Comedian Bill Maher sparred with actor Patton Oswalt on “Club Random” Monday over whether the Democratic Party has become excessively left-wing in recent years.
Even among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 45% wanted the party to become “more moderate,” according to Gallup polling released in February. After Oswalt praised Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the podcast, Maher said she would need “some deprogramming” to become “a fantastic candidate.” (RELATED: ‘They’ve Reduced The Smear To Just People They Don’t Like’: Gutfeld Rips Democrats For Giving ‘Hitler A Makeover’)
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“What do you mean deprogramming?” Oswalt asked.
“She’s never going to resonate with people outside of the bubble that she lives in, in the very, very far left,” Maher clarified. “And The New York Times of all people, the people I’ve been, like, squabbling with for the last seven, eight, ten years, whatever, when I was all about, ‘Democrats have gone too far left’ — they just put out a huge editorial basically saying exactly what I’ve been saying.”
Maher appeared to be referencing an Oct. 20 New York Times editorial board piece arguing for both parties to moderate — a piece he also referenced on “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Nov. 14. The editorial asserts that there are no far-left candidates like Ocasio-Cortez who represent swing states or districts.
Oswalt asked if the piece argues that the New York Democrat is “too far left.”
“Yes. And that the only way the Democrats will ever win again … is to be more moderate,” Maher said. “But we don’t have to argue about her.”
“If people think she’s too far left, then that shows another way this country is broken right now,” Oswalt retorted.
Maher pushed back, saying, “Well, I don’t think it’s necessarily broken in that way, but it just shows how the country is not there. That is not where the country is.”
Oswalt suggested that America is immature and “freaked out” after former President Barack Obama’s election.
“We’re still living in that freakout. We are not as progressed and evolved and intelligent as we think we are because we keep freaking out about this stuff,” he said.
“The left freak out, too. The left freaked out about a lot of bullshit too,” Maher replied.
Oswalt inquired about what Maher was referring to, prompting him to provide a comprehensive list.
“Gender, race, parenthood, schools, homelessness, crime, the border, education,” he said. “We stopped being a scientific people.”
Oswalt disagreed, claiming “the left certainly stayed scientific.”
“No, they didn’t! … they think gender bullishit that they went way too far with,” Maher said. “That’s not scientific.”
Portraying former Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party as excessively far left on transgender issues was one of the most effective advertising campaigns in increasing support for President Donald Trump and GOP candidates during the 2024 election, according to multiple reports.
Moreover, just two House Democrats voted in favor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act in January — which would prevent biological males from participating in female sports — as it passed 218-206. Senate Democrats blocked the act in March, with 45 voting to defeat a cloture vote on the bill.
Roughly 80% of Americans feel that biological males shouldn’t be able to participate in women’s sports, according to a January New York Times/Ipsos poll.
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