Bill Maher is not a conservative by any stretch of the imagination. While he often describes himself as libertarian due to his support for legalizing marijuana and prostitution, Maher’s political positions are typically well within the boundaries of liberal orthodoxy.
Recently, however, Maher has directed plenty of ire on HBO’s Real Time at the Left and what he sees as a political movement going off the rails. In a recent episode, he ticked off a list of examples, including Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s tweet about canceling rent and mortgages and Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s call for eliminating policing or incarceration for people who commit crimes. Then, in a personal anecdote, he spoke of the absurd regulatory hoops he had to jump through so he could power his California home with solar energy.
The most salient point from Maher was the statement, “This is the reason why so many people were triggered by COVID policies. They were already sick of rules.”
I’d venture to say he’s correct. Some of the more absurd rules the Left deployed before COVID-19 inspired eye rolls but not much activism. People didn’t want the blowback that would come when social media tattletales tried to get them fired by swarming their employer with tweets and posts about their transphobia for not using the proper pronoun.
When COVID-19 first hit, people accepted the lockdowns. We had no idea what we were dealing with, and as quickly as the virus spread, people died. People dealt with capacity restrictions and state-imposed mask mandates. Once the vaccine became available and enough of the country received it, we were told, things would return to normal. Yet, here we are, into the third year, and life is far from ordinary.
Public school enrollment continues to decline as parents — at least those with the resources — continue to put their children into private schools or opt for homeschooling. When schools force students to sit in silence while they eat lunch or wear masks outside, without any scientific evidence to support it, some throw up their hands and say, “Enough!” In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin’s win over Terry McAuliffe had far more to do with school closures that took place despite teachers jumping the line to get vaccines before anyone else. Receiving instruction on “Becoming An Antiracist Education Leader” and “Grading For Equity,” which is all an amalgamation of critical race theory, only crystallized the folly taking place in the Virginia public school system. Youngkin’s win proves that even when people follow the rules and retreat from public displays of dissatisfaction, they will still vote.
Democrats live under the delusion that how we live today is “normal.” As long as businesses are not closed, schools are open, and capacity limits aren’t in place, all is well. Unfortunately, that misses the forest for the trees because they’re still operating under the mindset of “zero COVID-19” when most of the public recognizes that COVID-19, unlike the mumps or polio, is here to stay.
A recent Monmouth University Poll shows that 70% of the public says, “It’s time we accept that Covid is here to stay, and we just need to get on with our lives.” What’s illuminating is the partisan breakdown. Among Republicans, the figure is 89% and 71% of independents. For Democrats, the number is only 47%.
Not only are people tired of the rules, but they’ve also grown weary watching as those who create the rules continue to flout them or make proclamations from up on high without any regard for the supposed plebs.
For example, at the NFC championship game in Los Angeles between the Rams and 49ers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had their pictures taken with Lakers legend Magic Johnson — without masks. Johnson, who is HIV positive, is immunocompromised, and Los Angeles County has strict rules dictating people wear masks unless actively eating and drinking. However, Newsom claimed he only did it for a short while, and Garcetti laughingly claimed he held his breath posing for his photo.
Tay Anderson, the Denver School Board vice president, recently tweeted, “It’s simple if you don’t want your student to wear a mask in school, KEEP THEM AT HOME.” He did that the day after Denver reported 345 new COVID-19 cases in a city of over 700,000. While the CDC continues to offer guidance for children over the age of 2 to wear masks, no science exists to justify it.
When Democratic Party demands to adhere to the COVID-19 rules, coupled with the preposterous ideas and antics emanating from the far-left, have created weeks of material for a liberal such as Bill Maher, it’s probably a good time for Democrats to do a self-awareness check. The midterm elections are only nine months away.
