By Ray Cardello for August 28, 2022 Season 12 / Post 43

Each Sunday, I take a step away from daily politics and focus on someone who has done extraordinary things or who we may need to know a little better. This week’s focus is on a highly complex individual, which is a very refreshing occurrence in this day of Right/Left, Black/White, and Wrong/Right. This Spotlight is on the Comedian, Activist, Actor, Political Commentator, and Man of Many Hats, Bill Maher.

For years, I saw Bill Maher as a cheerleader of the Left. He was a Bernie Bro before he jumped on the Hillary Wagon and was a staunch and often harsh critic of Donald Trump. He supported Joe Biden but seemed to catch on very early that what the country got in Joe Biden did not live up to the hype we were served in 2020. Bill Maher still claims to be a Liberal, but as evidenced by the number of times FOX News has used his comments criticizing the Left, he may be the most Conservative Liberal in America. Bill Maher will not be speaking at a Trump Rally or the Republican Convention in 2024, but his voice may be vital as we try to bridge this widening chasm between the Left and Right.

Maher has never been afraid of touching the third rail of hot topics. He is Pro-Choice but came out recently to push back against the attacks on Pro-Lifers by the Radical Left. Maher points to far more restrictive European countries as proof that we are not going back to 1973 with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. He also blasted The NY Times for not covering the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

It is interesting to see how Maher can live in the Middle while the country is obsessed with being either Right or Left. Some of his recent stances show a reasonable and logical view that we should all strive for. He is a gun owner while also a supporter of PETA. He thinks the Second Amendment needs limitations, a position many on the Right are starting to adopt.

This past Friday, Maher took on the FBI, Social Media, and the mainstream media for burying and censoring the Hunter Biden Laptop Story. In a heated discussion with his guest Rob Reiner, Maher went off on the conspiracy to keep the Hunter story buried to ensure that Joe Biden would replace Donald Trump in the White House. Reiner questioned where Maher was getting his info, and Maher counterpunched, telling Reiner that he would know the same information if MSNBC were not the sole provider of his news. In one short exchange, Maher took on the FBI, Mark Zuckerberg, the media, and the Left, who cannot see the facts before them. It was a sound bite that will be used by many Republicans running in this election cycle.

Maher is teaching us a valuable lesson. You can have your beliefs and principles, but you must keep your eyes and ears open. I think Maher is winning over more people with his voice of reason than turning away his supporters on the Left. We would all be in a better place if we dared to drift away from our respective corners and explore the middle ground between us. It is a familiar place where most really want the world to reside.