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According to his longtime publicist Sarah Fuller, this happened tonight at the end of Bill Maher’s comedy special CrazyStupidPolitics: Live from Silicon Valley which streamed live on Yahoo. Maher brought out a check and pledged a personal donation of $1 million dollars to Obama’s SuperPAC, Priorities USA Action. According to Fuller, he explained that having a country governed by Barack Obama rather than any of the Republican candidates is “worth a million dollars” and said “this is the wisest investment I think I could make.” He also encouraged other wealthy liberals like himself to do 
the same. Maher’s pledge comes at a time when Hollywood financial support for President Obama’s re-election has been ebbing rather than flowing.
Maher’s longrunning HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher, is currently in its 10th season. Though his liberal views are well known, Maher tried to present panel guests of many political persuasions to voice a spectrum of views. In his nearly 20 years hosting political talk shows, Maher has earned 27 Emmy nominations but has never won in what is the longest such losing streak on record. Maher also has written 5 political bestsellers. He also performs at least 50 dates a year in Las Vegas and in sold-out theaters all across the country. So I guess this all means that Maher intends to make good on his political donation pledge. What this does to his ratings will be another story. But then HBO doesn’t depend on advertising.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Dumb ass
Yeah, he’s written books, went to an Ivy League school, etc. Total dumb ass.
Mahr is genius. I wish I had a son like him.
If I knew being Obama’s butt-boy paid so well, I would have become a government conformist Democrat a long time ago.
I’m still waiting for liberal billionaires Warren Buffet, Steven Spielberg and Oprah (for starters) to give 75% of their WEALTH to their beloved government. Write the check already. Talk (and blaming Republicans)is cheap.
Proof that a fool and his money are soon parted.
Why is it foolish? Because Obama is going to win regardless? Because only Republican billionaires should be allowed to donate lol?
So, you obviously think the conservative millionaires are quite smart to continue to hoarde their wealth, made on the backs of middle & lower class citizens; as well as demand more tax breaks & loopholes. It seems to me that you’re just as stupid, to believe that it’s the right thing to do, regardless who get stepped on in the process.
Those middle and lower class people wouldn’t have jobs if it weren’t for the person with enough brains, capital, drive and courage to start and run a business in the first place. The tax code is riddled with special provisions for both sides of the aisle. I’m with you on that. We should have radically lower tax rates, a broader base paying them and very few, if any, loopholes.
There’s plenty of hypocrisy on the left too, especially in Hollywood where liberals claim to love welfare programs, but then hire fancy business managers to shield them from the tax code. At least the conservatives are honest about their disdain for how their taxes are spent.
There are plenty of quiet conservatives in Hollywood, so watch what you say. LA isn’t always the bastion of blue you think it is.
“Those middle and lower class people wouldn’t have jobs if it weren’t for the person with enough brains, capital, drive and courage to start and run a business in the first place. ”
This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. The large majority of people who start businesses can barely keep their heads above water. Most of them are too busy trying to make ends meet to be too concerned about politics.
The people who run businesses…I don’t have great faith in them, either. Most of the large companies, Hollywood included, run on inertia.
Most independent filmmakers work morning, noon, and night on passion projects that barely make any money. They don’t need huge tax breaks…they just need people to give them a chance.
I comment him on putting his money to a definitely a worthy cause. To often most people don’t realize that it is those wealthy people who control most of the media listings advertising. Don’t watch television read the facts. You will see the true America. If I had a billion I would donate, but at this moment all I can is donate at least 500.00 of my hard earn money. It is the best investment I have ever made. The Bush policies has already cost me 2,300.00 from my 401K investment.
It’s probably your illiteracy that has cost you, not Bush.
HYSTERICAL, and probably true.
A member of the 1% makes his preferences clear!
either bill doesnt have a brain in his head or the check is sure to bounce.
speaking of, I remember back when Maher was on a short-lived sitcom in which his primary role was to gay-bait Bronson Pinchot’s chracter, and Maher did it with relish…
What’s your point? He’s a good actor? He liked acting? I don’t get it.
lol that you can’t figure out what is wrong with that
“WHAT, DID HIS CHECK NOT CLEAR? I DON’T GET THE PROBLEM HERE!?!”
