From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Far-Left Avengers a assemble!

The Legacy Media is celebrating the return of Strike Force Five. The
group, comprised of progressive late-night hosts, originally gathered
in 2023 during the protracted Hollywood writersA strike.

Jimmy Kimmel. Jimmy Fallon. Stephen Colbert. Seth Meyers. John Oliver.
(Jon Stewart hadnAt returned to oThe Daily Showo at that time.)

Except one late-night liberal either lost his invite or never got one
in the first place: Bill Maher.

ItAs not as if the oReal Time with Bill Mahero host votes differently
than that gaggle. Or that Maher doesnAt skewer President Donald Trump
on a regular basis.

Boy, does he ever. He still hints that Trump wonAt leave office once
his second term wraps.

Maher isnAt a cozy fit for the Five comedians despite those
similarities. He speaks freely and regularly roasts his own side. And,
perhaps most of all, he invites right-leaning guests on his shows for
frank talks about everything from culture to politics. Yes, politics.

All of the above makes him a unicorn on the late-night landscape, and a welcome one at that. Maher would be a square peg in a round Strike
Force hole.

The progressive Five have become achingly predictable in recent years.
The monologues all attack the same subjects u President Trump, Elon
Musk, the right-leaning Supreme Court u while ignoring the foibles of
modern Democrats.

What Rep. Eric Swalwell scandal?

They collectively downplayed or ignored President Joe BidenAs tragic
cognitive decline for nearly four years. When Biden short-circuited
during that cringeworthy 2024 presidential debate, they finally had to
speak a bit of truth to power.

Colbert finally teed off on the 80-something leader a few days after
the debate: oBiden debated as well as Abe Lincoln a if you dug him up
right now.o

That came weeks after Colbert headlined a Biden fundraiser and didnAt
alert his viewers that the president wasnAt intellectually up to the
gig after seeing him up close.

Nor did Kimmel, who was on hand the night President Biden froze at the
end of a fundraiser. Former President Barack Obama had to gently guide
him offstage.

In a way, Maher is a more pragmatic Democrat than his peers. HeAs spent
the last few years warning his party about its extreme points of view,
from a reliance on Identity Politics to woke overreach.

HeAs argued on more than one occasion that a party that insists trans
women can fairly compete against women may be doomed at the ballot box.
He made the argument again during a recent sit-down with progressive
comic David Cross about Imane Khelif, the male boxer who won a gold
medal against female competitors:

I mean, we saw in the Olympics a a man, now fighting as
a woman boxer just beat the dog s*** out of a woman, the
other boxer a IAm just saying thereAs stuff inside the
bubble that could be bad.

The oloony Left,o Maher argued, continues to odie on the hills that are unnecessary to die on,o Maher said. That isnAt just a punchline. ItAs a message directed straight at party leaders. Keep it up, and get ready
for President JD Vance (or Marco Rubio).

MaherAs mission couldnAt be more obvious. HeAs trying to save his party
from itself, and heAs dropping smart bomb jokes to nudge that message
along.

Strike Force Five members do just the opposite. They ignore their
partyAs failings and pretend thereAs nothing beyond the pale about them
to mock. That will ultimately hurt Democrats, who canAt sharpen their rhetorical skills while being coddled by their late-night defenders.

ThereAs another, more personal reason why Maher would never crack the
Five. HeAs no fan of their approach to their craft. Last year, he said
his late-night peers parrot whatAs uttered on MSNBC: oaeverybody makes
their decisions based on the politics of the art and not the art
itself.o

Maher may not be Strike-worthy, but that oAvengerso media label is
laughable on three fronts.

One, thereAs nothing special about this collection of thinly disguised activists. After all, the current late-night TV landscape appears to be
in a death spiral, according to both Kimmel and former late-night
superstar David Letterman. The latter comic gives the format another
year, at best.

Revenue is way down. So are the ratings, by and large. ABC did re-sign
Kimmel late last year a for a measly one-year extension. And if Colbert
got the ax from CBS for reportedly losing the company $40 million a
year, how much is Kimmel costing ABC, given the similar format and
ratings that consistently follow ColbertAs lead?

Two, they all share essentially the same osuperpowers,o the ability to
hit one side and ignore the other. The MCU gang brings wildly different
skill sets together for the greater good, be it super strength, the
power of flight, or the ability to shrink to the size of an ant.

And three, by ignoring bad actors on the Left and pushing false
narratives elsewhere, this group is the furthest thing from oEarthAs
Mightiest Heroes.o TheyAre hurting the country.

Maher, at 70, is the oldest of the late-night bunch, but his late-night
future still may be the most secure. He continues to attract both right-leaning guests and fans for his HBO showcase and oClub Randomo
podcast.

Kimmel may have famously wished onot good riddance, but riddanceo to conservatives, but Maher says, obring aem on.o

That means Maher isnAt automatically alienating half the country.
ThatAs smart. ItAs also his best survival tactic in an increasingly competitive market.

