Bill Maher Discusses the Republicans Casual Relationship with the Truth

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:08 pm

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Bill Maher was on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show tonight and in response to the new polling that showed that Republicans believe the misinformation campaign about health care reform, Maher pointed out that Republicans tend to have a casual relationship with the truth. He believes that Republicans are guided more by feeling and less by facts.

Here is the video:

Maher said, “Well, you know, you’re right that Republicans have a more casual relationship with the truth. I have always believed that. I don’t think they care as much about what is really true. It is more about what the feeling is, what the spirit of the truth is. Reagan used to tell a bunch of whoppers. You know ketchup was a vegetable. Trees cause pollution, and anecdotal stuff about welfare queens and the Cadillacs, ball games he saw that he never really saw. They didn’t care. It was the big idea behind it. You know the big idea behind it, so I am not surprised at that.”

Maher made the point that for Republicans, it is all about feelings, “It is all about feeling with those people, which is ironic because they accuse liberals of being naïve and not steely eyed, but really they are the ones who don’t really care about what the actual truth is. Like the torture debate, they were all about those naïve liberals. we know what the real truth is because we watch 24. You know we have the real truth.”

He also pointed out that feelings are stronger than facts, and he suggested that the Republican outrage isn’t about health care, but it is a continuation of this feeling that they want their country back. This health care debate has proven a point that I have continually risen over the years that most Republicans are cowards who are guided by fear. The GOP doesn’t utilize facts much because they don’t motivate the base, which has been conditioned to respond to scare tactics.

The best strategy that Democrats could pursue on health care would be one that would keep members of their own party and Independents inoculated from the wave of terror that has gripped the Republicans. I agree with Maher. Their protests really aren’t about health care. They are still pouting because they lost the election, and they have convinced themselves that stopping health care reform will stop Obama.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association