Oh, I just reread your post:
“I remember back when Maher was on a short-lived sitcom in which his primary role was to gay-bait Bronson Pinchot’s chracter, and Maher did it with relish…”
And now I get it. You’re a homophobe. Good luck with that. And good luck living in the 21st Century with your backwoods, Leave It To Beaver mentality.
You play the role of a homophobic moron with relish.
I wish all the rich liberals would put their money where their mouth is and just keep $50k per year like most Americans and give the rest away. Instead they hoard their money or spend it on nonsense and jus lecture the rest of America on how WE should spend out own money and be taxed more. Why does liberal Bill need millions of dollars. Why hasn’t he given it to people who need it?
When did Maher (or anybody else) tell you (as if you’re loaded, random internet person) how to spend your money? He believes, as most rational people do, that the wealthy should pay a higher tax rate. Bush and the republican congress passed (what was supposed to be) a temporary tax cut. The wealthy saw their tax rate lowered from 39.6% to 35%. Maher (and Gates, Buffett, others) believe it should go back to the original (39) rate, as it was supposed to’ve expired Dec 2010. But in order to keep unemployment benefits (you know, to assist those who can’t afford food/rent without it), Obama had to agree to give the rw their pet cause…giveaways to the wealthy (you know, those who can afford food/rent just fine). Nobody said everyone should live on $50,000 a year or whatever nonsense you’re talking.
We have a progressive tax system in this country for a reason.
Taxes are not the problem, spending half the GDP to build some kind of gloabl utopian nightmare is. You could tax the entire country at 100%, and that still would not balance the budget just for the year. The American treasury has been looted by our enemies, the globalist, and we are blaming it on everything else.
I’m not clear on why you’re only talking about rich people who are liberal.
Just as Buffett says he should pay more taxes. Shut up and just write the check Warren.
Rich liberals “hoard their money and just spend it on nonsense”… unlike the Trumps of the world, who will buy a million-dollar toilet bowl and shit in it once.
“Lecture the rest of America on how WE should spend our money…” A laughable generalization. But you have a point in that conservatives are usually so nice about letting people be who they are. See: gays, minorities, other faiths.
“Who does liberal Bill need millions of dollars?” He probably doesn’t. But he earned it, so what the hell do you want him to do? Give it to you?
And piss off with your whole “empathy as hypocrisy” thing, as if any wealthy person who dares to empathize with the poor must be some hypocrite unless he gives all his shit away. Last I checked, the ability to see things from the perspective of other life forms, with whom you have nothing in common, is the only thing that separates us from the chimps.
I wish you Bible thumpers would go back and actually READ the Bible, especially the part where it says you must give up everything to enter into heaven and also the part where it says you should not judge lest ye be judged.
Wow. To both Nikki, and the prior commenters. What it will do to his ratings? Do you really think anyone watches who disagrees with him? And, why shouldn’t a wealthy liberal back the only candidate who recognizes moderrn science as fact, and attempts to communicate, negotiate, and compromise in an adult manner? Really, Citizen…if ths is foolishness, what on Earth do you find wise?
yup, my side is the only side that is rational, adult, sane, decent, noble, educated, etc…The Other is evil and stupid and should be stopped at all costs…how dare you suggest I’m an extreme partisan nutjob, only The Other is capable of being foolish!
Dear Sensitive Bitch: Are you suggesting, or proclaiming, that each of “The Other”‘s candidates, as you describe them, have intelligent, rational positions on ecological and climate science (one of them believes it’s wrong to put Earth before people, because the bible says so, in case you hadn’t heard; he also believes contraception is harmful to women, and that it increases unwanted pregnancies ), and that the Republican party has made genuine efforts to work with the current administration to improve the lives of as many Americans as possible? If so, I don’t say “how dare you.” I say, I hope you’ll look more deeply into those positions, open your mind to additional news and information sources, because I think you’re being severely duped.
Shall we list all the ways in which the GOP has debied science, and tried to roll back rights for everyone buy white privaliged men?
I get that you don’t like being reminded oif these things, but you can’t honestly be stupid enough to think the right isn’t denying science? Nevermind, don’t answer that. Im tapped out for pity today.
«Global warming» isn’t science. It’s a hoax.
Totally agree with you!!! Point well taken.
