As often as they are conversationally lumped together, there is a distinct difference between “liberal” and “leftist.”
It’s a topic expertly explained by PragerU, but if you need to see a real-life example of this dichotomy in action, look no further than HBO host and pundit Bill Maher.
To be clear, by virtually every metric Maher is a bleeding-heart liberal and no friend of conservatism.
Maher is, however, a classic liberal, meaning you can at least have a friendly debate with him. He is a staunch believer in the classic liberal adage, “I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
He’ll also give credit where it’s due — even if it’s to a card-carrying conservative like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Compare that to some of the nonsensical leftist propaganda being spewed by the punditry found on places like “The View” or CBS News, and Maher almost seems like a downright moderate.
Almost.
But what Maher lacks in anything resembling conservative bona fides, he at least somewhat makes up for with a dash of common sense and a shred of decency — two things you typically won’t find from leftists.
And indeed, a dash and a shred are all you need to empathize with the horrific footage emerging from the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas militants.
Even if you know virtually nothing about the deep-rooted geopolitical issues and historical animus at the heart of the Israel-Hamas conflict, it doesn’t take much more than a functioning conscience and pair of eyes to denounce the barbaric tactics deployed by Hamas militants, when they launched a bloody invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7.
War is one thing.
Sitting on a woman who appears to have broken legs while others laugh and spit on her lifeless body? That should be rather easy to denounce wholeheartedly, no?
Apparently, for swathes of people, politicians and educators, it is hard to denounce the brutal actions committed by Hamas militants — and Maher is fed up with that nonsensical rhetoric.
Speaking to reporter James Kirchick and Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, on the Friday episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Maher unleashed on the Hamas sympathy bubbling up from the left.
You can watch the relevant segment below:
WARNING: The following clip contains language that the viewer may find offensive.
“This…movement claims misgendering someone is a human rights abuse & cannot tolerate a federal judge speaking at Stanford…his speech is a form of violence. These same people are now…calling for the wanton murder of Jews. This is a disgusting ideology” – @jkirchick #RealTime pic.twitter.com/eqMxzAfvEq
— Brent Baker ?? ?? (@BrentHBaker) October 14, 2023
After noting that many of the country’s issues stem from the “a**holes” graduating from increasingly left-leaning colleges, Maher cited Judith Butler, a noted LGBT activist and anti-Israel professor from the Univeristy of California, Berkeley.
“A Berkeley professor said, ‘Understanding that Hamas and Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the left, is extremely important,'” a stunned Maher recited.
“That’s Judith Butler, who’s a lesbian, I should point out,” Kirchick interjected. “A lesbian defending Hamas and Hezbollah.”
“They are ‘social movements that are progressive, that are on the left,'” Maher reiterated.
Maher then opened up that the reason it appears he’s antagonizing the left more often is that the left keeps embracing the madness emanating from buffoons like Butler.
“If you think this is the left, your moral compass is broken,” Maher stated.
This is one point on which Maher is dead wrong.
This is the left, Mr. Maher. And their moral compass isn’t broken because that would require having a moral compass in the first place.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.