NPR: So Why Can't Conservatives Do Political Humor?

So Why Can't Conservatives Do Political Humor?

I am about to postulate Regan's Comedic Theory #876: Conservatives' ability to do political humor is inversely proportional to their ability to do talk radio. The right wing rocks on talk radio, while the left comes off sounding like a bunch of whiny losers (Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller being the most notable exceptions). But when it comes to political humor, the right is just plain unfunny (P.J. O'Rourke and Dennis Miller ... sometimes ... being those exceptions.)

I write this as I read that the Fox News Channel has decided to cancel The 1/2 Hour News Hour, a show designed to be the conservative answer to The Daily Show. It was a pretty good idea, but it just didn't work. I tuned in twice and it was painfully unfunny, straining at times for a hint of humor. Producer Joel Surnow will just have to go back to helping Jack Bauer save the world on 24.

It doesn't have to be this way. O'Rourke makes me roar with laughter because he finds the things in liberal culture that are naturally humorous -- he doesn't strain to make them funny, and he's not an ideologue. The same is true of Jon Stewart on the liberal side.

The 1/2 Hour News Hour failed, in my opinion, because being conservative came before being funny. Next time, let the folks who write King of the Hill or Family Guy do it.

3:43 PM ET | 08-15-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

You can't be humorous to others unless you can make fun of yourself publicly. The majority of conservatives are simply too up-tight to do that.

Sent by Susie | 4:33 PM ET | 08-15-2007

The brilliant part of the Daily Show is that he is willing to take shots at Kerry/Obama/Hillary along with mocking the President.

Sent by Guion | 5:22 PM ET | 08-15-2007

When the disenfranchised poke fun at the powerful, it's naturally funny. This was the appeal of court jesters. But when the powerful poke fun at the powerless, it just seems sad and mean.

Conservatives stand for the interests of the powerful, liberals stand for the interests of the downtrodden. Liberal humor therefore is well-aimed tomatoes thrown squarely at the bloated king. Conservative humor ends up being the big bosses grinding the little guy into the dirt. Satire is the lifeblood of 'The Daily Show.' But satire is not a tool available to the entrenched ruling class.

Sent by Jamie | 5:35 PM ET | 08-15-2007

Try this for our kind of humor:

http://www.nationalpoliticaldigest.com/
ThePuppetGovernment.html

Sent by Mark Harris | 7:16 PM ET | 08-15-2007

i've noticed that a lot of right-wing jokes really are just in poor taste.

Sent by joe k. | 7:40 PM ET | 08-15-2007

I think it's because humor must contain an element of truth to work.

Conservative talk shows and other media are are twisting the truth all the time, so the humor rings hollow.

You are absolutely right about letting the writers of King of the Hill (Mike Judge) produce conservative comedy. Southpark also, not so much Family Guy, they are abrasively liberal and their political humor is just not insightful at all.

Sent by Jody Sol | 8:05 PM ET | 08-15-2007

If there is one thing that 9/11 has shown us it is that conservative Americans have no sense of humor.

Sent by RR Anderson | 8:11 PM ET | 08-15-2007

Humor and laughter should bring joy to your life. People that our full of hatred cannot have humor, laughter or joy.

Sent by Curt | 10:15 PM ET | 08-15-2007

Yeah Mark. I just read the National Political Digest article. And then I saw the ad for Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, et. al. and I remembered again why conservatives are not funny.

Sent by Bill Gaetz | 6:28 AM ET | 08-16-2007

Conservatives will always have a hard time being funny because they take themselves too seriously. In order to be really funny you have to be able to make fun of yourself. That is why Jon Stewart and the Daily show is so brillant. No one is sacred and everyone is a target for humor.

Sent by Amy Rudai | 7:54 AM ET | 08-16-2007

The Daily Show has been successful because they established a format well before they got really, really political - I mean, did anyone really harp on Craig Kilborn for his POV when it was his show? It was a news parody show before it was a left-leaning news parody, if that makes any sense.

The Half-Hour News Hour came off less like a solid parody of the news than a parody of the Daily Show, which might have worked if they had stronger comedic personnel...The Daily Show relied heavily on Craig Kilborn and Jon Stewart, who had years and years of on-camera and comedic experience between the two of them prior to assuming the anchor's chair at the Daily Show - meanwhile, the anchors on the Half Hour News Hour came off as being smarmy nobodies whose inexperience led to struggles. A part of this comes from the team behind the camera, who weren't exactly comedy presences before - Joel Surnow was best known for "24," which is many wonderful things but not a comedy, whereas the creative team behind The Daily Show and Colbert Report are comedy veterans through and through.

Sent by Dan Dunford | 9:06 AM ET | 08-16-2007

There is only one piece of conservative humor that I can recall that I found to be witty and funny. Maybe I have read more, but it is slight. The one piece is when Al Gore lost the 2000 election and there was a parody of "Green Eggs and Ham." Although I do happen to like Al Gore and know the situation was bull$hit, the parody was well done. If you've never seen it or would like to review it
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a158f3f6a0d.htm
I agree with everyone before, it's because conservatives can't laugh at themselves that they're not funny.

Sent by Jeremy | 9:28 AM ET | 08-16-2007

>> People that our full of hatred cannot have humor, laughter or joy.

Ahem, talk about taking oneself seriously.

Sent by lance | 1:19 PM ET | 08-16-2007

While Conservatives can't do comedy tv they can do cartoon sitcoms and talk radio.

It would seem that conservatives get the better deal as talk radio and prime time cartoons reach far more people far more regularly that late night TV.

Sent by Phaedrus | 7:02 PM ET | 08-16-2007

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