I concur. Maher runs his mouth (and I agree with him almost all the time) and now he’s backing it up. In town where everybody does the talking, but never does the walking, I think people should hold the stone for a moment before throwing it.
Bill Maher, like most atheists I encounter, is strikingly similar to radical evangelicals.
*delusional sense of superiority? Check.
*won’t shut up about God? Check.
*smuggest folk on the planet? Check.
*you’re an idiot of you don’t share their views? Check.
The one thing Maher has taught me is you don’t need to be a Republican (or religious) to be a complete blowhard.
Won’t do jack to his ratings. Ever watched his show? He has the most sycophantic audience on television. When he says something stupid they just cheer louder.
I say this as an occasional fan…the guy drives me crazy with condescending assholery one minute, and pulls out a brilliant monologue the next.
So Barack believes in science? Really. The same guy who refuses to allow drilling in the US and pimps solar even though all the green energy companies he’s funded have crashed and burned? Even though the Chevy Volt is a joke but he is willing to spend more money to support it? Even though he promotes global warming even though more and more scientists are rejecting it and massive fraud is being exposed almost monthly now from the warmist camps?
The Obama administration has asked the Supreme court not to strike down warrantless wiretaps. They demanded that American citizens be held indefinitely without trial in the NDAA law. And Maher thinks he deserves support?
Yes, he is a comedian!
I share your horror over the wiretaps and detention issues. But – and it’s a big but – there are NO reputable scientists who doubt climate change is occurring, and that it’s being driven by human causes. It is absolutely false that “more and more scientists are rejecting it,” and NO “massive fraud is being exposed” in regard to it. Quite the opposite. The supposed frauds were/are falsehoods spread by those who oppose limiting businesses ability to pollute freely. If you do any research whatsoever (which means looking beyond conservative news sources and websites) you will find this to be 100% true.
Your assumptions are completely false. If you research for a short time you will find a wealth of credible information that is counter to what you believe. I once though as you did but researched my way to the truth.
Fact: the hockey stick chart in “inconvenient truth” has been proven to have no credibility and has since been removed from the report which Gore based much of the book and subsequent movie on.
fact: none of the data used to generate the report responsible for the “alarming” change in temps has never been released
fact: co2 has Never been proven to be the cause of global (you choose)
Fact: climate change is a fact humans like any species must adapt to it
fact: global warming would be largely beneficial compared to global cooling which is equally likely
Fact: if you cannot predict weather 24hoyrs in advance you cannot predict a hundred years from now
Seriously think about it.
Compromise? Really? When exactly did he compromise on anything? Try reality sometime.
Well, see, when someone tries to get something, and lays out what they want, and then gives up a great deal of that to appease those on the other side – that’s called compromise. And only one side has done it lately – and its the side you’re claiming (falsely, natch) that didn’t.
Glad to clear that up for ya.
Bravo Bill! Lol! I met Bill on the street in midtown late last year before his last appearance on Letterman and he’s just a really great guy!
He put the money where his mouth is! Bill is the best and has my admiration for his intellect and his wit…btw, he’s totally right, if I had his money I would also donate a cool million for Obama’s re-election…. nobody can be serious about the four fucking stooges who’re running for GOP nomination now…. despicable bunch
frustrated, bitter liberal progressive…ha ha ha
Not frustrated- not bitter- just proud of a President who represents our values and knows that in comparison to the liars representing the GOP, Obama is the clear choice and will be re-elected. Really, if Romney is the nominee, 20% of the GOP won’t go out to vote since they know he’s a liar who will and has said anything to get elected. Another 20% won’t vote for him b/c of his religion. He’s the GOP version of Kerry in ’04, only multiplied by 100.
amazing how the republican machine is all over social media this go around with the bogus negative comments… only thing i have been impressed by in their campaign strategy.
Oh yes – he’s a superb fellow. I often praise the courage of the 9-11 hijackers to my friends.
He didn’t say they (suicide hijackers) were courageous. He said they weren’t cowards. He’s right. I know the whole “nuance” thing doesn’t enter into the bubble. Everything is black & white. “They (suicide hijackers) are scum. Period.”
Well, yeah. They are scum. They’re scum who weren’t cowards though. Dying for your cause isn’t cowardly.
