Bill Maher: 'I don't love paying taxes

Liberal comedian and Real Time host Bill Maher is responding to liberals and conservatives who picked up on his recent comment that wealthier Americans may be reaching a breaking point on taxes.

"I'm sorry, but for the most part I don't love paying taxes," Maher wrote on his blog Monday. "I view them as a necessary evil. I even view paying them as a form of patriotism. But I'm also a sentient adult who understands that a lot of that money goes to stuff I really don't like and don't think is necessary, like our enormous and bloated defense budget."

On his show in March Maher said that liberals could "actually lose" him in the "fair share" argument. "I just want to say liberals — you could actually lose me," he said. "It’s outrageous what we’re paying — over 50 percent. I’m willing to pay my share, but yeah, it’s ridiculous."

Maher's Monday post was a call for both Democrats and Republicans to ease up on partisanship. "I'm not going to defend the current system as if it's perfect and delight in paying for it simply because there's a Democrat in the White House," he wrote. "I'm also not going to take the position of 'All government programs are good.' Or 'All poor people are noble.' Or 'Everything the teachers union does should be defended.' Or 'The higher the tax rate on the rich, the better.'"

@eScarry