NationStates Jolt Archive

My fellow conservatives, while we are right (ha, bad pun!) on most issues, our message often fails to be heard or understood by a younger audience. Why?

Comedy. The Left, while I hate to admit it, has the best comedians. From Jon Stewart to Al Franken to Michael Moore, they make up for their complete lack of sense with comedic genius. And what does the Right have? Zilch.

So what can we find to aid us in this serious deficiency?

My fellow conservatives, while we are right (ha, bad pun!) on most issues, our message often fails to be heard or understood by a younger audience. Why?

Comedy. The Left, while I hate to admit it, has the best comedians. From Jon Stewart to Al Franken to Michael Moore, they make up for their complete lack of sense with comedic genius. And what does the Right have? Zilch.

So what can we find to aid us in this serious deficiency?

Change your core beliefs.

Comedy has nothing to do with it.

Now hang on a second, what about the South Park guys? Trey Parker and the other fellow. They're both funny and they're both conservative...

Now hang on a second, what about the South Park guys? Trey Parker and the other fellow. They're both funny and they're both conservative...
They're both libertarian, and ruthlessly mock everybody equally!

Now hang on a second, what about the South Park guys? Trey Parker and the other fellow. They're both funny and they're both conservative...

They are? Hmm. I never would've thought it.

Moore and Stewart are also the only one's who really have a claim on the "funny" market right now. And Moore only sometimes. Franken is just too damn dry to be funny.

Now hang on a second, what about the South Park guys? Trey Parker and the other fellow. They're both funny and they're both conservative...

No, I am pretty sure they hate conservatives and liberals.

My fellow conservatives, while we are right (ha, bad pun!) on most issues, our message often fails to be heard or understood by a younger audience. Why?

Comedy. The Left, while I hate to admit it, has the best comedians. From Jon Stewart to Al Franken to Michael Moore, they make up for their complete lack of sense with comedic genius. And what does the Right have? Zilch.

So what can we find to aid us in this serious deficiency?

Laura Bush was pretty funny. The conservatives laugh because she is one of them, yet me and mine laugh because she pokes fun at the village idiot of Crawford.

Comedy typically pokes fun at "the system," there's a prominent strain of liberalism that is pretty anti-establishment. The only kind of conservatism that uses anti-establishment language is the religious right and they're too damn self-righteous to have any good comedians.

Michael Moore isn't so much funny as fat and annoying. Oh, and I'm liberal. Even liberals find the guy annoying.

In any case, what can you really mock with right wing comedy?

"Today a woman had an abortion. I gave her the death penalty for killing another person. Hahahahahah! Isn't that funny?"

yeah, that one will sell

My mistake, I was confusing 'South Park conservatives' with the creaters of South Park being conservative.

The South Park guys (Trey and Matt) are libertarian, but they seem to lean a slight bit more to the right than the left.

Other conservative (or at least seemingly conservative) comedians:

Dennis Miller
Dennis Leary (not sure about his politics, but his rants are decidedly conservative-bent)
Bill Engvall (heeeeere's your sign :))
Rodney Carrington (warning: XXX comedy, though)
Jeff Foxworthy (...you might be a redneck)
Larry the Cable Guy (git 'er done)
Ron White (one of my absolute favorites)
Bill Cosby (He's not a Republican, but his comedy is top notch and family friendly...and his views are more conservative than liberal.)

I also enjoy Louis Black. He's not really conservative. He's just angry and bags on everyone...which can be quite entertaining. :)

Lastly: Mike Warnke. Former Satanist high priest converted to Christianity (although his comedy isn't nearly as "preachy" as some - thank God) and absolutely, positively hilarious. Highly recommended.

Eh, sometimes I listen to Al Franken's radio show, but he hardly ever has any really funny stuff on there. The number of funny bits or lines I've heard on there could be counted on either one hand or be a single digit number.

But Dennis Miller is always great, sure he's conservative now, but we won't hold that against him. Heh. He's still a funny guy.

