Maher: ‘If you are racist, you’re probably a Republican’

By David Edwards and Gavin Dahl

Not all Republicans are racists, but racists are more than likely to be Republicans, according to comedian Bill Maher.

"Government intrusion, you know government power, is something that really bothers conservatives unless it's directed at people that are not white. It seems like there is something like that going on there," Maher said on ABC Sunday.

Critics accuse Arizona's Republican legislature of creating a law that will affect non-whites disproportionately. An email covered by RAWSTORY yesterday proved the authors of the bill targeted poor Latinos with "cars on blocks in the yard."

ABC showed a text graphic of Florida Republican Congressman Connie Mack's statement on Thursday. "This law of frontier justice," he said, "is reminiscent of a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people on the street and asked for their papers without probable cause."

Nevertheless, conservative columnist George Will seemed to take Maher's words personally. "Mr. Maher, just said -- if i heard him right -- that conservatives basically are racists and like government intrusion only against people that aren't white," said Will.

"Let me defend myself," countered Maher. "I would never say and I have never said, because it's not true that Republicans, all Republicans are racists. That would be silly and wrong. But nowadays, if you are racist, you're probably a Republican. And that is quite different," explained Maher.

But that wasn't a topic that ABC's Jake Tapper was willing to cover. "That's a whole other round table conversation," Tapper said as he quickly changed the subject.

This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast May 2, 2010.