Bill Maher To Ted Cruz: ‘You, Sir, Are No Galileo’

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Bill Maher slammed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” for denying climate change and comparing himself to Galileo.

Cruz, in an interview with the Texas Tribune, compared his denial of climate change to Galileo’s rejection of the “scientific wisdom” of his day and pointed out that Galileo was branded a heretic for his denial.

“You, sir, are no Galileo,” Maher said. “But as long as you want to look at Galileo. The consensus he disproved was that the sun orbits the Earth, which wasn’t a scientific consensus! It was a Bible myth from cavemen! He was the scientist!”

Maher also urged Americans to save a rare species from extinction.

“In honor of Earth Day,” Maher said, “America must go all out to save a creature that’s on the verge of extinction. I’m talking of course about the Republican politician who believes in science.”

Maher then presented “zombie lies,” his name for lies that are “definitively proven wrong and yet refuse to die.” However, he clarified that the climate change denial and zombie lies weren’t ever about facts, they were about donors.

“The zombie lies aren’t for the voters, they’re for the donors who make their money killing the planet,” Maher said. “The question is not why today’s politicians suck more than ever. It’s who they’re sucking more than ever.”

Maher also pointed out that Republicans will say anything for the amount of money they’re getting from donors like the Koch brothers.

“It’s what their fellow prostitutes in the sex industry call the ‘girlfriend experience.’”

Watch the video below, courtesy of HBO:

h/t Mediaite

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  1. the ‘girlfriend experience.

    Yup, Thai hos and Republicans…Once short of cash Kentucky egotist and Tea Party nutbag Matt Bevin is already buying airtime for very slick, obviously billionaire-paid, Bevin for Governor spots that promise to “dismantle Kynect”. Bevin’s tired 3rd base must have that squished, billionaire-fondled look…

  2. Galileo was not persecuted by scientists. He was persecuted by the Church. Scientists are still being persecuted by religious extremists, and Cruz is one of the persecutors, pretending to be a victim.

  3. What Maher is doing here, railing against a R pol, is similar to what right wing radio talkers do. They have a progressive du jour, tear him or her to shreds, and we say that’s awful, how dare they do this, they don’t lead the Democratic Party. If there’s a difference in a left wing talker doing this to an R, even one as odious as Cruz, I don’t see the difference.

  4. What Maher did was put the lie to Cruz’ claim that he was like Galileo.
    Every word Maher said was true.

    That is vastly different than what right-wing hate-radio smear merchants do.
    They lie with every breath.

  5. The difference is that what Maher said is truth, and he was pointing out Cruz’s fallacy, which doesn’t ever happen when he spouts his nonsense. It is nothing at all like Rush calling a woman a slut because she is on birth control; or calling the President a socialist Muslim Socialist. Or going after HILLARY because she had lunch!

    The difference is actually quite remarkable IMHO. We let stuff go by WAAAY too often. I wish someone with an audience would make the point that when Marco Rubio made his comment about “taxing and regulating like it’s 1999,” how ignorant it was to say because every section of the economy was doing so well at that time. X

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