Bill Maher flips

To borrow Rick’s lovelorn lament in Casablanca: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, Bill Maher walks into mine (and John Hinderaker’s). My gin joint, so to speak, is Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, where I drink, live, and vote. Bill Maher has walked in to announce that he has has picked incumbent Republican Rep. John Kline to knock off in Maher’s bid to Flip a District. Maher is a showbiz millionaire who is going to pour money into the district to try to flip it to a Democrat. Flip off is more like it.

We think John is going to win his rematch against Democrat Mike Obermueller in 2014. John beat Obermueller by over 7 points in 2012, a good Democratic year. In 2014 Obermueller is a generic Democrat running in a marginally Republican district in a good Republican year. John should do at least as well has he did in 2012 against Obermueller this time around.

Moreover, to say the least, John is a meritorious incumbent and a worthy candidate for reelection. He is an extraordinarily solid conservative and man, having served in his first career with distinction as a Marine officer who carried the nuclear football for President Carter and President Reagan. He is a model congressman. In a time when national security issues have returned to the forefront, his wisdom and experience are badly needed in Congress.

If Maher is serious, one would conclude that he has chosen poorly. Shortly after the announcement, Maher himself admitted he doesn’t know anything about John. “I’ve never heard of John Kline, but he sounds like he might be Jewish,” Maher joked. As a comedian, anyway, Maher is serious. He has reached his usual level of hilarity on the humor front.

The disappointment in the report on Maher’s announcement by the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake is palpable. Blake laments: “He picked the wrong guy.” You can annoy Maher by contributing to John Kline here.

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