and pee their pants.

24 minutes ago, Alexis2291 said:

S.E. whining about Adam Schiff sounds very similar to her bff whining on The View about the same thing... 

She's so full of shit.  Neither she nor Adam Schiff has seen the actual report, so how can she complain that he said he doesn't believe the report?  Not to mention that he's held hearings behind closed doors and maybe he knows just a little bit more than SE Cupp???

And Sullivan can go pound sand, too.  It wasn't a full, open process.  Mueller wanted to interview 45 and the WH refused.  The panel was arguing about what Mueller decided, but we still don't really know what he decided because we haven't seen the report.

And WTF with Cupp saying we haven't given the Republicans a chance to present their healthcare plan.  They had seven years under Obama to plan it and two years under 45 to pass it, and they completely fucked it up.  The bottom line is they don't actually want a healthcare plan that isn't just adding to the bottom line of insurance company executives.  

I thought Bill had a good question for Preet as to why SDNY never went after 45 before, and thought Preet's answer was pretty equivocal.  It seemed like Bill was all alone in being indignant that 45 appears to have colluded in plain sight.  

1 hour ago, Eliot said:

In fairness to Cupp, I heard her say the exact opposite. She's the one who said, "Maybe the 'forgotten man' should just stay forgotten," and I thought that was an excellent point.

To which Bill immediately joked that she should apply for a job on MSNBC, which is fair neither to her current employer nor to MSNBC.  She was right; must be that time of day when the stopped clock is right.

Why is the Democratic congresswoman hearing her constituent saying that 45 is his hail mary but not immediately challenging his thought process?  Why isn't she helping him understand why that conclusion is complete bullshit?  Especially when she then says she realizes the Republicans lack empathy and her constituents want empathy?

Why would Andrew Sullivan be the only one who would care about the George Clooney story?  Just because he's gay?  And if George Clooney takes a stand against one aspect of homophobia, ie., the death penalty in Brunei for homosexuality, he's a bad person because hasn't taken on the whole world.  

Followed by a nasty gratuitous slap at Rachel Maddow, who had nothing to do with the discussion.

If I didn't know the Congresswoman was a Democrat, I'd have thought she was a Republican, FFS.  Except for Preet, who was basically just part of the panel rather than the mid-show guest, it was a conservative slopfest.

[Calamity Jane]

1 hour ago, Alexis2291 said:

But when is Bill gonna lay off of us millennials? It’s getting old. We’re not all delicate snowflakes who need a safe space. If we’re being honest here....

I'm a boomer, and talk of lazy millennials just makes me see red.  My daughter works five days a week at juvenile hall counseling and dealing with troubled/criminal kids, then works two overnight shifts at the county jail, placing inmates in the proper level of security, managing methed-up or mentally ill inmates, all of whose issues seem to become more acute at night, etc., etc., and still just making enough to get by where she lives after paying on student loans.   It's not uncommon in her age group.  Every generation seems to look back and think they worked harder than the current group of youngsters, it's just human nature, I guess, but it does chap my hide.   

[Pete Martell]

1 hour ago, Victor the Crab said:

And, with all that is going on right now, Bill brought up and slammed George Clooney's attempts to boycott hotels operated by the sultan of Brunei because the sultan wants to execute gay people in his country. Why? Why is this so far up his ass? Is he trying to impress Sullivan and Cupp on his panel? Does he even realize he's sounding more and more like a right wing whiner everyday? Like pretty much everything on last night's show, Bill looked his usual bad.

I'd guess it's down to how rich the rulers of Brunei are. Money matters a lot more to Bill Maher than the rest.

[Caseysgirl]

Bill was once considered kind of a hip, progressive thinking comic with interesting insights into politics. Now he’s just a curmudgeon who can’t inderstand that the world has changed since the days of the Playboy mansion. He never married or had children so he’s never really had to care about anyone but himself like many old bachelors who life has passed by. He’s too busy yelling, “Get off of my lawn!”

[ganesh]

I think being unmarried and child free is an unfair criticism here. I don't know anything about his personal life, but just watching the show when he had his friends on, it's clear he cares about them. 

[UYI]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

God help me, Bill can't leave it alone with millennials being "snowflakes." But aside from that I thought the interview was pretty good and I appreciated the time spent with Mayor Pete. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning but I wish him well.

Without getting too off-topic or too political, I'm...not so sure that's true. Obviously there's a lot of time left and we shouldn't assume anything, but his numbers are going up in the polls and he's clearly winning over more and more people each day. Things can change, of course, especially once debate season starts, but his star is only getting brighter, in my view.

