The presidential campaign of Barack Obama hasn't been as successful as many analysts once projected. Comedian Bill Maher thinks that the Illinois senator's emphasis on bridging American's partisan divide hasn't taken hold among people furious with the actions of the current administration.
"I don't want to bring people together. I want to win!" he exclaimed on his show Real Time with Bill Maher. "I don't want to work with these people. They can't be worked with. I want to crush them. I want to smash them into a fine powder and snort them!"
Influential blogger Markos Moulitas of DailyKos also expressed discontent with Republicans, citing inherent flaws in their ideology. "You have the Republicans and their philosophy is that government doesn't work," he said. "So how could you possibly have a government that works, because you would invalidate your ideology. That's why Bush puts people like horse lawyers in charge of FEMA."
Joined by Alison Stewart of NBC News and comedian Martin Short, the panel discussed the use of statewide ballot initiatives to increase voter turnout, and why that strategy has been virtually monopolized by conservatives. Moulitas argued that Democrats shouldn't rely on these measures in 2008.
"We're not going to need ballot initiatives to win the next election," he said. "If we can't point to what the Republicans have done in this country in eight years and win, then we don't deserve to win."
The host disagreed. "I've heard that many times. 'Hey, if we can't win this one, than we don't deserve to win,' and [then] we don't win," he lamented. "And they say, 'Oh, that dog won't hurt.' Well, that's a mother fucking hunting dog."
The following video is from HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, broadcast on November 02, 2007