ThatAs his undeniable superpower.
--
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
love this country.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Far-Left Avengers . assemble!

The Legacy Media is celebrating the return of Strike Force Five. The
group, comprised of progressive late-night hosts, originally gathered
in 2023 during the protracted Hollywood writers' strike.

Jimmy Kimmel. Jimmy Fallon. Stephen Colbert. Seth Meyers. John Oliver.
(Jon Stewart hadn't returned to "The Daily Show" at that time.)

Except one late-night liberal either lost his invite or never got one
in the first place: Bill Maher.

It's not as if the "Real Time with Bill Maher" host votes differently
than that gaggle. Or that Maher doesn't skewer President Donald Trump
on a regular basis.

Boy, does he ever. He still hints that Trump won't leave office once
his second term wraps.

Maher isn't a cozy fit for the Five comedians despite those
similarities. He speaks freely and regularly roasts his own side. And,
perhaps most of all, he invites right-leaning guests on his shows for
frank talks about everything from culture to politics. Yes, politics.

All of the above makes him a unicorn on the late-night landscape, and a welcome one at that. Maher would be a square peg in a round Strike
Force hole.

The progressive Five have become achingly predictable in recent years.
The monologues all attack the same subjects - President Trump, Elon
Musk, the right-leaning Supreme Court - while ignoring the foibles of
modern Democrats.

What Rep. Eric Swalwell scandal?

They collectively downplayed or ignored President Joe Biden's tragic
cognitive decline for nearly four years. When Biden short-circuited
during that cringeworthy 2024 presidential debate, they finally had to
speak a bit of truth to power.

Colbert finally teed off on the 80-something leader a few days after
the debate: "Biden debated as well as Abe Lincoln . if you dug him up
right now."

That came weeks after Colbert headlined a Biden fundraiser and didn't
alert his viewers that the president wasn't intellectually up to the
gig after seeing him up close.

Nor did Kimmel, who was on hand the night President Biden froze at the
end of a fundraiser. Former President Barack Obama had to gently guide
him offstage.

In a way, Maher is a more pragmatic Democrat than his peers. He's spent
the last few years warning his party about its extreme points of view,
from a reliance on Identity Politics to woke overreach.

He's argued on more than one occasion that a party that insists trans
women can fairly compete against women may be doomed at the ballot box.
He made the argument again during a recent sit-down with progressive
comic David Cross about Imane Khelif, the male boxer who won a gold
medal against female competitors:

I mean, we saw in the Olympics . a man, now fighting as
a woman boxer just beat the dog s*** out of a woman, the
other boxer . I'm just saying there's stuff inside the
bubble that could be bad.

The "loony Left," Maher argued, continues to "die on the hills that are unnecessary to die on," Maher said. That isn't just a punchline. It's a message directed straight at party leaders. Keep it up, and get ready
for President JD Vance (or Marco Rubio).

Maher's mission couldn't be more obvious. He's trying to save his party
from itself, and he's dropping smart bomb jokes to nudge that message
along.

Strike Force Five members do just the opposite. They ignore their
party's failings and pretend there's nothing beyond the pale about them
to mock. That will ultimately hurt Democrats, who can't sharpen their rhetorical skills while being coddled by their late-night defenders.

There's another, more personal reason why Maher would never crack the
Five. He's no fan of their approach to their craft. Last year, he said
his late-night peers parrot what's uttered on MSNBC: ".everybody makes
their decisions based on the politics of the art and not the art
itself."

Maher may not be Strike-worthy, but that "Avengers" media label is
laughable on three fronts.

One, there's nothing special about this collection of thinly disguised activists. After all, the current late-night TV landscape appears to be
in a death spiral, according to both Kimmel and former late-night
superstar David Letterman. The latter comic gives the format another
year, at best.

Revenue is way down. So are the ratings, by and large. ABC did re-sign
Kimmel late last year . for a measly one-year extension. And if Colbert
got the ax from CBS for reportedly losing the company $40 million a
year, how much is Kimmel costing ABC, given the similar format and
ratings that consistently follow Colbert's lead?

Two, they all share essentially the same "superpowers," the ability to
hit one side and ignore the other. The MCU gang brings wildly different
skill sets together for the greater good, be it super strength, the
power of flight, or the ability to shrink to the size of an ant.

And three, by ignoring bad actors on the Left and pushing false
narratives elsewhere, this group is the furthest thing from "Earth's
Mightiest Heroes." They're hurting the country.

Maher, at 70, is the oldest of the late-night bunch, but his late-night
future still may be the most secure. He continues to attract both right-leaning guests and fans for his HBO showcase and "Club Random"
podcast.

Kimmel may have famously wished "not good riddance, but riddance" to conservatives, but Maher says, "bring `em on."

That means Maher isn't automatically alienating half the country.
That's smart. It's also his best survival tactic in an increasingly competitive market.

That's his undeniable superpower.
--
Democrats and the liberal media hate President Trump more than they
love this country.

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2