Jon Stewart and the Daily Show guys rock. Just take a look at America The Book and you'll know why.

Lewis Black is great. He throws down against both sides.

I could never stand South Park though. The show is just a piece of crap.

The "You might be a redneck" guys, really aren't that funny. Just kind of dimwitted and stereotypical. Or is that how you guys think? I hope not.

Comedy and humor are actually the highest form of communication. So says linguist bob!
http://www.freespirit.com.au/tech/images/v4/thumbs-up.jpg

But seriously, if liberals are funnier, then perhaps we are, in fact, more logical? Nothing less has ever crossed my mind.

Conservatives have a sense of humour? ;)

Now hang on a second, what about the South Park guys? Trey Parker and the other fellow. They're both funny and they're both conservative...
Why do people think they're conservative? They're quite clearly Libertarian.

Moore and Stewart are also the only one's who really have a claim on the "funny" market right now. And Moore only sometimes. Franken is just too damn dry to be funny.
Yeah, I have one of Franken's books. Some of it is funny, but the guy is an egomaniac who thinks he is far funnier than he is. He's also one of those partisan hack Democrats.

Laura Bush was pretty funny. The conservatives laugh because she is one of them, yet me and mine laugh because she pokes fun at the village idiot of Crawford.
Yes, Bush's wife said something funny about him recently.

My fellow conservatives, while we are right (ha, bad pun!) on most issues, our message often fails to be heard or understood by a younger audience. Why?

Comedy. The Left, while I hate to admit it, has the best comedians. From Jon Stewart to Al Franken to Michael Moore, they make up for their complete lack of sense with comedic genius. And what does the Right have? Zilch.

So what can we find to aid us in this serious deficiency?

"Conservative" comedians generally only exist when the Left has control of both the Executive, and the Legislative, branches of government. Rush Limbaugh stopped being funny in 1994. IIRC, Jay Leno is pretty conservative (Small "C", as opposed to the Neocon large "C".)

something you have to understand also, is that Conservative Humour exists-check out "The American Spectator" as a prime example. What's different, is the at unlike Lib humour, Con humour requires the ability to read, because it doesn't translate well into spoken or video media.

I often find Michelle Malkin hilarious, but read aloud, it doesn't work right.

Conservative humour is too 'dry' and requires too much intellectual effort for most nineteen-year-olds to get, it's often based on things that most youth haven't yet experienced.

Conservatives have a sense of humour? ;)


Why do people think they're conservative? They're quite clearly Libertarian.

The largest growth on the right has been among "Liberatarian" conservatives-what in judicial circles would be called "Strict Constructionists".
It actually started with the first Bush administration's idiotic pandering to big-government types, extended through the Clinton administration's various misdeeds against the "Flyover" states, and is heavily tied to movements like "Wise Use", the "Minutemen" on the border, and factions of the NRA, Libertarian Party, etc. etc.

Put this way-Slade Gorton lost his seat in Washington because he pissed off the Libertarian-base wing of the Republican Party of Washington State. he got all the Kristchun Koalition types, but in this state, that's getting both jack, and shit.

"Conservative" comedians generally only exist when the Left has control of both the Executive, and the Legislative, branches of government. Rush Limbaugh stopped being funny in 1994. IIRC, Jay Leno is pretty conservative (Small "C", as opposed to the Neocon large "C".)

something you have to understand also, is that Conservative Humour exists-check out "The American Spectator" as a prime example. What's different, is the at unlike Lib humour, Con humour requires the ability to read, because it doesn't translate well into spoken or video media.

I often find Michelle Malkin hilarious, but read aloud, it doesn't work right.

Conservative humour is too 'dry' and requires too much intellectual effort for most nineteen-year-olds to get, it's often based on things that most youth haven't yet experienced.


