Bill Maher was an equal opportunity political offender during Friday night’s monologue on “Real Time.” Between the Republicans’ secret health care bill and the “losing” Democrats, no one was safe from his savage burns.
Maher dug right in to “lame” Democrats first in an attempt to understand how Jon Ossoff lost the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District even after the party poured so much money into his campaign.
“He came so close,” Maher quipped. “Party leaders are calling it a terrifying brush with success.”
The comedian begged Democrats to stop losing elections because “the wrong people are in power.” Then he turned his attention to the so-called “wrong people” by tearing apart the release of the Senate Republican’s secretive health care bill.
“Everybody is saying it was unveiled — unveiled is not the right term,” Maher said. “You unveil a sculpture. Nobody goes, ‘Behold, a turd!’”
The comedian highlighted the darkest items on the bill, which he called “a manifesto from the Zodiac Killer.”
“No more gynecological exams,” he added. “Although Trump says he’s still available to grab pussies.”
Maher ended his rant on the health care bill with a grim warning: “Do not kid yourself. This will pass. Republicans get shit done.”
Watch the full segment above.
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1912
Former President Theodore Roosevelt champions national health insurance as he unsuccessfully tries to ride his progressive Bull Moose Party back to the White House.
1935
President Franklin D. Roosevelt favors creating national health insurance amid the Great Depression but decides to push for Social Security first.
1942
Roosevelt establishes wage and price controls during World War II. Businesses can't attract workers with higher pay so they compete through added benefits, including health insurance, which grows into a workplace perk.
1945
President Harry Truman calls on Congress to create a national insurance program for those who pay voluntary fees. The American Medical Association denounces the idea as "socialized medicine" and it goes nowhere.
1960
John F. Kennedy makes health care a major campaign issue but as president can't get a plan for the elderly through Congress.
1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson's legendary arm-twisting and a Congress dominated by his fellow Democrats lead to creation of two landmark government health programs: Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor.
1974
President Richard Nixon wants to require employers to cover their workers and create federal subsidies to help everyone else buy private insurance. The Watergate scandal intervenes.
1976
President Jimmy Carter pushes a mandatory national health plan, but economic recession helps push it aside.
1986
President Ronald Reagan signs COBRA, a requirement that employers let former workers stay on the company health plan for 18 months after leaving a job, with workers bearing the cost.
1988
Congress expands Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit and catastrophic care coverage. It doesn't last long. Barraged by protests from older Americans upset about paying a tax to finance the additional coverage, Congress repeals the law the next year.
1993
President Bill Clinton puts first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in charge of developing what becomes a 1,300-page plan for universal coverage. It requires businesses to cover their workers and mandates that everyone have health insurance. The plan meets Republican opposition, divides Democrats and comes under a firestorm of lobbying from businesses and the health care industry. It dies in the Senate.
1997
Clinton signs bipartisan legislation creating a state-federal program to provide coverage for millions of children in families of modest means whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid.
2003
President George W. Bush persuades Congress to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare in a major expansion of the program for older people.
2008
Hillary Clinton promotes a sweeping health care plan in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. She loses to Barack Obama, who has a less comprehensive plan.
2009
President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress spend an intense year ironing out legislation to require most companies to cover their workers; mandate that everyone have coverage or pay a fine; require insurance companies to accept all comers, regardless of any pre-existing conditions; and assist people who can't afford insurance.
2010
With no Republican support, Congress passes the measure, designed to extend health care coverage to more than 30 million uninsured people. Republican opponents scorned the law as "Obamacare."
2012
On a campaign tour in the Midwest, Obama himself embraces the term "Obamacare" and says the law shows "I do care."
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