Bill Maher Bashes Rand Paul & Paul Ryan for Ruining Libertarianism

HBO

Bill Maher on Friday trashed the current wave of libertarianism, singling out Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as "intellectually stuck in their teen years."

"New rule," Maher said on "Real Time with Bill Maher." "Libertarians have to stop ruining libertarianism. Or at least do a better job of explaining the difference between today's libertarian and just being a selfish prick."

Maher, who has described himself as libertarian in the past, said that at some point, "libertarianism morphed into this creepy obsession with free market capitalism" based on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

"Her book has a strange appeal to people who are kind of smart, but not really," he said.

He said libertarianism as it stands now has gone "nuts."

"To everyone who keeps trying to shame me about abandoning my libertarian moorings, my message is this: I didn't go nuts, this movement did," he said. "Like when you see a stoplight, your reaction should be 'Great, an easy way to ensure we don't all crash into each other,' not, 'How dare the government tell me when I can and cannot go? Seatbelts? I refuse to live in a nanny state. I'm an individual and I want to soar free as an eagle -- right through the windshield."

Content warning -- some strong language: