the new game plan, anyway, for liberal comedian bill maher host of "realtime with bill maher," he says entering into the exciting world of outright meddling with the political process to flip a district and knock a lawmaker of his audience choosing. i spoke with maher and asked him to explain his new plot. >> well, after i got obama elected with my million dollar ko contribution, i thuought, what the hell, i'll keep going. there's a tremendous paradox in america that the approval rating of congress is sometimes as oh low as 10% and return to cross is as high as 10%. people really do on an individual basis not like the people that are representing them and if we shine light on these people we might be able to flip one. so roll call, one of the newspapers of the capitol hill, asked republicans members of congress what they sought. congressman steve king, republican of iowa, he said, you should run. anybody that would put their name on the ballot is deserving of of our respect. so let's see if i can start to respect bill maher. also, then all of the comedians can make fun of you. have you

if something god forbid happens here, i wouldn't blame bill maher. >> most people wouldn't.one laugh. but conservatives generally support freedom of speech. so what we say if you don't like what's on tv, change the channel. let the free market speak for itself. it's not about having les voices out there, it's if you don't like something, turn it off, it's that stimpl. >> remember when james bond was smoking in the movies, it's going to influence young people. yet hollywood is known for oversexualizing their movies and violence in their movies. is there a correlation or is there not because i don't think liberals can have been it both ways. >> how can a conversation about bill maher 's terrible joke, because it's not funny. >> follow the yellow brick road. >> i don't understand how it's always about just a mass liberal attack. there are people who don't agree with what he said and they're liberal and they're on the left. >> tom hanks shouldn't smoke in a movie about walt disney. hollywood oversexualizes their movies, a lot of slils in their movies. is there a correlation or n

but i don't think it's like bill maher.out there standing on a stage campaigning for a candidate. he is somebody who's donated his money on behalf of a candidate. but that's what he is allowed to do as an american citizen. he wasn't a surrogate for a candidate. he wasn't on the campaign trail. so i think it's a very different situation, because abbott, as you just saw, is standing on the same stage with nugent. >> anna, the obama campaign, i remember their response, they said, about when bill maher said this thing about the donation, they said they can't be the arbiter of every statement that everybody makes in the policy and political arena. it sounds similar to what greg abbott basically said. >> that's right. when i used those words a little earlier, it's because i had read that quote that was said not by president obama but by his spokesperson, jay carney, in relation to bill maher. the bottom line is we should be fair on how we cover this on both parties and this should not be acceptable by either party. i think that i

bill maher, we have lots of different kinds of guests. bill maher doing something interesting. his humor is very much based on politics and he wants to get his audience and viewers and fans involved in unseating a member of congress. here's a preview. >> there is a tremendous paradox that the approval rating of congress is sometimes as low as 10%. yet the rate of congress people who are returned to office is over 90. how can that be? we thought we would test it and the response has been amazing. people really do on an individual district basis not like the people who are representing them very often. we think if we shine a little light on these people we might be able to flip one. >> now some members of congress have been asked about this. republican congressman steve king of iowa gave a very edgy response saying that maher should run for office himself. that's the true test of a man. we will have bill maher respond to that including one of his big causes, legalization of marijuana. >> he talks about that a lot and makes no secret to the fact that he smokes pot and likes it. th

. >> why am i the person that is supposed to defend bill maher every time? asking. >> i don't agree with him. >> i'm talking about the double standard. >> if you said that, that you wanted everyone killed at the oscars, it would be all over the place. people would say, you should be fired. >> i would say, it's a joke. >> but he's a comedian. >> bill maher can be funny, but he also cannot be funny. there are some things on his show that are entertaining, when he's off the mark, he seems like an angry person. and i'm surprised how -- >> calling on military cowards or sarah palin -- >> he seeks the lowest common denominator and panders to his audience. you heard someone whooping it up in the crowd. at least be clever. >> bill clinton talk tops the most forgivable liar poll. >> i want you to listen to me, i'm going to say this again, i did not have sexual relations with that woman, miss lewinsky. >> indeed i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. >> rand paul talked about the clintons, why is there this impres

