Bill Maher Slams GOP for Deciding 'Democracy Is What's Wrong With America'

HBO host Bill Maher on Friday pointed out that Republicans are okay with America continuing to exist as a country, but "without being a democracy."

"Now many Republicans have decided that democracy is what's wrong with America," Maher said during an episode of his show Real Time With Bill Maher, who also spoke about the increased divisiveness between Democrats and Republicans over issues such as voting rights, critical race theory, police funding, and abortion.

"[Democracy] dies in plain sight because enough people think democracy is a luxury America can no longer afford," he said. "That is pretty much the position of the Republican Party now," adding that the GOP is okay with voting as long as it's in their favor.

Maher also gave examples of some Republicans, who supposedly oppose democracy, such as Utah Senator Mike Lee, who noted that it isn't the target to focus on.

"Democracy isn't the objective. liberty, peace, and prospefity [sic] are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that," he tweeted in October of 2020.

The television host also spoke about conservatives who want to change current voting rights such as Rachel Hamm, who is running for election for secretary of state in California. Maher pointed at one of her past remarks in which she said she wants to overhaul the National Voter Registration Act to "make it hard" for people to vote.

"I want it to be a privilege to vote. I want you to have to actually have to work to sign up, not have it be that there's this auto-enroll and every single person is getting a ballot and all that. I don't like any of that," she said earlier this month during an interview with Craig DeLuz of the California Republican Assembly.

Maher criticized Hamm for "bad mouthing democracy" and treating voting as a privilege and not a right.

"I know that some people like to say there's not much difference between the parties, but actually in America 2022, there's more of a difference between the parties than there ever has been in American history," he said. "Democrats, for all their flaws, still see democracy as the essence of America—they see America and democracy as inextricably linked. They believe that one without the other is unthinkable. Republicans? Thinkable."

Maher also took a hit at former President Donald Trump's supporters over claims of voter fraud, including those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an effort to overturn the election results.

"I'm no constitutional scholar, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't say in the case of an election loss, break shit and install your guy anyway," he said. "A lot of people drive themselves crazy asking Republicans for evidence that Biden somehow stole the election. But that's a fool's errand. In the circular logic of today's right, the evidence that the election was stolen is that they lost."

Maher also criticized liberals for issues concerning policing and teaching race-related topics in schools.

"The left today is getting a lot of things wrong," he said as he pointed out some examples that were reported in the media, including reframing "America as irredeemably racist."

"I get the panic," he added. "But, solutions short of junking democracy can and must handle this."

Newsweek reached out to the Republican National Committee (RNC) for comments.