Two Socialists Walk into a Bar…

UPDATED – Not quite, but Bill Maher’s interview with socialist Bernie Sanders this week could have almost been framed as a tedious string of barroom jokes. Tedious for Bernie, anyway. One too many rum and cokes, and even the most ardent liberal will puke up the tofu and get honest.

The Daily Beast:

… On Friday night, political satirist Bill Maher felt the Bern, inviting the 74-year-old presidential candidate on his HBO program Real Time with Bill Maher to discuss his socialist agenda.

… Maher endorsed the candidate and admitted that he “wanted to help [Sanders’] campaign” by demystifying the word “socialist” for Americans. “They hear socialist and they think herpes, Bernie!” he exclaimed.

Then Bill gets to the demystifyin’…

“The tax revenue that we would get just from taxing the people who I think your fans think you’re talking about, the people who own a yacht, does not come close to covering what you want to pay for,” said Maher.

“Not true. Not true,” a clearly-thrown Sanders fired back. “What I’m saying is there have been articles out there that have been really unfair and wrong. For example, what they are suggesting is that if we move to a Medicare-for-all single-payer program, which guarantees healthcare to all people, it would cost a lot of money. That’s true. But what they forget to tell you is it would be much more cost-effective than this dysfunctional system we have right now, which is the most expensive per capita on earth.”…

Right, Bern. Like in Vermont?

Maher continues …

“But it couldn’t even work in your home state of Vermont!” Maher said. “They were going to institute it, and the governor said it’s going to cost too much money. We just can’t do it. It would be the entire budget. That’s true.”  

“No… Well, it’s not…,” a shaken Sanders replied. “I’m not the governor from the state of Vermont, I’m the senator from the state of Vermont…”  

No wait, Denmark!

And on and on, it goes…

Bill Maher is not funny, but he hasn’t been this close to the truth since his last date with Ann Coulter.