Why are Conservatives and Republicans not funny?

K · Post by K » Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:31 am

So, I'm not here to bash the illogical nature of their arguments, or anything of the like. My question is simple: why are they not funny?

I mean, the Blue Collar Comedy tour is funny and some of those guys are Republicans, but they do low-brow humor and don't do political satire. Shows like Red Eye makes sure that there is a conservative sex kitten on every episode, and still they can't make a decent joke to save their lives. Fox has tried several aborted attempts to make a Daily Show rip-off using actual comedians and have not found success. Even pseudo-conservatives like Bill Marr aren't that funny.

Is it that conservative political thought is itself a parody (as shown by Steven Colbert), and you can't make a parody of a parody and still be funny?

IGTN · Post by **IGTN** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:36 am

Making fun of rich people is satire. Making fun of poor people is bullying. Bullying isn't funny. Satire is.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 6:51 am

I think that's really two issues:

1) Why are most successful comedians Liberals?
2) Why is it easier to make fun of Republicans than it is to make fun of Democrats?

I think the answer to the first part might have something do with the sort of personality that is willing to give up money and power in the pursuit of being funny. It might be because Conservatives tend to take themselves more seriously. They also have more institutions that them can attack/parody while keeping their self-identity. It's OK for a Marxist make fun of Karl, but it is not OK for a Christian to make fun of Jesus.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:39 am

The thing is, people like The Daily Show really do mock liberals from time to time, and it's still funny. Often some of their best material. I believe it has to do with the fact that the conservative comedy groups don't make fun of political conservatives.

If you won't mock yourself, you're never going to be able to make fun of someone else.

-Username17

Gelare · Post by **Gelare** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:02 am

It's not easier to mock either conservatives or liberals, they both make for easy targets. It's refreshing when Jon Stewart does a bit on liberals, and no less funny.

angelfromanotherpin · Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:40 pm

They don't seem to understand human emotions.

Juton · Post by **Juton** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 4:09 pm

There's an old adage that goes 'a conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged'. Most of the Republican's issues are framed in fear, like allowing gays to marry will destroy marriage and eventually all families everywhere. If you're laughing at something you're not afraid of it any more, or at least you are less afraid. So being funny seems to contradict being conservative.

Josh_Kablack · Post by **Josh_Kablack** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 5:03 pm

angelfromanotherpin wrote:They don't seem to understand human emotions.

from link wrote: Limbaugh previously told a caller who could not afford the $6,000 it would cost to treat a broken wrist that he "shouldn't have broken [his] wrist."

And yet, many republicans blanch at the characterization of their health plan as "don't get sick".

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:05 pm

I don't find alot of political satire (at least current topics) funny. But there are some conservative humorists who are funny... Just don't let them tell jokes about politics.

-Crissa

Data Vampire · Post by **Data Vampire** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:20 am

Poe's Law most likely play a part in this.

ckafrica · Post by **ckafrica** » Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:21 am

Well P.J. O'Rourke used to be funny, but I haven't read his stuff in a long time.

Draco_Argentum · Post by **Draco_Argentum** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:12 am

Gelare wrote:It's not easier to mock either conservatives or liberals, they both make for easy targets. It's refreshing when Jon Stewart does a bit on liberals, and no less funny.

Stewart's bit on Olberman was hilarious.

Its not a problem with making fun of poor people being bullying either. Trailer trash are poor and they make great targets for jokes.

I'm not sure really, it can't be that hard to have someone pretend to be a super hippie lefty version of Colbert and be funny about it.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:24 am

Stewart got Olberman to come on his own show and make fun of himself after that. Where they were doing a thing on Chat Roulette and he went off on a tirade about Orwellian Bush policies and voyeurism and then because it was Chat Roulette, he suggested that it was time for one of them to take their pants off. So right after Stewart made fun of Olberman for being a one-note anti-Bush ranter, he got Olberman onto the show to do a bit about how he was in fact a one-note anti-Bush ranter. And it was comedy gold.

That's what I think is really missing from the modern conservative movement. Everything has to be "on message" so much that they can't take time out of their day to poke fun at their own message.

It's probably based on the strategy of ranting about Death Panels. If you ever took a break - even for a moment - to talk about how fucking absurd that was, I don't think you could go back to taking it seriously as an idea. They can't sit back and be funny about stuff because they have to work constantly to keep a straight face while doing that. A goodly proportion of people think that Obamacare has been "rammed down their throats" simply because the right wing never stopped saying that. Even though it's wildly popular and has been slowly and completely deliberated for an entire year in one of the most open and participatory pieces of legislation in American history. You can't get that kind of radical disconnect if you ever stop to look at yourself and ask "Seriously?"

