Bill Maher Makes $1 Million Obama Donation
According to his longtime publicist Sarah Fuller, this happened tonight at the end of Bill Maher’s comedy special CrazyStupidPolitics: Live from Silicon Valley which streamed live on Yahoo. Maher brought out a check and pledged a personal donation of $1 million dollars to Obama’s SuperPAC, Priorities USA Action. According to Fuller, he explained that having a country governed by Barack Obama rather than any of the Republican candidates is “worth a million dollars” and said “this is the wisest investment I think I could make.” He also encouraged other wealthy liberals like himself to do 
the same. Maher’s pledge comes at a time when Hollywood financial support for President Obama’s re-election has been ebbing rather than flowing.
Maher’s longrunning HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher, is currently in its 10th season. Though his liberal views are well known, Maher tried to present panel guests of many political persuasions to voice a spectrum of views. In his nearly 20 years hosting political talk shows, Maher has earned 27 Emmy nominations but has never won in what is the longest such losing streak on record. Maher also has written 5 political bestsellers. He also performs at least 50 dates a year in Las Vegas and in sold-out theaters all across the country. So I guess this all means that Maher intends to make good on his political donation pledge. What this does to his ratings will be another story. But then HBO doesn’t depend on advertising.
He’s not that wealthy so a million dollars is a lot for him. Now let’s see the really rich celebs give more than Bill did. The super celebs should give at least 5 to 10 million. As a percentage of their net worth it’s probably less of a percentage than what Maher just gave.
Yeah, because EVERY American follows celebs like sheep, right? Nope. Only in Manhattan and Los Angeles. In the real world nobody cares what Maher and his ilk think.
love bill maher! great entertainer.
Maher used to identify as Conservative, once upon a time, back in those halcyon days before 9/11. I’m not sure what happened since to make him veer so sharply to the other end of the political spectrum, but he did.
One thing though. The following statement is largely disingenuous or at the very least, not terribly accurate: “Though his liberal views are well known, Maher tried to present panel guests of many political persuasions to voice a spectrum of views.”
I guess if we define “a spectrum of views” as one — count ‘em, ONE — Conservative seated among five Liberals and a homogenously liberal audience, than yeah, a “spectrum of views” are represented.
I’m betting Maher is a bundler. He probably got several people to give him money that didn’t want their name attached to the donation and Maher is fronting it – because he DOES want his name attached.
Or, he thinks this will score him more chicks.
I like it when an idiotic fool and his money are separated.
I have always admired Bill Maher for speaking the truth. Now I can also admire him for his generosity and sincerity.
This guy’s the real deal.
Like him but he should be on his show debating the existence of SuperPACS generally not contributing to one specifically. Undermines his credibility by being so aggressively partisan.
Thank you Supreme Court – just loving all of this endless big money continuing in our elections. Just think of what a million dollars would have done if he’d given it locally or to a charity, etc. Instead, the money will go to more negative attack ads which and the money will go into the pockets of one of the four big media conglomerates in this country who own everything. Fun times.
Ah, yes a world structured and governed by people who pretend for a living.
You’re right. He should have an honest hardworking American job before he can buy a candidate. Maybe if he OWNED A CASINO he’d be more like us red blooded ‘Merican reg’lar folk.
Hypocrite.
You are the definition of an idiot. The Right can’t bear to think they’ll lose this election because they fielded a sorry list of candidates with no real vision for America. The Republican party used to be great, used to stand for something but now only defines itself by what they’re against. Newsflash, religion matters less and less to a growing population, the poor and middle class are tired of being told the rich will save them and the majority of minorities (who will be a majority within 40 years btw) will not soon forget the complete lack of respect, compassion and logic which is being spouted by whichever idiot takes the temporary lead in the Republican race. All this money being spent on negative ads for an outcome which is already known. Obama will win re-election for one simple reason: The economy is packing back up. Whether it’s cyclical or thanks to him does not matter. The economy nose dived under Republicans and came back under a Democrat…I know that hurts, it should, it should keep hurting until your bruised egos are soothed by the prospect of a Republican in the white house after 2016.
Maher supported SOPA. Obama signed the NDAA. These are the supposed “liberals” that want to suppress our freedoms. Good luck. There are more Americans than there are wealthy Americans and votes matter. Just don’t buy your candidate based on slick advertising and political propaganda and we’ll simply take our country back together. We are the change we need.
A lot of republicans supported SOPA and NDAA. There are no electable alternatives. What’s your plan, sparky?