The panel consisted of CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Martin Short, and Republican Congressman Steve LaTourette. Cabrera who is generally fairly conservative stated that Americans are socially liberal and fiscally conservative. It continues to amaze that those that portend to support fiscal conservatism, never want to raise revenues via marginal tax increases or cut military waste. President Clinton which proved that such a fiscal policy to be economically beneficial.
The panel also discussed the alternate state of reality a large portion of Republicans are living in. Forty nine percent of Republicans think the election was stolen from them by ACORN, a powerless group that has not existed for four years. Sixty four percent of them think President Obama is hiding something about his past. Ed Meese, Reagan’s attorney general said President Obama should be impeached because of his gun control executive orders. Glen Beck said he was going to create a self-contained city.
After making fun of the insanity and making fun of South Carolina ex-governor Sanford running for congress, he introduced Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal. She discussed Israel’s dangerous turn to the extreme Right. She irked Maher a bit by suggesting that with many real issues of concern around the world, his concentration on a football player’s non-existent girlfriend is inconsequential. She then made a too true statement; Americans are some of the least informed citizens on the planet.
Maher’s show however excelled in his NEW RULES section. It was intelligently put together. He illustrated that as the NRA and gun nuts continue to hyperventilate about their gun rights, all their other rights are being usurped by many laws including the Senate’s passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in a 73-23 vote.