On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher urged 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to understand that elections are binary choices and “stop wearing your most divisive issues on your sleeve.”

Maher began by saying that elections in the U.S. are a binary choice, and “The question Democrats must ask themselves is, what would make a voter say, Trump’s right. I don’t like him, but I have no choice? Well, let’s go down the list: Bernie Sanders says we should let the Boston Marathon bomber vote. Why? Is there a great clamoring to give deranged serial killers more of a voice in civil society? … Now, I’m sure you can make an argument for this, but we’re trying to win an election here, and this just feeds into what Trump is selling.”

He continued, “Elizabeth Warren has not come out in favor of imprisoned serial killers voting, but she does want taxpayers to cover their sex-change operations in prison. Which brings up the question, if you tried, could you come up with a policy with more third rail buzzwords in it? … And again, where are the votes in this?”

Maher added, “So, let’s imagine a slightly different scenario, you’re a progressive voter who likes Elizabeth Warren. You drive a Prius, hate guns, and buy kale in bulk, but you find out that Warren does not support taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgery for convicts. So, that’s it? Dealbreaker? You’re voting for Trump now? Of course not. This is the binary thing Democrats don’t get … They’ve got nowhere else to go. So, you can stop wearing your most divisive issues on your sleeve.”

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