whenever bill maher launches a campaign to mess with congress, he must stop by the lede to explain it for rest of us. he joins us this hour to discuss his plan to unseat some as of now unsuspecting member of congress. >>> good afternoon. welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. did you hear the sochi games are having trouble keeping enough snow around? well, they are welcome to ours. this is what the roads look like right now in raleigh, north carolina. a massive traffic jam. in the coming hours, washington, d.c., philadelphia, new york city, probably boston, too, pretty much every major city in the northeast is in the bull's-eye as this deadly winter storm that has closed the south for business barrels on. at least five deaths are blamed on the storm after it went through texas, louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. it's far from over in georgia, where atlanta looks like a big-scale glass menagerie, everything coated in ice. atlanta on the left two weeks ago, and now on the right. store shelves are picked clean in the southeast. at least 420,000 customers have already lost power. throu

bill maher will use the power of tv and his own hbo tv show to have viewers identify the worst house them out. he calls it flip a district. >> if you have someone that represents you who you think is a lemon, someone who is just a useless waste of space and there are apparently so many of them in congress, write us. #flipadistrict. we will shine a light. we will pick one and spend this whole year periodically going to that district, talking about that congressman, and see if we can't get some change effected. >>> and in the first month of legal recreational pot sales in colorado, retailers tell nbc news they collected more than nearly 1.25 million in tax revenue. retailers calculate colorado is on pace to bring in close to $100 million in recreational pot tax this year. those are two things we thought you should know today. >>> and time for the news nation gut check. we already know who won the super bowl after the seattle seahawks nearly shut out the broncos. now viewers are still deciding who won the so-called brand bowl after advertisers spent big bucks locking up commercial spots

several other people sent their well wishes to jay like bill maher, bob costas, president obama who saide appreciated all of leno's jokes about him. and as a thank you would make leno a new ambassador to antarctica. a plum job there. among the laughs, a somber note as leno said good-bye. >> i am -- [ applause ] >> the luckiest guy in the world. i got to meet presidents, astronauts, movie stars. it's just been incredible. >> other notable stars who stopped by for a sort of modified rendition of "the sound of music's" farewell song, oprah, carol burnett, sheryl crow, kim kardashian on the list, as well. a lot of folks who wanted to make sure that jay knew he was loved. you know, i'll tell you, just the one time i've been to the show, it's very clear that it's not just a job to him. it's not just work. he interacts with people, it's genuine. >> we'll miss him. we're excited to see jimmy start. it's a win/win for us. >> true. >>> time for weather & traffic on the 1s. 4:51. we're all wearing red. there's a purpose. it's wear red for womes heart health day. and we're trying to raise awareness.

tokens benalla because there's going to beat everyone in the great signs to guide told us witness bill maher is there all day and then right after he met another flight of stairs to me and for other movies to come to the top of the scramble because hotels lead for the best movies you can imagine token of going out to shoot hollywood film shot entirely in germany and this is coming home after last year she. the more need political fear that we often see if they'll have to be that this year's event. yet teflon deafening this year's probably won the school's star studded be seen in many years. but alongside that you have an amazing array of political thought to mean i think the four films from china showing in the competition in there from time to heal ucc is the beijing is from the smaller cities were a lot of political trouble was happening on the air do it very interested in the cheers that they're taking the interview that have been snowed in for german tv which broadcasts here recently on and show it entirely in english up in the bill in allah as the film saw them in half the director of g

several people sent in their well wishes to jay, as well, including bill maher, bob cos s costas, even president obama who said he appreciated all of leno's jokes about him and as a thank you, he'd like to make leno the new ambassador to antarctica. among all the laughs, there was a somber moment as leno said good-bye. >> i got to work with lighting people who made me look better than i really am. [ laughter ] >> i got to work with audio people who made me sound better than i do. and i got to work with producers and writers and just all kinds of talented people who make me look a lot smarter. >> aw. another fond moment, a star-studded version of "the sound of music's" farewell song featuring people. there's jim parsons, oprah was there, carol burnett there, sheryl crow, kim kardashian. so an all-star appearance and huge sendoff for jay. we'll miss him. >> hard to say good-bye. i'm hoping he'll pop up, you know, johnny carson just went away. i hope that jay leno will still -- >> i have a feeling he might show up here and there. >> it would be nice to see him. >>> we're tracking a develo

