Bill Maher ridiculed red state voters in a segment about Amazon’s HQ2 locations, saying that the rich and educated people of America live in blue states.
“That’s why red state voters are so pissed off. They don’t hate us, they want to be us,” the Real Time host said on Friday night. “They want to go the party. It’s like we’re the British royal family and they’re Meghan Markle’s dad.”
Maher quoted Hillary Clinton, who has said that during the 2016 election she won the “places that represent two-thirds of America’s gross domestic product.” Clinton has also boasted that she won over voters in areas that are “optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward.”
“Maybe that has something to do with why Trump voters are obsessed with ‘owning the libs.’ Because the libs own everything else,” Maher quipped. “The blue parts of America are having a big prosperity party while that big sea of red feels like their invitation got lost in the mail.”
The HBO host continued to pile on the insult for red state residents, saying that there are “no red carpets in Wyoming” and no one asks them what they’re wearing because “the answer is always Target.” “We have chef Wolfgang Puck, they have Chef Boyardee,” he said. “Our roofs have solar panels, theirs have last year’s Christmas lights.”
Maher said he knows red state voters are jealous of blue states because of the fact that more than 230 cities and regions across the country submitted proposals to Amazon to house a headquarter location in their area. He went on to say those cities were “all desperate for jobs that don’t involve guarding prisons or murdering chickens.”
Maher then went on to slam Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for choosing the two cities that don’t need the benefits of housing a headquarter location: New York and northern Virginia. The company has since pulled out of it’s deal with New York after facing backlash from local politicians and residents.
“Bezos, you’re worth $130 billion. Take one for the team! Stop playing cities off against one another and help a dying one come back to life,” Maher exclaimed. He then joked that Amazon could buy the state of Mississippi and rename it “Amazippi.”
“If we keep leaving the red states behind, they’re going to keep getting angrier and crazier, because if you’re not invited to the party, the next best thing is to throw a turd in the punch bowl,” Maher continued.Well, which is it, jackass? Is NYC "having a prosperity party," the envy of every slackjawed yokel slouching around Jesusland in his filthy, tattered overalls? Or is it a "dying" city that needs all the help from Corporate America (spit!) it can possibly tax-break-bribe its way into?
The jackass Maher, though, is due a half-hearted thanks from us. The nasty little soupçon of insults, condescension, and vicious, hateful contempt he hurled in the Common Man's teeth—the very people, remember, that the socialist Left claims to be so very concerned about and so desperately wishes to save from the horrors of capitalism and liberty—is about as useful an example of what our would-be masters really think of us as can be imagined. Not that we didn't know that already, natch.
He had some funny lines in it, but you know what it did? It unveiled a lot of the thinking about people who are among the elite who think they are in the elite. And it revealed a lot about the way that they think. And at the top of the list, they really do consider themselves elitists. It’s unusual for this to be admitted to because most elites try to tamp that down. They try to blur that line. They don’t like being called elites because that’s a minority of people. Therefore it’s not a majority of thought, not a majority of behavior, it’s not a majority of belief and that’s because they’re elites.
And I don’t know that the jokes and the making fun of red-state voters and conservatives and Republicans was all there, but the end result was that the guy ended up confirming the idea that there are a whole lot of people out there who, just because they’re liberal, think they are much better than all the rest of us and much smarter than all the rest of us and that they do talk down to us and that we’re not offended by it, we’re jealous. We want in. We want to be in that big clique. It’s almost like high school never ended. They remain the cool kids, and we’re not.
In the process this was all admitted to, that this view of the country and the vast majority of its people are a bunch of hayseeds. Now, you say, “Well, Rush, that’s not news. We already know.” Yeah, but what’s news is they’re finally actually admitting it now.Precisely so. The masks are finally, fully off, as I've said before. And it's Trump that has driven them far enough around the bend as to make maintaining their phony facade of "compassion," "concern," and "tolerance" unbearable for them to maintain any longer.
The really funny thing here is, I doubt you could find much more than a small handful of Jesusland inhabitants who really regard any of the urban perks Maher mentions as signposts of a live well lived. See, Bill, they don't care a whole hell of a lot about Wolfgang Puck, designer clothing, red carpets, and such. More snide, supercilious douchebaggery from Limbaugh's transcript:
MAHER: They turn on the TV and all the shows take place in a few hip cities. There’s no Real Housewives of Toledo or —
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
MAHER: — CSI: Lubbock.
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
MAHER: There are no red carpets in Wyoming, and no one ever asks you, “Who are you wearing?” because the answer is always “Target.”
