Watch Matt Welch Talk About Marijuana as a 2016 Wedge Issue on Real Time with Bill Maher Overtime

Last night I appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, along with former labor secretary Robert Reich, personal finance commentator Monica Mehta, neuro-pharmacologist Carl Hart, and actor/activist Tim Robbins. The following is the "overtime" section we taped for the Internet just afterward:

Ep. 295 September 27, 2013 - Overtime

Comments

[RightNut]

I find it fascinating that liberals like Maher understand profit motive vis-?-vis private prisons but not in anything else.

[Paul.]

Huh?

[RightNut]

I find it fascinating that liberals like Maher understand profit motive vis-?-vis private prisons but not in anything else.

[Paul.]

Oh now I get ya. Word.

[Lady Bertrum]

Bill Maher pushes every wrong button I have. Uncharacteristically, as a petite SAHM with no criminal or violent history, I see his face and dream of the opportunity to smash it in with my fist and then kick him in the nuts. Is that wrong?

[Death Rock and Skull]

Maher's face itself makes him look like a sniveling prick. And the thin tie, I can't stand those either.

[brokencycle]

Thin ties are cool. Get with the program.

I don't know why I watch these clips. They're rarely entertaining, and it is typically a few minute stateist circlejerk.

At least the one posted awhile ago with Nick, he actually stood up and called them on all the bullshit.

[Killazontherun]

The irony here is Matt is the more hard core libertarian, but Nick has the more aggressive attitude to oppose their dipshittery when the stench of bullshit gets overly ripe. I tried to talk him into knocking back some liquor before going on air. Does he ever listen to me?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Matt had a very successful appearance.

Usually the right-wing dipshit comes across as a full-blown idiot on Real Time.

In this case Matt did not let himself become the conservative foil and stuck to his LP safe ground.

[Paul.]

Thin ties are cool. Get with the program.

In 1984 they were cool.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yet you no doubt loved Jerry Falwell (R) - may Allah let him rest in peace.

If Bill Maher, who is right on so many issues, pushes all your buttons and you despise him, maybe 'Free Republic' is where you belong.

[Juice]

Damn, you're a tool.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Seriously, if the pro-freedom Bill Maher is someone you hate while you are licking the balls of the goddamn Fundies we know this - you are NOT a libertarian.

[Cytotoxic]

Pro freedom Maher hates freedom.

[DesigNate]

Maher is not pro-freedom, he's pro not getting in trouble for things he likes to do. If hookers and blow were made legal tomorrow he would suddenly lose interest in them (like the petulant teenager he is) and move on to doing something else that was illegal so that he could appear "cool".

[Paul.]

Bill Maher is right on the drug war, but for all the wrong reasons.

He has a visceral hatred of republicans. Fine... why? He can't articulate it because he agrees with so many mainstream republicans on so many issues. He seems to no like actual small-government republicans. All... three of them.

[CatoTheElder]

He's only right on the drug war because he likes drugs. If he didn't like drugs, he'd be right there with Bill O'Reilly and Barack O'bama.

[Corning]

Bill Maher is right on the drug war, but for all the wrong reasons.

The pro-ending-the-drug-war-author had to correct Maher about three times when Maher was describing his work on this very episode.

[Lady Bertrum]

Right. Because that's a straight logical line from disliking Maher to loving Falwell.

And I'm sure you're a much more pure libertarian than I, so much so you feel you can direct my online time.

You're a douche bag. Suck it.

[DesigNate]

You forgot to call her a Christfag you miserable piece of shit.

[CatoTheElder]

There is nothing virtuous in your fantasy; it only indicates that you are a sentient human being.

[Spiny Norman]

Tim Robbins sure looks a lot older than he did during his star turn in Howard the Duck.

[Killazontherun]

The only thing I remember about that movie was a cute chick with a nice ass bent over in panties. Was it Lea Thompson? I certainly don't recall Robbins being in it.

[Rock Action]

It was.

[Corning]

At the end of the show Maher claims California is a utopia.

[Paul.]

For a progressive, it is.

[CatoTheElder]

California has been going to have 10% zero-emissions vehicles in ten years since 1990, when CARB issued its first ZEV mandate.

The state has a demonstrated record of failure in this regard. Despite the 1990 mandate, electric cars account for only 0.4% of vehicle sales in CA.

[Juice]

Jesus, Matt Welch. Was it really embarrassing when you couldn't answer such an easily answerable question about Obamacare? And I wish I could say that you did well otherwise, but you didn't. You let Maher make you look kinda clueless, especially sitting next to the bubblehead in blue who sounded like a complete moron every time she opened her mouth. You didn't do yourself any favors during this appearance. You got across no good points and you let Reich get away with his bullshit Marxist preaching. Just in case you felt like you maybe did a poor job I'd just like to confirm it for you. That sucked.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Maybe Matt did not go there with the intention of attacking Maher.

As I said upthread, it the LP nuzzles the nuts of the Fundie idiots (like Jerry Falwell) then all hope for the party is lost.

[Paul.]

1982 called, they want their political points back.

[Cytotoxic]

As I said upthread, it the LP nuzzles the nuts of the Fundie idiots (like Jerry Falwell) then all hope for the party is lost.

Was this sentence designed to be as irrelevant and pointless as possible? WTF are you talking about?

[Corning]

bubblehead in blue who sounded like a complete moron

On the actual show she did try to defend small businesses from crushing government overreach that Reich was proposing.

[Curtisls87]

I was going to bust on Matt for being silent during the IPCC discussion, but I think he realized he had no chance of changing anyone's mind in that group of individuals, and so, just stuck to his core issue regarding MJ. I mean, just because the IPCC data models don't follow the actual data doesn't mean these tools will think objectively.

[DesigNate]

Never mind the fact that the data shows basically a rounding error of .01C per year over the last 60 years.

But yeah, those chuckleheads wouldn't change their mind if the Flying Spaghetti Monster himself flew into the studio and told them climate change was fake.

[Homple]

I wouldn't go to a catered orgy if you had to watch 5 minutes of Maher as a requirement for admission, let alone see Welch chat with him.

[Cyto]

Wow.... that audience was stuffed with fanboys. Reich says "joint issue" and they howl with laughter. Ha-ha.. he's so smart!!

[Plopper]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't watch this. It literally is making me nauseous listening to that Reich dipshit and Maher.

[Warty]

Nauseated. Bill Maher is nauseous. YOU IDIOT.

[Francisco d Anconia]

test