Remember when Mike Lawler voted in favor of suspending time so that Donald Trump could have his way with tariffs? By voting that a day shall not be a day? I tend to agree that a day isn’t a day any more. The headlines make each day feel like at least a week.
Having missed some time while on hiatus, maybe an appropriate topic today is “Real Time.” As in the weekly political commentary show hosted by comedian Bill Maher since 2003, the second most popular show on HBO Max. Where Mike Lawler joined the discussion as a guest on last Friday night’s show.
Why did local Congressman Mike Lawler get the spotlight on Real Time? Because he made the national headlines when his town hall “devolved into chaos” on May 4th:
The woman who was forcibly removed is a 64-year-old social worker and Lawler constituent. As summarized by Mother Jones: “Her offense? Asking [Lawler] what it would take for him to stand up to Trump.” And calling out “answer the question” when he failed to answer directly.
In typical Trumpian style, Lawler defended her removal by branding her “a radical far-left activist” who “needs help.” Then he retreated to Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News for comfort, where Hannity suggested that the rabble-rousers were “people going into Republican districts, those are the key words.”
Never mind the strict ground rules for Lawler’s event that required proof of residency in NY-17. Then prohibited videos, required verbal assent to a lengthy list of rules, and surrounded attendees with heavy security. A chilly room, to say the least.
“These folks don’t want to hear answers,” Lawler complained to Hannity. Actually, that’s exactly what they want. You have the microphone and the security detail, Mike. Just answer the questions. Instead, you go on Hannity and portray the questioners — your constituents — as radicals, then ask people to “Text CRAZY to 85007 to support our campaign to keep the majority.”
Which leads us back to last Friday’s episode of Real Time, where Bill Maher asked Lawler, “Why was that woman thrown out?”
Once again, Lawler had the microphone, not “that woman.” He got to describe her behavior as he wished. No video to support what he described, and no pushback from Bill Maher. Just a “good for you.”
When Maher asked Lawler how he’s standing up to the Trump regime, he cited his bold stance that Trump should comply with the 9-0 Supreme Court directive to facilitate the return of deportee Abrego Garcia; that he fought to reinstate 16 fired employees at the World Trade Center Health Fund; and that he is fighting to protect Medicaid. Trump has said repeatedly that he won’t cut Medicaid, so I’m not sure how that’s responsive to the question.
Maher had no followup. I suspect that nobody on Bill Maher’s staff (and quite possibly nobody in general) read the Rule of Lawler archives to prepare for this appearance. So Lawler skated through another one.
And then there was this the day after Lawler’s town hall:
We all know who should be doing real time. And who his apologists and defenders are.
Rule of Lawler 