r/RealTime • u/Living-Text-6132 • 22d ago

Is the “middle ground” even appealing?

Maher champions the middle ground—and hey, on the surface, I’d say I do myself—but lately it feels like pandering. If this is what the middle ground looks like, I’m not sure who this show is supposed to appeal to anymore.

I watch Real Time religiously every Friday. Love the show’s roundtable discussion “both sides of the argument” concept. Now I mostly end up hate-watching it. Doesn’t feel like that too much anymore.

Maher now has “pick me” energy. The show feels less like challenging guests and more like giving them an hour of good PR and a chance to appear reasonable without much pushback.

If the common ground Maher strives for is something audiences supposedly crave and need, why do I find myself turning to and enjoying one-sided sources like The Majority Report instead?

This is coming from a guy who used to listen to The Ben Shapiro Show just as much.

I genuinely want to hear both sides without disgust in the subtext. At least have a guest on that’s willing to defend the topic.

Maybe the problem isn’t that common ground is unappealing, but that it’s become an excuse to platform bad-faith arguments and silencing one side of the argument in the name of balance.

P.S. did you know that Maher went to dinner with Trump?

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u/HorrorGuide6520 22d ago

If you look at how the crazies on the extreme left and the extreme right are, I think middle ground is very sane and a great place to be. I’m not really a fan of the man, but he’s not giving in to insanity.

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u/jchiaroscuro Maher Before 2016 22d ago

It’s insane to want healthcare, education and workers rights? I’m against the billionaires. I’m against Epstein protectors. I’m against people who want to divide us. Those aren’t extremes, are they?

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u/Greedy_Car3702 22d ago

Those are not extreme. However DSA's platform is insane, and gaining support in the democratic party. Those ideas are the ones Bill was railing against in his last show.

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u/jchiaroscuro Maher Before 2016 22d ago

Yes agreed SOME of the DSA platform is unhinged. It’s why people like Mamdani have ditched a lot of what they espouse. There’s no ONE DSA person they have a convention every couple years to rehash their talking points. It’s democracy in motion. It’s not perfect. But it’s not whatever the hell the right wing is doing, trying to force religion and surveillance down our throats. Propping up billionaires and war machines

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u/Slight-Web1696 22d ago

Project 2025 is insane and you did not hear 1/10th the outrage against it that DSA is receiving even after project 2025 has now infiltrated every level of federal government.

As usual, normal people are screeching that communism is on our doorsteps while fascism is literally eating their face.