I have never had a conservative best me in an intellectual debate, and I am 18 years of age. I don't debate with young conservatives anymore (way too stupid), but the older ones also lack the monopoly of intellect that you so espouse. I've read the Spectator, and I'm not impressed. The "humor" that you speak of remains partisian and based upon principles held by conservatives that are not accepted by your fellow humans. The lack of logical evidence makes for very drab reading indeed. Perhaps conservatives just aren't funny? This is a fair postulation. The only one to ever make me laugh I put in my sig. I was laughing at him. The rest of you are just sad.

No one's mentioned PJ O'Rourke yet? I feel queasy, what are they teaching kids today? If you can find a copy of his classic "Parliment of Whores" it is worth a read, or even better his old "National Lampoon" stuff.

I've read the Spectator, and I'm not impressed. The "humor" that you speak of remains partisian and based upon principles held by conservatives that are not accepted by your fellow humans.
That's why it's called conservative humor, genius. :rolleyes:

Congratulations. You just lost a debate. *snickers*

No one's mentioned PJ O'Rourke yet? I feel queasy, what are they teaching kids today? If you can find a copy of his classic "Parliment of Whores" it is worth a read, or even better his old "National Lampoon" stuff.

Bingo! Although, he tends towards the more libertarian wing, I find.
And Dave Barry swings on the Libertarian side as well.

My fellow conservatives, while we are right (ha, bad pun!) on most issues, our message often fails to be heard or understood by a younger audience. Why?

Comedy. The Left, while I hate to admit it, has the best comedians. From Jon Stewart to Al Franken to Michael Moore, they make up for their complete lack of sense with comedic genius. And what does the Right have? Zilch.

So what can we find to aid us in this serious deficiency?

I would say that it is because of the left's understanding of irony, and the right's amazing ability to produce irony. Even Parker and Stone make a living pointing out the irony of some of the rights politics. (They get the left quite often, too.)

I think it's because well-known conservatives are serious, and can't make jokes as easily. Not all of them, but a lot. The conservatives I know are hilarious...

Maybe liberals just know how to s-t-r-e-t-c-h things so that they're humorous. ;)

THere are a few conservativish comedians, that you might be a redneck guy (god I hate his stupid jokes ugh) and Dennis Miller who is funny if I can ever understand what he is talking about. At least Jon Stewart knows he has to dumb his stuff down to reach the majority of the population.

Comedy typically pokes fun at "the system," there's a prominent strain of liberalism that is pretty anti-establishment. The only kind of conservatism that uses anti-establishment language is the religious right and they're too damn self-righteous to have any good comedians.
Your right on the anti establishment … whenever one grouping of people are in power they usually provide a massive amount of comedy material to mock

There are probably more reasons out there but I think that is a big one

With conservatives in power they are providing a lot of material to mock same as when Clinton was in power (that or quale … that guy was hilarious)

THere are a few conservativish comedians, that you might be a redneck guy (god I hate his stupid jokes ugh) and Dennis Miller who is funny if I can ever understand what he is talking about. At least Jon Stewart knows he has to dumb his stuff down to reach the majority of the population.
I like miller (though he is closer to center then most rights would like) intelligent guy
But yeah a lot of the country comics are republican but they tend to joke about other stuff then the opposition

The South Park guys (Trey and Matt) are libertarian, but they seem to lean a slight bit more to the right than the left.

Other conservative (or at least seemingly conservative) comedians:

Dennis Leary (not sure about his politics, but his rants are decidedly conservative-bent)

Too bad he's a Canadian..lol

Conservatives don't need comedians, they ARE comedians.

RUSH: Drug abusers need to be imprisoned for life! Now pardon me whilst I slam this Oxycontin cocktail....

PRO-LIFE: Kill those doctors who disagree with us!

SMALL GOVERNMENT: The Real ID Bill and Homeland Security/PATRIOT Act.

STATES' RIGHTS: Let's stop everything and save a 15-year vegetable!

