Bill Maher stunned the usual lefty worshippers on his own HBO stage when he bluntly told Democrats they are making a catastrophic strategic mistake by normalizing contempt for their own country, and the Real Time audience roared in agreement. The clip, now circulating thanks to Dave Rubin’s sharing of a DM, shows a rare moment when a mainstream liberal voice called out the self-destructive impulses of the progressive rank and file.
Maher’s point was simple and unglamorous: too many young Democrats say they’re embarrassed to be American, and that attitude is not only morally wrong it’s politically suicidal for a party that needs to win hearts and minds. He argued that America, despite its flaws, remains the freest, most prosperous nation in history and that the party’s leaders should be teaching gratitude and pride rather than feeding nihilism and shame.
Let’s be clear — conservatives shouldn’t be surprised by this kind of admission from a former left-liberal; the rot has been visible in our campuses, media, and parts of the Democratic coalition for years. When influential Democrats and activists tolerate or even celebrate anti-American sentiment, they hand the next generation a poisoned compass and surrender the language of patriotism to the right. Maher’s rebuke is a welcome reminder that patriotism is not a partisan crime and that a sane left should reject the fantasy that America is uniquely evil.
Dave Rubin doing what real journalists used to do — amplifying a truth-telling moment — is exactly the kind of pushback the country needs right now, and conservatives should be grateful he put the clip in front of a larger audience. The clip’s circulation proves that when mainstream voices speak honestly about national pride, it lands; it embarrasses the elites who profit from division and forces a conversation the left would rather ignore.
This is a moment for patriots to stop sitting on the sidelines: demand that Democrats answer for the cultural contempt they enable, insist schools teach civic literacy instead of guilt, and make pride in America once again a common-sense virtue. If conservatives lead with clear love of country rather than tribal sneers, we win the argument and we win elections — and we rescue a political conversation that too many on the left seem intent on burning down.