be -- others who sent their best, steve carell, olivia wilde, late nighters like bob costas and bill maher, matt damon, and many more. his official guest was his dear friend and first-ever guest on the "tonight show," billy crystal. leno took the last few minutes to thank those who helped him over the years and reflect on his amazing journey. [ applause ] >> i am the luckiest guy in the world. gay to the meet astronauts, movie stars. >> others stopped by for a modified rendition of "the sound of music's" farewell song. there's jim parsons, carol burnett next. there she is. sheryl crow, kim kardashian, oprah. star-studded affair. >> a great run for a class act. wish him well. >>> you might want to fill up your gas tank on the way home today. prices are going up. how much more you'll have to pay. >>> and it's friday. and the weekend is just around the corner. >>> this morning, a developing story in alexandria. police trying to find a man who knocked on a ridge road drive home and started shooting. they have no idea why. we're told he killed an alexandria music teacher, ruthanne lodato. he sh

i'm not a republican so i can frankly care what ted nugent said but i do have to say this month's bill maher tells amy bar this i mean all these people they called sarah palin talk about her so special needs son and now all of a sudden we're going to lift up this moral standard because ted nugent's it's about the president come on now i mean you talk about say you are your argument as both sides do it so both sides do right martha and small number rubble after the break. we welcome there nathan abby martin two of the two if we close on the our team network. it's going to give you a different perspective give me one stock never i'll give you the information you make the decision to me about how breaking this the resolution of the mind its resolution ideas and consciousness you frustrated with the system yeah extremely probably would be described as angry i think in a strong enough or single. i've got a quote for you. that's pretty tough. stay with substory. let's get this good looking good smear about guns instead of working for the people most missions on the beach we're pretty much on the b

i'm not a republican so i could frankly care what ted nugent said but i do have to say this month bill maher on this i mean all these people they called sarah palin talk about her sort of special needs song and now all of a sudden we're going to lift up this moral standard because ted nugent's it's about the president come on now i mean you talk about so you're on your argument as both sides do it so both sides do right more of a liberal rubble after the break. i got a quote for you. it's pretty tough. it's a way it's not story. because this guy like you but smear that guy stead of working for the people most issues the mainstream media were pretty much on the bridegroom's days you. know. they did rather well. it was a. very hard to take i. want to get some on here. why have you ever had sex with her big hair cut. please. please. please keep the public. welcome back this rise alone liberal run away until i horace cooper and kevin martin we have this great photo we are indeed and it's been nearly a month and a half since the chemicals poured into the elk river in west virginia in early januar

here's bill maher saying just about the same thing. >> i love this network, but i thought they were atle over the top in how much they had been covering this story. a lot of the shows, it is the first story, the top story every night. it's two months into this scandal. >> i am totally obsessed with the story, up apologetically and will continue to be obsessed with it while amazing things continue to happen. >> finally a research are says that people curse more on twitter than in real life. >> imagine that. the statistics are 0.5% in real life. 1% on paper, on twitter. >> 1 in 13 years is a curse word. the f-bomb was the most popular. a whole list of others, and then it gets progressively worse after that. >> i think people are more relaxed on twitter, but of course they're doing it in front of an audience. >> and i think you can get into a lot of trouble in twitter, as many people have found out. especially when you're using words like this. >> well, blank that. >> hey! >> that's it for this edition of "media buzz." i'm howard kurtz. let's continue the conversation on twitter. check o

if a conservative like let's say sarah palin is slammed by, bill maher, liberals play down the story,es are rightly outraged, but liberals are not. but when a liberal is called a "sub-human mongrel" what happens then? conservatives ignore that story, too. so when it comes to moral outrage, give me a break. on moral outrage, neither side has an ounce of credibility as far as i'm concerned. >> speaking of outrage, i think i said goldman. >> i was going to let that pass. >> ted nugent has said so many completely outrageous things. it is not even like borderline, it is so far over the line, that it is almost like he did it again. the story is about the politicians who choose to campaign with him. greg abbott, for the past three days we've called him to get him on the show so we could question him about why he thinks that is an okay thing to do? but is it a fair game to go after abbott, as we talked about president obama who is okay to take money from a super-pac who called sarah palin a c-word? >> fair on both sides, yes, it is fair to go after the man who could be governor of texas. in t