ENERGY POLICY: Let's burn coal AND drill in Alaska for oil that'll last six months. Solar? Never heard of it.

ECONOMICS: Making it harder for citizens to declare bankruptcy while running up the biggest deficits in world history.

BUY AMERICAN! But outsource all the jobs to China, India, Indonesia, etc.....

REPUBLICAN MORALITY: Mayor James West of Spokane, a staunch anti-gay state legislator before he was mayor...also a Scout Troop leader and Sheriff's deputy who fancied boys and as mayor, still does -- only now he has to offer them internships and other inducements of his office.

So you see, it isn't a matter of Conservatives not being funny, they're downright HILARIOUS! It's awfully hard to be a stand-up Righty who pokes holes in the Left when the whole mess of them haven't got the sense to realize that their vision of America is impossible to sustain.

Oh, one more: That food you're eating, America? On the average, it or it's ingredients traveled 1500 miles to get to you. 1500 petroleum miles. That's both progress AND efficiency? Stop it, lest I laugh myself to death!

Too bad he's a Canadian..lol
We wont hold that against him :p :fluffle:

No I got his no cure for cancer cd :) "Im an assholeoleo"

Conservatives don't need comedians, they ARE comedians.

RUSH: Drug abusers need to be imprisoned for life! Now pardon me whilst I slam this Oxycontin cocktail....

PRO-LIFE: Kill those doctors who disagree with us!

SMALL GOVERNMENT: The Real ID Bill and Homeland Security/PATRIOT Act.

STATES' RIGHTS: Let's stop everything and save a 15-year vegetable!

ENERGY POLICY: Let's burn coal AND drill in Alaska for oil that'll last six months. Solar? Never heard of it.

ECONOMICS: Making it harder for citizens to declare bankruptcy while running up the biggest deficits in world history.

BUY AMERICAN! But outsource all the jobs to China, India, Indonesia, etc.....

REPUBLICAN MORALITY: Mayor James West of Spokane, a staunch anti-gay state legislator before he was mayor...also a Scout Troop leader and Sheriff's deputy who fancied boys and as mayor, still does -- only now he has to offer them internships and other inducements of his office.

So you see, it isn't a matter of Conservatives not being funny, they're downright HILARIOUS! It's awfully hard to be a stand-up Righty who pokes holes in the Left when the whole mess of them haven't got the sense to realize that their vision of America is impossible to sustain.

Oh, one more: That food you're eating, America? On the average, it or it's ingredients traveled 1500 miles to get to you. 1500 petroleum miles. That's both progress AND efficiency? Stop it, lest I laugh myself to death!

HAH! damn straight.

We wont hold that against him :p :fluffle:

No I got his no cure for cancer cd :) "Im an assholeoleo"


"A! S-S! H-O! L-E! EVERYBODY! A! S-S! H-O! L-E!"

Leary is liver-splitting hilarious.

"I was in a bookstore the other day and saw this book called Irish Cuisine, and I laughed my balls off. Irish Cuisine?!? Irish food isn't 'cuisine', it's penance!"

"A! S-S! H-O! L-E! EVERYBODY! A! S-S! H-O! L-E!"

Leary is liver-splitting hilarious.

"I was in a bookstore the other day and saw this book called Irish Cuisine, and I laughed my balls off. Irish Cuisine?!? Irish food isn't 'cuisine', it's penance!"

Home-made brown and or soda breads served up with a proper stew.

If that's penance, sign me up for some *serious* penitential time.

Too bad he's a Canadian..lolKnew we should have taken out those cannucks years ago, now they've annexed Boston. Plenty of Canadians out there getting short shift and you have to go and claim and American? I tell you what though, you can have Leary if we get Carrey and we'll even take Shatner to sweeten the deal for you. Whatta ya say?

Too bad he's a Canadian..lol

He's from Boston, you yobbo.

