Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s “Real Time” show, told CNN in a recent interview that he doesn’t get conservatives who on one hand say they hate socialism but on the other hand accept entitlements such as Social Security and Medicaid.
The nation’s “every man for himself” attitude should be replaced by the “quasi-socialism” of other modern societies, he suggested, as Mediaite reported.
“[Socialism is] not a dirty word, but in America, when you say ’socialist,’ most people, they don’t know what it means, but they know it’s something super bad, like pedophilia or atheism or something like that. Meanwhile, they do nothing but take money from the government.”
Mr. Maher said conservatives are “such hypocrites” for taking Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security at the same time touting that they “hate socialism,” Mediaite reported.
If only Americans were better informed, then this hypocritical political atmosphere could be overcome, he suggested. But Fox News puts the kibosh on that, he said.
Americans are “very easily fooled” and “horribly misinformed,” and those who watch Fox News “live in a bubble I can’t even describe to you — facts never get in,” he said in the Mediaite report.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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