His point, moron, was that it does not serve your cause to mischaracterize your enemy.
creativity, not courage. and if you think it wasn’t an inside job you’re eyes are closed.
Do you also often totally mistate the words of others, because that’s what ya just did.
He’s not that wealthy so a million dollars is a lot for him. Now let’s see the really rich celebs give more than Bill did. The super celebs should give at least 5 to 10 million. As a percentage of their net worth it’s probably less of a percentage than what Maher just gave.
Yeah, because EVERY American follows celebs like sheep, right? Nope. Only in Manhattan and Los Angeles. In the real world nobody cares what Maher and his ilk think.
love bill maher! great entertainer.
Maher used to identify as Conservative, once upon a time, back in those halcyon days before 9/11. I’m not sure what happened since to make him veer so sharply to the other end of the political spectrum, but he did.
One thing though. The following statement is largely disingenuous or at the very least, not terribly accurate: “Though his liberal views are well known, Maher tried to present panel guests of many political persuasions to voice a spectrum of views.”
I guess if we define “a spectrum of views” as one — count ‘em, ONE — Conservative seated among five Liberals and a homogenously liberal audience, than yeah, a “spectrum of views” are represented.
I’m betting Maher is a bundler. He probably got several people to give him money that didn’t want their name attached to the donation and Maher is fronting it – because he DOES want his name attached.
Or, he thinks this will score him more chicks.
I like it when an idiotic fool and his money are separated.
I have always admired Bill Maher for speaking the truth. Now I can also admire him for his generosity and sincerity.
This guy’s the real deal.
Like him but he should be on his show debating the existence of SuperPACS generally not contributing to one specifically. Undermines his credibility by being so aggressively partisan.
Thank you Supreme Court – just loving all of this endless big money continuing in our elections. Just think of what a million dollars would have done if he’d given it locally or to a charity, etc. Instead, the money will go to more negative attack ads which and the money will go into the pockets of one of the four big media conglomerates in this country who own everything. Fun times.
Ah, yes a world structured and governed by people who pretend for a living.
You’re right. He should have an honest hardworking American job before he can buy a candidate. Maybe if he OWNED A CASINO he’d be more like us red blooded ‘Merican reg’lar folk.
Hypocrite.
You are the definition of an idiot. The Right can’t bear to think they’ll lose this election because they fielded a sorry list of candidates with no real vision for America. The Republican party used to be great, used to stand for something but now only defines itself by what they’re against. Newsflash, religion matters less and less to a growing population, the poor and middle class are tired of being told the rich will save them and the majority of minorities (who will be a majority within 40 years btw) will not soon forget the complete lack of respect, compassion and logic which is being spouted by whichever idiot takes the temporary lead in the Republican race. All this money being spent on negative ads for an outcome which is already known. Obama will win re-election for one simple reason: The economy is packing back up. Whether it’s cyclical or thanks to him does not matter. The economy nose dived under Republicans and came back under a Democrat…I know that hurts, it should, it should keep hurting until your bruised egos are soothed by the prospect of a Republican in the white house after 2016.
Maher supported SOPA. Obama signed the NDAA. These are the supposed “liberals” that want to suppress our freedoms. Good luck. There are more Americans than there are wealthy Americans and votes matter. Just don’t buy your candidate based on slick advertising and political propaganda and we’ll simply take our country back together. We are the change we need.
A lot of republicans supported SOPA and NDAA. There are no electable alternatives. What’s your plan, sparky?
Maher is a genius. those of you who are on the negative end of this rope of dopes go phuque yersefs. probably rednecks, or rich spoiled mutherphuqers get over yourself..whya re you not bitchin about the phuquing GOP screwing what little life there is out of this planet
Tuning in to commentary on the current political race is like playing Call of Duty online; both inspire all flavors of so called “conservative” mental midgets to proffer brainfarts that shamelessly display their ignorance. I prefer facing you jackassses on Call of Duty; at least I then get to laugh out loud at you after nading you in the face, virtually speaking…
THANK GOD FOR BILL MAHER AND HIS IMMENSE INTELLIGENCE [AND GENEROSITY].
Maher should move to his socialist utopia, Sweden, already.
Maher is a jackass. Obama has been a gigantic failure. These two are made for each other!