In perhaps what was the biggest surprise of his show tonight, Bill Maher defended the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, even as the bill has been temporarily shelved, arguing that “there is a moral dimension” to online piracy and dismissed concerns that the bill would harm internet freedom as a “red herring.” He jokingly called online piracy “caucasian looting” and insisted that even if pirates are ‘just because you’re sitting at your computer in your pajama bottoms doesn’t mean you’re not stealing.”

In a segment partially pegged to Rick Santorum’s disputed remarks in Iowa Sunday, in which he’s alleged to have said he didn’t “want to make black people’s lives better” with “somebody else’s money,” Now with Alex Wagner panelists Matt Lewis of The Daily Caller and GBTV’s S.E. Cupp defended Santorum and Newt Gingrich against charges of bigotry and homophobia. Even giving Santorum a pass on those remarks, though, my colleagues’ respective defenses don’t hold water.

Over the weekend, Michele Bachmann‘s campaign has been going after CBS News over an e-mail accidentally sent to her spokeswoman saying that Bachmann would not be asked as many questions as the other candidates. The congresswoman accused CBS of media bias, but on Reliable Sources today, Howard Kurtz stood up for the network.

As the fallout from the Rick Perry “Camp N*ggerhead” controversy continues to build, an interesting peripheral question has emerged: How will this controversy affect the rising candidacy of Herman Cain, whose denunciation of Perry elevated this from a mere “hit piece” from the “liberal media” to an intramural fight among Republicans? The perfect storm of the “race card” and Cain’s use of a word that’s arguably as inflammatory to the conservative base as the n-word – “sensitivity” – could spell trouble for Cain’s meteoric campaign.

On CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday morning, host Howard Kurtz asked his panel to respond to the criticism, best summed up by Jon Stewart, that the media is unfairly ignoring the presidential candidacy of Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). While the panel offered a familiar raft of excuses, Kurtz pushed back against the notion that Paul can’t be elected, saying, “That can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you decide, in advance, that he’s not going to win the nomination.”

Aol’s Politics Daily blogger Matt Lewis reacted to news of his employer’s new purchase and, in a sense, new hire by making a firm decision: He’s leaving. Not only that, but he’s leaving for perennially bow-tied pundit Tucker Carlson‘s conservative-leaning news and opinion site, the Daily Caller.

Not content with cliché year-end wrap pieces, the voracious political media machine has resorted to reanimating the rotting corpses of memes past. Now, not only do we now have to avoid the stumbling, vacant groans of “Brains!” from Birther queen Orly Taitz, MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan Show has also thrust open the cemetery gates for “Death Panels.”

Using a report from Newsmax (Newsmax!) as its impetus, a panel that includes Jonathan Alter, Jane Hamsher, and Matt Lewis kicks the Death Panels around for awhile, but fails to deliver the requisite double-tap.

National Public Radio’s firing of Juan Williams over remarks he made on The O’Reilly Factor is just the latest example of a public figure losing their job for, to quote Allen Funt, “getting caught in the act of being themselves.”

While I don’t buy the various defenses that are being deployed on Williams’ behalf, there is an important principle at stake that is being washed away, not in the name of “political correctness,” but expediency. While loose lips have always been in danger of sinking career ships, the bar has been lowered to a level that can only serve to end our most valuable conversations.

Yesterday Dylan Ratigan may have surprised his audience when he announced that his political leanings were conservative, and not progressive or liberal like many on the right consider anything related to MSNBC to be. While wrapping up a panel discussion on Obama’s relationship with John Boehner and today’s GOP primary in Delaware with Jonathan Capehart, Alicia Menendez and Matt Lewis let loose his political stance which is certain to color how his future commentary is viewed.

Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey (one of Matt Lewis‘ Top 25 Twitter Conservatives) scored a hell of an exclusive, giving Nevada candidate for US Senate Sharron Angle a chance to allay concerns that she’s a closet birther. She also took the opportunity to back away from her controversial comments about those spoiled unemployed brats. Angle makes the sale on the first count, but not the second, and doesn’t touch her prescription for 2nd Amendment remedies to legislative ills.

Michael Steele told ABC’s George Stephanpoulos yesterday he had no plans to step down as RNC Chairman.

But in the wake of the Voyeur club scandal, two of those close to Steele have cut ties with him and the RNC – a big blow to Steele’s future.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked the burning question “Is Keith Olbermann Losing it?” While I was concerned more with the Countdown host’s loosening perspective, several media critics have since wondered if the show’s ratings portend its imminent demise. As the LA Times’ Andrew Malcolm puts it, are we counting down the last days of Countdown? More importantly, can Countdown be saved? Yup and here’s how.

It’s a New Yecade! I am going to keep saying that until it catches on. But either way, we’re four days in and everything feels COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Actually, and weirdly, it sort of does — maybe it’s because of all the decade-end stuff, but “2010″ looks, well, normal. Which is a very good sign. Which means we can now share all our shameful secrets from 2009. Like loving “Party In The USA.”

Conservative columnist Matt Lewis has announced, via his Twitter feed, that he is leaving Townhall.com. The split is mutual and amicable, and the world will continue to enjoy his wit and wisdom on the pages of Politics Daily, but his departure from Townhall completes a mini-exodus of influential commentators from the site. What’s left isn’t all that pretty.

A PSA from Mediaite: On Saturday, I engaged with some healthy debate with my friend and colleague from across the aisle, Matt Lewis on the subject of President Barack Obama‘s address to schoolchildren today. I wrote: “President Obama Is Coming For Your Children“; he wrote a vigorous response on Townhall.com… which I would link to [...]

My colleague across the aisle, Matt Lewis of Politics Daily and Townhall.com, has taken issue with my post about how crazy the uproar about President Barack Obama‘s address to schoolchildren is (“President Obama Is Coming For Your Children“). Well, he sorta thinks President Obama is coming for your children. With the worst kind of propaganda ever: Celebrities.

There’s a Barack Obama/Joker poster that’s spreading around the interweb like wildfire. It first surfaced back in April, but is catching on, now, in a big way.

The April Bedlam article noted a “Jim Crow quality” to the poster, and at least one writer has pegged it as being more than kinda racist. But might that be overstating it a little? Either way its existence seems to have achieved its primary goal of being provocative.