On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 3:48 AM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote:

> ... Dennis Miller is attempting to bring back his rants. I sampled
> three of them. To quote Aaron Sorkin, "He forgot to bring the funny."
>
> This brings back a topic we've discussed before, but can a
> conservative comic ever be funny? (SNIP)
>


> All three comics I mentioned each have the capacity to be funny, but
> when their "humor" leans to the right, the funny goes away. I can't
> think of any long-running conservative comics, unless one counts the
> redneck humor of the blue-collar brigade as conservative. I can't
> recall any conservative comics with any ethnicity other than white.



> (SNIP) Yet the majority of talk radio features conservatives laughing
> hysterically at liberals. But it isn't funny.
>
> It is just mean.
>
> Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
>

My now standard answer to this is that there are plenty of conservative
comedians, they should call themselves news commentators and appear on the
FN channel. From the little I have seen of Papa Bear, he can be pretty
funny.

I do think that in general it is harder to be a funny conservative because
conservativism by defintion is about defending tradition and the status
quo, which tends to be in the interest of those with power. Liberal
comedians who follow their instincts make fun of the powerful, and even
when harsh that does not come off as cruel. Conservative comedians who
follow their instincts come off sounding like Victoria Jackson, even when
they are not anywhere near as biting, because they are generally attacking
the marginalized and powerless and defending the wealthy, or at least
affluent, and the powerful. It can be done - I have heard some hilarious
basically stand up routines from conservative ministers preaching sermons.
They succeed I think because they can paint "The World" (liberal,
permissive, hedonistic, irresponsible popular culture) as the entrenched
power elites.

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