Comedy is almost always a reference to the immediate sense of self. It is about the body far more often than it is about the mind. When JFK was in office and we were risking hot war (on behalf of a liberal vision) humor was mostly conservative, now with Bush in the White House and the neocons in control of the apparatus of government and we are faced with a daily hot war plus a mysterious and threatening enemy who has struck at our heart and whom we do not feel we have neutralized humor mostly comes from the left.

The exceptions: attack comedians (like Miller who really was funny once) who were so scared by 9/11 that they no longer feel confident enough to attack people in power and have lined themselves up with the power structure in order to attack outsiders. O'Rourke is funny because his conservatism is so nakedly selfish. Parker and Stone aren't terribly funny because they have no courage whatsoever and only go after the easiest and safest of targets. Laura Bush is funny, only on comparison to our extremely lowered expectations, much like her husband's life achievements.

The largest growth on the right has been among "Liberatarian" conservatives-what in judicial circles would be called "Strict Constructionists".
It actually started with the first Bush administration's idiotic pandering to big-government types, extended through the Clinton administration's various misdeeds against the "Flyover" states, and is heavily tied to movements like "Wise Use", the "Minutemen" on the border, and factions of the NRA, Libertarian Party, etc. etc.
Ah, you're referring to the Roach-Busters wing of the party. How did it start with Bush the 1st? The Republicans have always been a big government party.

In the UK, there are quite a few conservative comedians. However, they are almost all racist, sexist and pretty much any other unpleasant -ist you can think of. Examples are Bernard Manning and Jethro, plus there's also the 'family comedian' (Christ almighty, how did he get manage that?), Jim Davidson.

UK comics (stand-ups, anyway) are usually left-wing simply because UK comedy tends to be focused on the establishment and its failings.

Let's be fair, there are plenty of left/liberal targets. Despite being left-wing myself, I'd welcome some decent, savage mockery from the right.

I disagree with Cadillac Gage's contention that conservatives have a monopoly on written humour, though in O'Rourke they possibly have the finest exponent.

In the UK, there are quite a few conservative comedians. However, they are almost all racist, sexist and pretty much any other unpleasant -ist you can think of. Examples are Bernard Manning and Jethro, plus there's also the 'family comedian' (Christ almighty, how did he get manage that?), Jim Davidson.

UK comics (stand-ups, anyway) are usually left-wing simply because UK comedy tends to be focused on the establishment and its failings.

Let's be fair, there are plenty of left/liberal targets. Despite being left-wing myself, I'd welcome some decent, savage mockery from the right.

I disagree with Cadillac Gage's contention that conservatives have a monopoly on written humour, though in O'Rourke they possibly have the finest exponent.

Comedians in the UK seem to play across as conservative purely because it adds another layer of comedy in and of itself - conservativism appears funny purely because it is seen, essentially, as deviant here in the UK. That's why things like Paddy jokes are still told - they are funny precisely because people recognise that they are absurdly regressive.

What are Paddy jokes?

What are Paddy jokes?

Irish jokes - i.e. playing to stereotypes [like redneck jokes in the states, except Paddy jokes aren't as accurate].

im a conservative and im quite young....at heart....

(a) I wouldn't really consider Jon Stewart to be a liberal. He pretty much makes fun of everybody.

(b) Conservative humor: Jack Chick tracts. =)

I like moderate comedians, myself. Extremists are nutcases, no matter which area they're being extreme in.

As for 'conservative comedians'... what the heck are they going to joke about that actually matters, that 'liberal comedians' aren't just as happy to joke about?

Liberals make fun of hippies, pot smoking, Clinton's sex life, racial and gender quotas, and sub-cultures as much as anything else.

That's the big trick about being a comedian. The better ones can make fun of themselves. That's why Jeff Foxworthy survives: His jokes are low-grade, but his self-depreciation is tremendous.

Conservative Idealogy -tends- to be less able to self-reflect and self-criticize.

Not that all liberal mindsets are able, either, but you tend to have more moderates and so forth under the 'liberal' banner.