Liberal pundit Bill Maher blasts California Dems over wildfires, calls Bass "Nero" | Eastern NC Now

On his show, "Real Time", liberal pundit Bill Maher has said the fault for the Los Angeles wildfires straight on the doorstep of California's liberal politicians, particularly Mayor Karen Bass.   He called Bass "the Nero of American politics" comparing her to Roman Emporer Nero, under whom Rome had a great fire and Nero is reputed to literally have played the fiddle while Rome burned.  The heading for Maher's segment on the wildfires was "Welcome to the Bungle."   

Maher is a resident of Los Angeles himself.

"Is wokeness the main reason for the fires?," Maher asked. "Of course not. But it is also not wrong to associate some of the unforced errors our government made with things normies see as hallmarks of uber progressive politics, questionable budget priorities, high taxes that get you nothing, making everything about identity politics, virtue signalling overseas instead of tending to the nuts and bolts at home,"  Maher specifically hit the Democrat politicians for empty resevoirs, an understaffed fire department, failure to upgrade power lines, failure to properly manage forests, underfunding the fire department, leaving half its fire trucks inoperatble, and obsessing over DEI.

On the Democrats' "climate" excuse, Maher responded "that's largely out of our control. What are we going to do about it?  Pass a ballot measure to make sure the Chinese stop burning coal?"  He pointed out that California had worse fires in 2011 and seemed to have learned nothing from them.  "LA's Mayor Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned."

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2025/01/18/maher-remarks-on-los-angeles-wildfires-n2184503

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/01/17/maher-on-fires-climates-mostly-out-of-our-hands-we-can-control-high-taxes-for-nothing-stupid-dei-bass-going-nero/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14299081/Bill-Maher-attacks-LAFD-DEI-lesbian-job-fire-chief.html

Meanwhile, Los Angeles firefighters continue to come forward and explain how the political budget cuts to their department kept them from being able to knock down the Pallisades fire before it got out of hand.  Despite being particularly prone to wildfires, the Los Angeles Fire Department has been the most severely underfunded among America's ten largest cities.

https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1880013540263669983?mx=2