MAHER: There are two Americas, and it seems like one is where all the cool jobs are, where people drive Teslas and eat artisanal ice cream. We have orchestras and theater districts and world-class shopping. We have Chef Wolfgang Puck; they have Chef Boyardee.
AUDIENCE: (laughing)
MAHER: The flyover states have become the passed-over states. That’s why red state voters are so pissed off. They don’t hate us. They want to be us! They want to go to the party.Umm, well...no. I know it bolsters your narcissism to tell yourself otherwise and all, but...no.
See, Bill, here's the thing: most of those flyover clods you so arrogantly derogate don't have much interest in Teslas and artisanal ice cream. Even if they did, it's not as if those things aren't readily available in flyover country too, or within easy driving distance at least. Things have changed quite a bit in the heartland since you last flew over it, dumbass; even smaller cities have such things as hot yoga clinics, spas, nail salons, and even restaurants that serve food more exotic than a heapin' helpin' of fried meat and starches smothered in melted cheese.
Know what we DON'T have all that much of out here, though? Desperately lonely single women haunting those art galleries and theaters hoping in vain to meet someone, anyone, who might be willing to partner up and rescue them from retiring to a cramped, preposterously expensive apartment or condo filled with ten or fifteen cats. See, what people out here have are families: wives, husbands, and children they adore and are devoted to. I know how rare that is myself, having spent five years in NYC; you're more likely to hear bagpipes on the street than you are the sound of a bunch of kids laughing and romping around at play. The kids' moms and dads wouldn't trade you a million and one Teslas or gallery openings for the richness of their family life.
Moreover, you make the mistake of assuming that not a living soul out here in Real America has ever traveled to decaying, crime-ridden, urban nightmares like San Francisco, LA, NYC, or Chicago. Hate to bust any bubbles and all, but—they have. Way more of them than you might think, too. A fair number of them maybe even liked it, and plan to come back again. But not one of them would even dream of moving there. I brought a few friends of mine to New York back when I lived there myself, those I could actually persuade to come visit. They all had fun...and they all couldn't wait to go back home, and said so. The general consensus was always: It's all right, yeah, but how in the world do you STAND it?
The grime, the dilapidation, the crumbling infrastructure, the overcrowding and lack of personal space, the noise, the inconvenience, the expense—don't kid yourself Bill, people accustomed to spacious rooms in their own homes; private, well-groomed lawns; peace, quiet, and tranquility; polite, considerate neighbors; and their own personal transportation parked safely in a garage or driveway envy NONE of those things. Throw in a happy family life, the dearth of filthy, insane, possibly violent crackheads aggressively thrusting themselves well within smelling range to demand alms, a safe and healthy environment for the kids to grow in, and there ain't enough money in the world to induce these people to relocate.
"Envy" you, Bill? Not on your life. Now admittedly we're pissed off at you, for sure. But that's only because you caged urban rats absolutely refuse to do the one and only thing we really, really want from you: leave us alone. Stop nagging us, stop telling us how bad we suck, stop psychoanalyzing us, and above all else: stop trying to tell us how we must live our lives via your authoritarian Left-wing politics. We're fine with our shallow, dismal, plodding, unenlightened existence. We mightily wish you were fulfilled and content enough with yours to lay off lecturing us every chance you get, through your trashy, degrading movies and TV shows as well as other ways.
Go play your pseudo-intellectual, artsy-fartsy, isolated-in-a-crowd, misunderstood-genius schtick on each other to your heart's content. Pat yourselves on the back for your innate superiority, even. Applaud each other's brilliance like trained seals until your hands are bruised and bleeding from it; trust me, we won't care. Just do us one small favor and try to tear your attention away from our boring, benighted land at least occasionally, willya? In return, we promise not to leave any turds in your punchbowls. Not even to put it in a gallery and call it "art," we won't.
13 comments:
Why in the hell are these states with red carpets and Wolfgang Puck losing population at an unprecedented rate? And worse, they're moving to states like CO, which I left 4 years ago after living there 40 years because the REgressives in Denver & Boulder Counties run the damn place. Even in my fairly isolated mountain town of Canon City, their policies had negative social & economic effects.
Or to Texas where I live now? Same damn deal too. Over 10,000 people a month are moving into DFW alone. I know our politicians tout the business friendly environment but I worked in Ft Worth last year for 3 months and a lot of those people moving here are bringing their idiocy with them.
When empty suited morons like Beto give a semi solid conservative a run for his money, the writing is on the wall.
