The typical activist behind the movement to boycott conservative talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh is not “a proper liberal” and is instead a “baby,” says one unlikely Limbaugh defender, liberal talk show host Bill Maher.
“This may surprise you, but I am not a big fan of Rush Limbaugh,” Maher said during a monologue on his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday. “However, if you are one of the people with a website devoted to making him go away, you are part of the problem.”
Maher was referencing liberal activists who began organizing the boycott of Limbaugh’s radio show advertisers after comments Limbaugh made in 2012 about birth control activist Sandra Fluke. Websites like StopRush.net track Limbaugh’s advertisers, publishing their contact information. The sites, part of the “Stop Rush” or “Boycott Rush” movement, encourage their thousands of followers to boycott the companies.
“And ironically, you’re not even a proper liberal, because you don’t get free speech,” Maher continued, addressing the boycotters. “You’re just a baby who can’t stand to live in a world where you hear things that upset you.”
Maher opened his monologue by addressing the topic of free speech and censorship in the context of Islam and the recent terrorist attacks on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Maher’s outspoken criticism of Islam has won him the scorn of many on the left.
“Yeah, liberals hate bullying alright,” Maher said sarcastically. “But they’re not opposed to using it — when they casually throw out words like ‘bigot’ and ‘racist,’ it does cow people into avoiding this debate.”
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