But I'll leave it at that just to be safe and say that Pete handled Bill very well. 🙂 

Edited March 30, 2019 by UYI

[meowmommy]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

Without getting too off-topic or too political, I'm...not so sure that's true.

Also trying not to go too far off-topic, I remember when candidate Jimmy Carter had 3% name recognition.  Not 3% support--3% of people had ever heard of him (I was one of the 3%).  And that's pre-internet days.  Nowadays, the miracle of the interwebs and talk shows like Bill's can make a star out of almost anyone.  And tear them down just as fast, FWIW.

Oh, and I also thought it was an interesting question when Bill asked who's minding the store while Pete's out campaigning.  While saying it doesn't matter if the senators who are running aren't in Washington, because they don't do anything of value anyway.  Imagine the day when senators and representatives don't have to be physically in the Capitol to conduct business or vote.  I think it's coming.

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I don't know anything about his personal life, but just watching the show when he had his friends on, it's clear he cares about them. 

He might care about his friends' kids, mostly because he cares about his friends, but as an abstract concept, kids for him seem to come from another galaxy that he'd prefer not to know about.  

Edited March 30, 2019 by meowmommy

[littlecatsfeet]

I'm impressed by Mayor Pete and look forward to an actual interview where the interviewer is not interrupting every 30 seconds and/or being borderline hostile. And remember, there was a time where Barack Obama (also considered an unusual name) was considered a longshot, and a failed businessman/game show host was considered just a joke candidate. Well, he's still a joke, but...

Also, I desperately want a puking kitty gravy boat. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

But when is Bill gonna lay off of us millennials? It’s getting old. We’re not all delicate snowflakes who need a safe space. If we’re being honest here, sometimes Bill comes off as a snowflake, but I digress...

Would Mayor Pete even be considered a millennial? He was born in 1982. 

And you're right about Bill. He's the one who can't get past this whole Berkley incident, so who's the snowflake now? 

Quote

And remember, there was a time where Barack Obama (also considered an unusual name) was considered a longshot, and a failed businessman/game show host was considered just a joke candidate. 

I'm the one who said he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell but then again, I literally bet money this country would never elect Barack Obama in 2008 so look how that turned out!

[sistermagpie]

23 hours ago, ganesh said:

The congress woman is flat out wrong. There was only one person talking about what's important in their lives? They voted their interests? No, not at all. People got conned by a con man. No one wants to be called out for doing something stupid. But you did. It's been two years. Grow the fuck up. 

Yes, what was up with that? Was she trying to be nice to those constituents by pretending to buy their reasoning? Of course HRC was talking about it. She had actual ideas that might create jobs. Trump was just saying what they wanted to hear, that when he was president he would snap his fingers, make all those immigrants disappear and it would be 1958 again and they'd be on top.

22 hours ago, meowmommy said:

And WTF with Cupp saying we haven't given the Republicans a chance to present their healthcare plan.  They had seven years under Obama to plan it and two years under 45 to pass it, and they completely fucked it up.  The bottom line is they don't actually want a healthcare plan that isn't just adding to the bottom line of insurance company executives.  

Nobody should ever let them get away with that. It reminded me of what I was talking about above how she claimed it was great for anyone to say the system was terrible. No, it's not great when what the person means is that they should make it worse or that they're just saying that to get you to vote for them and don't actually care.

They have revealed their health care plan. It's the same one that other Congressman described years ago. The plan is: Don't get sick. And if you do get sick, die fast.

That's it.

22 hours ago, Calamity Jane said:

I'm a boomer, and talk of lazy millennials just makes me see red.  My daughter works five days a week at juvenile hall counseling and dealing with troubled/criminal kids, then works two overnight shifts at the county jail, placing inmates in the proper level of security, managing methed-up or mentally ill inmates, all of whose issues seem to become more acute at night, etc., etc., and still just making enough to get by where she lives after paying on student loans.   It's not uncommon in her age group.  Every generation seems to look back and think they worked harder than the current group of youngsters, it's just human nature, I guess, but it does chap my hide.   

Not to mention, as Mayor Pete said, who does Bill think is fighting all these wars?

[meowmommy]

1 minute ago, sistermagpie said:

Not to mention, as Mayor Pete said, who does Bill think is fighting all these wars?

It's millennials, and before that it was Gen Xers, and before that it was Baby Boomers, so for that and a thousand other reasons, it's really time for the inter-generational sniping (yes, chose that word on purpose) to stop.

