“The cautionary tale of the ghost brand is an important one because it applies not only to business but also to politics. I fear the Democratic Party<\/a> is at risk of becoming a ghost brand too,” he warned. “Like Sears, it used to be mighty and ascendant and popular.”<\/p>\n Maher described a ghost brand as “a company or a store that, like Sears, still exists, but only as a pathetic shell of its former self. The brands that make you say, ‘Oh, they’re still making that.’ Because they screwed themselves out of relevance and now their logos haunt us, wandering, neither alive nor dead like Mitch McConnell.”<\/p>\n BILL MAHER BELIEVES THIS OUTSIDER COULD BE THE KEY TO RESTORE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S CREDIBILITY WITH VOTERS<\/a><\/p>\n Bill Maher on the set of “Real Time” Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (Screenshot\/HBO)<\/p>\n Pointing to the fact that, at one point, Sears accounted for 1% of the entire U.S. economy and 41% of the country’s appliance market, the company eventually faded into obscurity, leaving behind its status as an American staple. He expressed concern that the same story may be playing out with the Democratic Party’s position in American politics.<\/p>\n “Democrats once controlled Congress and the Supreme Court, or at least competitively. But now, even at a time when President Trump is turning 250 years of democracy into jean shorts, the Democrats have their lowest rating in 35 years \u2014 63% unfavorable,” he noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n “What happened? I don’t know. What happened to Sears?” Maher continued. “It used to be synonymous with the American dream because it kept faith with what the customer wanted. Did we love Sears? No. But that was beside the point. You just went.”<\/p>\n BILL MAHER ADMITS HE STILL FEARS GETTING CANCELED DESPITE CULTURAL ‘VIBE SHIFT’ AFTER ELECTION<\/a><\/p>\n A report from The Hill cited Democratic Party strategists who were so desperate for a bump in the party’s polling they thought it would better be “praying” for a depression.\u00a0 (Paul Steinhauser\/Fox News)<\/p>\n The “Real Time” host also mentioned another American ghost brand, the adult lifestyle brand Playboy, joking that Sears sold your father a mattress, and Playboy magazine was what he hid under it.<\/p>\n According to Maher, Playboy used to be a “surefire product” until it started “messing around with the formula.”<\/p>\n “Like the Democratic Party, Playboy decided they didn’t need straight men anymore. They put transgender women and gay men on the cover and, predictably, sales \u2014 like their subscribers’ penises \u2014 collapsed,” Maher argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The staff began using terms like intersectionality, sex positivity and privileging. And, in response, Playboy readers use terms like, \u2018No thanks, get the f— out of here and bye-bye.\u2019”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE<\/a><\/p>\n Barney’s former flagship store on Maddison Avenue in New York City July 15, 2019. (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Barneys, once a dominant force in American retail that later became a ghost brand, closed its flagship Madison Avenue<\/a> store after filing for bankruptcy in 2019. The once-great \u2014 now bankrupt \u2014 retail fashion brand was Maher’s final victim of analogy for the night.<\/p>\n![\"Bill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bill-maher-ghost-brand-democratic-party.jpg\")
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