Arnold Schwarzenegger is hardly my favorite Republican; heck, I’m not even sure he’s still a Republican, but I have to say, I appreciated his recent appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher. During his appearance, the former California governor dismantled Maher’s predictable talking points about gerrymandering, reminding him (and the audience) that Democrats are hardly innocent when it comes to manipulating district maps for political gain.
In fact, they’re the most guilty.
Maher kicked off the segment with the kind of partisan lament we’ve come to expect. “It makes sense in that the Democrats have no power now,” he said. “The only power they can have is if they win the midterm elections and take back the House. If only the Republicans get to gerrymander, the Democrats will never take back the House.”
Schwarzenegger didn’t let that slide. “No, no,” he interrupted. “Gerrymandering is going on, has been going on for 200 years.”
Maher, incredulous, tried to counter by claiming (falsely, I might add), “Not on this level.”
But Schwarzenegger wasn’t having it. “Look,” he said, “there are states out there that have 40% of Republicans and only have, like, 20% representation in Congress. There’s the opposite also true. So there’s gerrymandering going on all over.”
Actually, it’s worse than that. Massachusetts, for example is roughly 40% Republican, yet Republicans hold zero seats in Congress. Connecticut has five seats, but zero Republican districts. Illinois has 17 U.S. House seats, but Republican have just three House seats despite having about 47% of the statewide vote. California, Schwarzenegger’s home state, has nine Republican seats in the U.S. House despite having about 40% of the statewide vote. I could go on, but you get the idea.
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So, in reality, to say “both parties do it” doesn’t quite get it right. The truth of the matter is that Democrats are masters of gerrymandering, but, curiously, that doesn’t bother Maher.
Schwarzenegger, to his credit, called out the entire corrupt system, not just one side of it. “To undo all of that and to take away the power — see, this is a trick that you have to understand,” he said. “The Democrats are fighting the Republicans. The Republicans are fighting with the Democrats. But you know something? One of them is going to win.”
Maher jumped in: “Yes, it’s gonna be the Republicans… because they didn’t follow your example into the halls of nobleness.”
Once again, Maher showed his cards. He’s firmly on the team that says it’s “different” when Democrats do it. The ongoing debate over redistricting is a direct response to the decades of Democrats gaming the system against Republicans. That’s why they are panicking about Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of race-based districts that Democrats rely so much on for ill-gotten districts.
Bill Maher: “If only the Republicans get to gerrymander, the Democrats will never take back the House.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger: “No, no, gerrymandering has been going on for 200 years.”
Bill Maher: “Not on this level.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger: *Isn’t buying it* “Look, there… pic.twitter.com/zlHYncXyl3
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 18, 2025
Maher sees politics as a team sport, where his team winning matters more than playing fair. I’ve given him credit when he criticizes the far-left “woke” crowd, but sometimes I wonder if that’s less about principle and more about strategy because he knows their extremism is bad optics for Democrats and risks turning voters away. Perhaps when Maher pushes back on the crazies, it’s not because he’s rejecting their ideology, but because he’s worried they’re costing his team the game. That’s certainly my takeaway when he pretends gerrymandering is a uniquely Republican sin, while excusing or denying it when Democrats do the same thing.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is still ongoing, and polls are now showing Americans are increasingly blaming the Democrats for this mess, but we can’t let them spin their way out of it.
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