[scrb]

I'd like to think America wouldn't reject Mayor Pete because he's gay but I'm doubtful that's the case.

Tough thing for him is that he comes from a pretty red state.  He says in OT that Obama won IN so you never know.  But unless that happens, Pete at the tender age of 37 has pretty much hit his political ceiling because it doesn't seem likely he could win a Senate or Governor race in his state, similar to what Jason Kander and Beto O'Rourke are facing, though TX has more of a chance to turn purple than IN or MO.

Otherwise, he could try to become a Veep or take a cabinet position in a Democratic administration as a way to break the chains of a red state.

As for the Republican health plan, they tried various ideas in 2017, none of which would offer as many protections as the ACA.  The CBO predicted that they would ALL cause 25 million or more to lose coverage.  They polled HORRIBLY.  But the Republicans still pressed on voting for them.  Some of them said the donors told them to vote to repeal the ACA or NEVER call them again.  

Dean Heller, who was going to have to fight to keep his seat in 2018, initially was against the various repeal bills from the Republicans in 2017.  Then Steve Wynn called him and made him toe the line and Heller from then on voted to repeal.  He lost his seat anyways.

So they were doing the biddings or a handful or two billionaire donors.  They didn't care about the constituents.  Remember all those town halls and angry people confronting them in 2017?  They started ducking town halls.  But in spite of all that, they voted to repeal and support these shitty GOP plans.  One of them, from Graham, Cassidy, which is the one McCain rejected, was touted this morning by that piece of shit Mick Mulvaney, who's the one who argued to have the DOJ take the position that the whole ACA is unconstitutional.

[ganesh]

Nothing against Pete and if he doesn't win I hope he moves the national conversation to be more civil, but a mayor hasn't been a nominee ever, so it's a steep hill. 

[Eliot]

20 hours ago, ganesh said:

I think being unmarried and child free is an unfair criticism here. I don't know anything about his personal life, but just watching the show when he had his friends on, it's clear he cares about them. 

Yeah, as someone who is also unmarried and child free but considers herself a caring person, I found that very offensive.

Uhhh....topic? I, too, want a puking kitty gravy boat.

[The Mighty Peanut]

Bill is a snowflake. He wants a safe space where he can not only be shitty about everything he wants to be shitty about without facing any real blowback, but to be congratulated for his bravery. Lately he's switched gears from Islam to millennials.

Also I'm 39, born in '79, I always thought I was gen Y but lately I've been told I'm a xennial or very early millennial...personally I see myself as the last generation to grow up without shooter drills...what I wanna know is when I turn 40 in June will I be considered a real adult by Bill? To treat a 37-year-old man like he was an exceptionally mature child was gross.

[Guest]

Reminder: Stick to the topics as discussed on the show and don't use them as jumping off points to larger historical (and political) discussions.

[littlecatsfeet]

1 hour ago, scrb said:

Tough thing for him is that he comes from a pretty red state.  He says in OT that Obama won IN so you never know.  But unless that happens, Pete at the tender age of 37 has pretty much hit his political ceiling because it doesn't seem likely he could win a Senate or Governor race in his state, similar to what Jason Kander and Beto O'Rourke are facing, though TX has more of a chance to turn purple than IN or MO.

That may turn out to be a plus, since Presidential candidates usually carry their home state. The ones who didn't (Bush I, Bush II, Nixon, Trump, etc) were all by and large Republican. In fact, the last Democrat not to carry his home state was Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Bill Clinton carried Arkansas, a red state. Not saying it's a 100% certainty Buttigieg could do it, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. The advantage of him being a mayor as opposed to a congressperson is that he escapes the "but he took money from such-and-so lobbying group" and "he voted that one way that one time" criticism. I will agree it's still a long shot, but ya never know.

A google search tells me that 'millennials' were born in the years spanning 1981-1996, which makes most college students too young for that designation, but I'm sure Bill is lumping them all together anyway.  Similar to how he gets his panties in a twist when the audience doesn't find one of his jokes funny, it's the audience's fault for being "too politically correct" or "not sophisticated enough". Damn, Bill, sometimes a joke bombs because it's not especially funny. Get over it. 

[DangerousMinds]

5 hours ago, Eliot said:

Yeah, as someone who is also unmarried and child free but considers herself a caring person, I found that very offensive.

Uhhh....topic? I, too, want a puking kitty gravy boat.

Ditto for this unmarried and child free person.