As for their glittering and sophisticated urban meccas, I haven't been back to Chicago since Mom passed in 96 or to San Fran since the early 70s when overt & in public homosexual sex acts were just too damn gross or to NYC for over 25 years, man what a clusterfuck, how DO you stand it?
Another funny thing is how they believe were this country to separate along ideological lines it would the the parts of the country with Whole Foods, symphony orchestras(man I do miss Boettcher) getting pizza at 3am and Micrcosft, Amazon & Google would fair better.
No CSI Lubbock? Thank goodness.
MMinLamesa: Some are leaving Blue states because of taxes and regulation. Unfortunately, some are missionaries and are deliberately moving to colonize Red states... to turn it Blue.
I grew up in as cosmopolitan and liberal a place as is possible: Cambridge Massachusetts. Any thought to the Right of Stalin literally didn't exist there. I've been to NYC three times; once was enough. The third time, bringing my wife and visiting sister-in-law, I grumbled "If I owned NYC and Hell, I'd rent NYC out and live in Hell".
I'll take the local diner over Wolfgang Puck. I'll take quiet streets and knowing my neighbors over the hustle-and-bustle of city life. But that's the thing: they're SO ARROGANT they can't conceive people might not prioritize what they do.
Here's hoping the Greek adage holds: Those whom the gods would destroy they first make proud.
Mike good to see your words again.
I was recently in Austin. It is turning blue at a rapid rate. If you see people comment about loosing Texas it won't be to long. The thing I look forward to is the dirt people finally throwing the monkey wrench in the works. Transportation and distribution, when maher can't get what he wants it will be the cherry on top.
The liberal view of the United States is fiction. In spite of what they believe, hope they can accomplish, or foolishly attempt, the majority of those that produce are armed, determined, and ready.
The liberal ideology has led to a minority that is vocal, weak, and badly outnumbered. They've pushed too hard, and will eventually find out the weaklings that they produce are not only their biggest problem, they're easily led to follow the stronger side.
Very well said, Mr. Hendricks.
Tim Turner
Mahar is a SMUG jackass. Does anyone know someone who could (and WOULD) take him on a snipe hunt?
Big cities have large unmanageable problems that will never be solved. Its a combination of culture, worldview, groupthink, and depravity. People never know their neighbors, so all sorts of depravity thrives. Drug use, queers, deviancy, mindless random violence, racial hatred, crime. No small town exhibits these problems to anywhere near what you see in a city, people understand and deal with the problem.
In cities how can you deal with a problem if you don't know your neighbor? Small towns do not support slackers, the lazy, the Bernie Saunders. Big cities create and nurture them. The people who created the museums are not the people that live in cities today, in fact the wealthy seldom live in big cities. They do not wish to mix with the serfs. They live in tiny, heavily guarded enclaves outside of the cities.
Maher is a dangerous idiot. In a better culture he wouldn't be fit to care for latrines.
@Obama's Boyfriend
I remember my first job out of college. I moved into my apartment and, once starting to get settled, went around to the people around me to try to introduce myself.
ONE person responded positively.
Bill Maher is no more of a member of the "Socialist Left" or the "Left" or a socialist (except when corporatists get the benefits) than Hilary Clinton is, he's part of the Democratic Party Establishment. The Left and the Bernie Sanders supporters are just as enraged about Maher and his ilk as you are. People by and large would be better off if they'd just mind their own business and stopped bullyragging each other. And the only way to get rid of the Beltway Elites who are screwing up this country is to *somehow* find common cause with others, even if they're LGBT or "socialist" or "anti-capitalist" or whatever, people need to find out what others mean when they use those terms.
"He shoots.... He SCORES! ... NOTHING BUT NET!!"
@streamfortyseven
That's all well and good, but the Barnie and his supporters on the Left love nothing more than telling everyone else what to do and how to live. Have you ever heard Bernie speak?? No, the philosophies and ideologies of the Left are inherently ones of hectoring, bullying, and scolding. There is no middle ground with the Left because every single one of their policy positions reach into my wallet.
You think there's common ground to be found with a socialist? You think a socialist and an anti-capitalist are markedly different? You think we give a damn if someone is LGBT or not? Only when they demand we alter our pronouns upon penalty of financially ruinous fines (See NY civil code).
We know all too well what people mean when they say they're socialist or anti-capitalist. It's the tolerance of these people who despise a free society that is leading to its ruin.
Came over from Ace... Well said, many kudos for the thoughts
Excellent piece!
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