# Liberal vs Conservative Sense of Humor **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 19, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310 "2004-03-19T23:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/41 "2004-03-23T07:04:54Z")
Jack Kelly in [Jewish World Review](http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1103/jkelly110603.asp): > [@](#): > > _South Park_ is a prime time cartoon featuring four foul-mouthed fourth graders who make fun of stodgy adults and political correctness. It’s the highest rated program on Comedy Central. “I hate conservatives,” said one of the show’s creators, 32-year-old Matt Stone. “But I really f\*\*\*ing hate liberals.” > > Stephen Stanton coined the term “South Park Republican” to describe young people who are patriotic and fiscally conservative, but libertarian on social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and drug legalization, and who have a good time at parties. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/42 "2004-03-23T07:05:17Z")
For whatever it’s worth, my father and I are both strong Democrats, but we’re also both amused/disgusted by Senator Kennedy’s fantastic ability to evade any question as if the Dark Side of the Force were guiding his words. Okay, maybe the Force analogy is only funny to us. Er. Only funny to me. Um. But the point is - we’re Democrats, and we seek out opportunities to mock at least one prominent Democrat. So we laugh at “ourselves”, I guess you could say. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/43 "2004-03-23T07:35:40Z")
> [@Mr. Excellent](#): > > For whatever it’s worth, my father and I are both strong Democrats, but we’re also both amused/disgusted by Senator Kennedy’s fantastic ability to evade any question as if the Dark Side of the Force were guiding his words. > > Okay, maybe the Force analogy is only funny to us. > > Er. Only funny to me. Um. > > But the point is - we’re Democrats, and we seek out opportunities to mock at least one prominent Democrat. So we laugh at “ourselves”, I guess you could say. “These are not the watersoaked carseat covers you’re looking for…” ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/44 "2004-03-23T08:26:08Z")
Corollary: Are conservatives or liberals better dancers? Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/45 "2004-03-23T12:39:33Z")
It may be that conservatives laugh at liberals while liberals may sometimes laugh at liberals, but I don’t think that that necessarily indicates Nice Fun-Loving Phellows and Mean Stodgy Pricks. Liberals tend to comprise many different groups: you have the eco-liberals, the economic liberals, the feminazis, etc. Whereas conservatives tend to hold similar beliefs; the difference between moderates and far-righters is the intensity of their beliefs. So, while liberals can insult other “wings” of liberalism without hurting their own cause, conservatives generally cannot. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/46 "2004-03-23T13:13:53Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > As a rabid _West Wing_ fan Well, isn’t that special? Now, prove that a FICTIONAL program is and MUST BE a faithful representation of reality. Prove that you are not coming to this conclusion merely because this bit of FICTION agrees with your own irrational prejudices. I’m reminded of people who tried to “prove” to me that “humans and elves can interbreed” by citing STAR TREK! Show just how your little mention of a FICTIONAL show is any better than this. Of course, you will fail. All I see in this thread are liberals congratulating themselves on how witty and brilliant they all think they are. This is also known as “wanking”. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/47 "2004-03-23T13:15:30Z")
> [@Planet of the Shapes](#): > > Come again? I criticised the question, not American politics. I said there was an implicit assumption in the question, but i didn’t say that that assumption was shared by anyone else, let alone that it characterised US political debate. So you accidentally hit on the heart and soul of American politics, but you still found it. It is no longer politics, it is a clash of political religions. Reason no longer matters, only holding to the “correct” dogma. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/48 "2004-03-23T15:58:06Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Liberals tend to comprise many different groups: you have the eco-liberals, the economic liberals, the feminazis, etc. Whereas conservatives tend to hold similar beliefs; the difference between moderates and far-righters is the intensity of their beliefs. Quite wrong. There are your pot-smoking libertarian conservatives (Andrew Sullivan) and South Park Republicans, who are quite at odds with your religious right (Gary Bauer) and social conservatives; your supply-side economic conservatives (cut taxes and spending) vs. your starve-the-beast economic conservatives (cut taxes, increase spending); your isolationist conservatives (Pat Buchanan) vs. your interventionist conservatives (George W. Bush), etc. ---
**Author:** ![mad\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@mad\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mad_spoon)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/49 "2004-03-23T16:30:30Z")
Well if youre voting for the laughs, try [these guys](http://www.sillyparty.com) Also try the UK’s Monster Raving Loony Party. (They do exist…) ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/50 "2004-03-23T17:59:39Z")
> [@mad\_spoon](#): > > Well if youre voting for the laughs, try [these guys](http://www.sillyparty.com) > Also try the UK’s Monster Raving Loony Party. (They do exist…) Alas, they just aren’t the same, anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/51 "2004-03-23T18:25:33Z")
I tend to think that to the extent that our country is polarized humor-wise, it is because of regional concentrations of the parties - a New York or northeastern sense of whats funny versus a midwestern. I don’t think that my more conservative friends tend to use irony/sarcasm any less or more than I do - our shared sense of what’s funny comes from hanging out (and vice versa I suppose). I don’t think that the polemics of Rush Limbaugh (for example) can be considered typical of (in this case) “conservative humor”. He plays to what his fans want to hear - or rather what will keep his ratings up, as I am sure his sponsers are just as happy with infuriated liberal ears as delighted conservative ones. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310/52 "2004-03-23T22:21:49Z")
Liberal Humor is to _Doonesbury_ as Conservative Humor is to _Mallard Fillmore_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberal-vs-conservative-sense-of-humor/235310.md?page=2)