-Username17

RiotGearEpsilon · Post by **RiotGearEpsilon** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:44 pm

FrankTrollman wrote:You can't get that kind of radical disconnect if you ever stop to look at yourself and ask "Seriously?"

This seems reasonable. Republicans aren't funny because genuine jest is toxic to the myopic psychology they depend on.

Wesley Street · Post by **Wesley Street** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:35 pm

As K pointed out, Republicans and Conservatives can tell jokes that are actually funny. They just can't be jokes about political affairs or hot-button issues.

Blue Collar Comedy-style yucks are just slice-of-life, sitcom-style nonsense. But it isn't particularly deep. Humor with meaning that actually impacts requires self-awareness on the part of the audience.

And are you referring to Bill Mahr or is there a comedian named Bill Marr that I'm unaware of? Bill Mahr is a raving atheistic leftist, not a pseudo-conservative. He's stuck up his own ass but simply because he's friends with Anne Coulter doesn't make him a conservative.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:01 pm

Bill Maher is an atheist and a raver, but he's not much of a leftist. He spent much of the early part of the Bush administration cheering them on. He only broke ranks because he's probably a [EDITED]. Even then it took them actually coming out with a push to make a constitutional amendment to permanently confirm homosexuals as second class citizens before he came out and threatened to out his gay republican friends.

He has been pushed to the left by the whole "let's kill the gays" legislation the conservatives were working on. But back in the nineties he described himself as a "Centrist" - between Bill Clinton and Robert Dole! Which would make him a conservative even by American standards.

The fact that a number of "confirmed bachelors" from Hollywood became anti-Republicans in the fallout of the Bush administration's attempt to enshrine gay bashing into a constitutionally protected activity was hardly surprising. On that note, did you know that Ariana Huffington got started in politics trying to privatize all the roads in California? She came into the game somewhere to the right of Spiro Agnew, and has been moving left ever since.

-Username17

mean_liar · Post by **mean_liar** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:46 am

Maher dated Superhead.

http://www.mwza.com/karrine-superhead-s ... ill-maher/

Now, that puts him out of the homo camp. Maybe bi, but straight homosexual is probably not true.

Unless you have juicy gossip?

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:28 am

Yeah, no gay guy has ever dated a woman ever, especially not famous ones with a lot of scrutiny. That totally proves it.

mean_liar · Post by **mean_liar** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:35 am

I've never heard anything about Maher being gay before.

Juton · Post by **Juton** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:47 am

I wonder if left wing comedy is the reciprocal of all the good/long lasting talk radio being right wing? Being good at one prevents you from being good at another.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 3:23 am

I recently saw the 2009 Slammy Awards. Hosted by... Dennis Miller. I had never heard of him before, and I wish I still hadn't.

One thing I must note, he supported the heels and insulted the fans/faces, which is certainly odd: if he's there with his own material, trying to get laughs and cheers, he's failing for more reasons than his jokes being crap. On the other hand, if Vince basically wrote him a script for the wrestling side of it, or told him who to support, is that McMahon's subtle way of saying he thinks the Republicans are "the bad guys"?

But these are his hilarious jokes:

"I never realised the world of wrestling and the world of politics had so much in common. You both have loud women who need to shut up!" (pictures of Nancy Pelosi and... I think it was Vickie Guerrero)

"And you both have the golden boy, the champion who everyone loves and can do everything!" (pictures of Obama and Cena) "And these two have more in common. Last week, Cena got put through a table, and so far, Obama has yet to bring anything to a table."

Yeah. I'm going to guess he's at least this bad with his normal stuff.

Neeeek · Post by **Neeeek** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:23 am

FrankTrollman wrote: He only broke ranks because he's probably a [EDITED].

No, not really. He's probably straight. Maher is basically a libertarian. Which means he's fucking crazy, but at the moment has more in common with the left wing of American politics than the right. But suggesting he's a leftie in any way, shape or form requires ignoring most of what he's ever said. He looks leftwing because the American rightwing is batshit crazy, and having recognized batshit crazy, Maher has tried to not be a part of it.

mean_liar · Post by **mean_liar** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:41 pm

Dennis Miller used to be funny... back when he was a leftist.

He pulled a PJ O'Rourke. Al Franken says that Miller never changed, but Dennis Miller Live is a far cry from what he used to do. Maybe he never changed, but his act sure did.

ggroy · Post by **ggroy** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:45 pm

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:10 pm

Isn't Miller a Fox News commentator now? I think I recall seeing him on Bill O'Reilly's show. But he sucked worse than O'Reilly, so I changed the channel.