House Republican Says Comedian Bill Maher's Joke 'Borders on Treason'

GOP Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama is charging that a comment by comedian Bill Maher on his HBO show, quote, "borders on treason," and he wants the show canceled. Bachus is angry with comments made by the comedian on his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, on May 13th, according to AP. In it, Maher was discussing the fact that the Army missed its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April. He said, "More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club. We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies." England was accused of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib and was shown in several of the pictures of the abuse that were seen around the world.

Bachus told AP, "I think it borders on treason. In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country." He's written to HBO's parent company, Time Warner, saying, "I don't want [Maher] prosecuted. I want him off the air." Maher released a statement Monday night (May 23rd) defending his support for the armed forces. He said, "Anyone who knows anything about my views and has watched my show knows that I have nothing but the highest regard for the men and women serving this country around the world."

This isn't the first time Maher's drawn political fire. Numerous television stations pulled his former ABC show, Politically Incorrect, when he argued one week after the 9/11 attacks that the terrorists weren't cowards when they flew the planes into the World Trade Center, but the U.S. was for lobbing cruise missiles. He later apologized.

Do you think that what Maher said bordered on treason?
Should Maher's show be taken off the air?