i'm going to play a clip my interview with bill maher recently about jay leno. >> what do you make ofo jay leno bowing out? >> i like jay leno. i'm unabashedly a fan. >> why does he get such a hard rap from other comedians? jealousy? >> a lot of it is that. >> i've found him incredibly nice, charming. >> yes. believe me, everyone could do a letter better in their personal life by saying what would jay do. i think they'd do a lot better in their professional life. >> fred, let's talk about jay the man. because actually he's quite a private guy. doesn't do many interviews, don't read much about him. on a couple recently but quite unusual. doesn't usually show you the private side a bit like john ny carson >> yes. and he wears a denim shirt around, regular guy. very hard worker. >> i don't see many other regular guys in denim shirts but -- we always say that about him. but where are all the other denim shirt guys walking around? >> and he had a private plane which i don't think he wanted people to know. he made jokes about airlines. but it was wonderful. but talking about his work ethic,

i take a lot of my things from bill maher, your left-sided poster boy and he used that to sky sarah palinsn't right here. >> what hillary clinton did in benz, she should be in jail right now, along with eric "gun running" holder and the other crooks in america. i won't call them names but i will identify -- >> but, ted, is this because you're afraid -- are you afraid that people like rick perry and rand paul about when you made the comment about subhuman mongrel and demanded an apology, they came to you and said we're not going to campaign with you anymore and do things with you anymore, is that what it took? >> they didn't say that at all. you will not find that quote. be very careful, erin burnett, that you don't make things up with your cohorts. >> i know you don't want to upset people like your cohorts that you say are better than you. >> it's my wife and my kids, they think i'd be better off if i back off that street rhetoric. i do respect people like rand paul and ted cruz. because i do represent a lot of the same people that they do, believe it or not, i think i owe it to those gre

earlier this month, a little bit of a surprise when the democratic candidate, charlie crist, told bill maherthe embargo worked. it's obvious to me we need to move forward, and i think get the embargo taken away. somebody running for statewide office saying that, you would have eliminated them a decade ago. now, he's a major player. republican governor rick scott fired back in a statement saying the importance of maintaining the embargo is that it stands for the cuban people's right to be free. the truth is, the u.s. have having an increasingly difficult time defending the cuba policy, particularly onto world stage. the united nations has voted 22 times to urge the u.s. to drop the embargo. it happened most recently last october, when the vote was 188-2, and only israel voted with the united states. even the communist argument doesn't work anymore. the trade relations with china, laos, vietnam, all communist countries, and businesses are putting pressure on the administration, saying the economic benefits of opening up the cuban trade market would be hugely beneficial. remind of the politics

a couple months ago, i did an appearance with bill maher on hbo and later in the same week, glenn beckabout the same exact stuff, manufacturing, skilled labor. we talked about college debt. we talked about all these things. same stuff i've been talking about since i started the foundation back in 2008. but the explosion didn't come from anything anybody said. it just came from who i was talking to. it's the same thing with walmart. you know? i think my comment to kevin was, you know, it's a hell of a thing when somebody you've been trained not to like suddenly does something that you actually agree with. it's cognitive dissonance and it forces you to look at american manufacturing as separate and apart from really everything. >> now, some of the other comments, not just kevin, someone wrote rome apple. it's hypocrisy. walmart's products are all made in china. walmart contributes to the empty factories. what's so powerful about an ad that makes no sense. i looked at the numbers. from 2001 to 2006, these are the latest numbers, not up to date, 133,000 u.s. manufacturing jobs were lost to

that was bill maher after threatening to filibuster the debt ceiling vote last week. >>> next up, what called a massive increase on online viewership after season two of "house of cards." according to early data, 16% of subscribers watched at least two episodes of the series on friday night alone there is no question that the fictional washington drama hits home with american audiences. and lead actor kevin spacey has a theory why. it's not the dirty politics that fans love, he says. they love that his character gets things done. here was spacey explaining the inspiration behind his role on abc's "this week". >> lyndon johnson is a character that my character in "house of cards" admires. you know, during his lifetime and certainly during his presidency, he took an enormous amount of criticism, certainly for his policies in vietnam. but we also have to look at the fact that he passed three civil rights bills in a very short presidency. and yes, he was called ruthless and machiavellian and sob and a lot of things during the course of his life. but people are reexamining people who are wi

