# Capitol Steps, Mark Russell and the like: does ANYONE find them funny?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitol-steps-mark-russell-and-the-like-does-anyone-find-them-funny/431984>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 2, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitol-steps-mark-russell-and-the-like-does-anyone-find-them-funny/431984 "2008-01-02T13:51:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitol-steps-mark-russell-and-the-like-does-anyone-find-them-funny/431984/41 "2008-01-04T23:41:21Z")

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[QUOTE=RTFirefly]  
Stephen Colbert, at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner a couple years back, gave a good demonstration of how to push the envelope a bit.

He won’t get invited back, but it was _great_ stuff. 🙂  
[/QUOTE]

See post 35 😃

(I got his book for Christmas, which has the transcript.)

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**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\
**Post date:** [January 4, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capitol-steps-mark-russell-and-the-like-does-anyone-find-them-funny/431984/42 "2008-01-04T23:45:24Z")

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[QUOTE=Boyo Jim]  
And that’s why Tom Lehrer stands out. He was singing about the Old Dope Peddler spreading joy in the 50’s. It’s rather surprising he didn’t get imprisoned, given the times.  
[/QUOTE]  
Which is why Tom Lehrer still stands out as the fine satirist he is. Even by today’s standards, he’s biting. Take this line from “Send the marines.”

“For might makes right,  
And till they’ve seen the light,  
They’ve got to be protected,  
All their rights respected,  
Till somebody we like can be elected.”

Of course, comparing any political satirist to Tom Lehrer is hardly fair. Colbert is pretty close for his Correspondents dinner performance. The Capitol Steps? Not even close.

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