. >>> time for the sideshow that was hbo's bill maher this friday on the turmoil in ukraine.ay the now vacant home of ousted president viktor yanukovych has become a tour for protesters who have been touring the home open to the public over the weekend. >>> next up, dennis rodman's trip to north korea last month may have drawn ill-fated condemnation, but it also seems to have inspired some producers out in hollywood. according to the hollywood reporter, believe this or not, 20th century fox is currently developing a feature film, that's at the movie theater, based on rodman's relationship with dictator kim jong un. and surprise, surprise, it's going to be a comedy. of course, rodman's real life drama is no laughing matter these days. he did a stint in rehab following his return from pyongyang and is currently under vex for the gifts he brought for kim jong un's birthday, which may have violated sanctions and u.s. law. give me a break. speaking of diplomacy, new york mayor bill de blasio made up with al roker today on the "today" show, burying the hatch after a very public twi

winter storm crippling the south, we will regrettably not have time to share our interview with bill maher. i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> jake, thanks very much. we're continuing to follow the breaking news. a deadly weather emergency, much of the southeast frozen shut, hundreds of thousands of people have no power. they are in the cold, getting ready for the dark. militaries more are about to get hammered farther north. and a new snow gem is unfolding with cars stopped and abandoned. stand by for firsthand accounts of people stuck desperate to get home, including a pregnant woman in her car with a small child. is north carolina making the same mistakes as georgia did just a couple weeks snag tough questions for the state's governor meeps standing by to join us live. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're watching the deadly bombardment of ice and snow that's overwhelming the southern half of the country right now and heading toward the northeast as well. in the bull's-eye this hour in north carolina. heavy snow blanketing palm trees, more tha

and he brought up bill maher also using the "c" word to refer to sarah palin, which, of course, was utterly, it's inappropriate and horrendous no matter who's using it, regardless of your political party. >> i don't know how many times, i guess you've interviewed him in the past, but were you surprised he agreed to come on and to talk for 15 minutes? >> i was, brooke. i have interviewed him before about guns, and as you know, our colleague, deb feyerick, has been down to his average in texas and done extensive reporting on the cult of ted nugent, which is a significant -- he's a significantly influential individual, especially in a poor group of people, who care deeply about gun rights in country, and i was surprised. you know, last week, as you know, he was scheduled to come on the program and he canceled -- >> and he bailed. >> -- a couple of hours before the show, yeah. and then decided he was going to come back on, and he came on, and yes, i was, to be honest, surprised that he did. you know, he clearly felt the pressure that he needed to come on and talk about this more. and when i sai

bill maher, who is aligned with a lot of the places focused on this story called it an obsession. >>our washington obsession correspondent. sam stein. obviously, like willie said, dropping 20 points ain't nothing. this guy is a republican in a democratic state. he's still sitting at 49, 50%, depending what poll you look at. we have investigations. we'll see what way the investigations go. but still, he's holding pretty firm when you compare him to a democratic -- >> i see your point. >> why, thank you, sam. >> a lot of governors would be -- are envious of having a 49 approval, 46 disapproval. the context is obviously important, too, which is where he started. i think it's been a relentless -- i wouldn't call it obsession, but a relentless couple of weeks of coverage for chris christie. the question is, when does it e end? you get the sense that it's petering out now but more documents we produce -- >> there is that possibility. there's also the possibility that shows up on a flying saucer in central park. >> there's a greater possibility or probability of the former than the latter.

mike maher tip's -- it took two years of political maneuvering but the senate passed a farm bill.ved it last week president obama will sign it friday. it will cost $1 trillion over 10 years, it came after cutting $800 million to food stamps. they cost $5 billion a year paid to farmers if they grew crops or not. it will reduce the federal deficit by $16 billion over the next decade. >>> crews are cutting down dozens of redwood trees. the property company says it's doing so in hopes of attracting new tenants. current workers are not happy. >> crews work to fell the redwoods at 2001 gateway place to the dismay of tenants. he thought on the property managers would be felling sick redwoods. i work right there, i saw they were working on these redwoods, those redwoods were not sick. >> the mature redwoods were one of the reasons to lease here. >> they sent a memo, we won takenned the memo discussing modernizing the property and the city approved a select tree removal program. tenants feel sandbagged. >> it was buried in the 8th paragraph out. >> equity says we respect their right to hol