# Liberals=Funny, Conservatives=Mean **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294 "2012-03-09T17:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/61 "2012-03-11T17:21:05Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Oh, man. I wish this was in a different forum, but it is SOOOO difficult not calling you out for the obvious bias in this post. Pointing out the obvious isn’t “bias”; bending over backwards to pretend that the Republicans aren’t as hateful and vicious as they are, now that’s bias. Pretending that they _aren’t_ is ignoring the elephant in the living room and makes useful honest discussion of this thread’s subject impossible. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/62 "2012-03-11T18:07:58Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Oh, man. I wish this was in a different forum, but it is SOOOO difficult not calling you out for the obvious bias in this post. But I won’t, because, well, it’s the wrong forum. Yes, I am frequently known on this board for my left-wing bias. > [@Dufus](#): > > …I fail to see how anyone could make a liberal vs. conservative statement by comparing 2 comedians with 2 people who are not comedians. One is funny 😃 while the other is funny:confused::dubious::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/63 "2012-03-12T00:13:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Pointing out the obvious isn’t “bias”; bending over backwards to pretend that the Republicans aren’t as hateful and vicious as they are, now that’s bias. Pretending that they _aren’t_ is ignoring the elephant in the living room and makes useful honest discussion of this thread’s subject impossible. There is no denying that Republicans are hateful and vicious. There is no denying that Democrats are hateful and vicious, even on this thread. Kettle calling the pot black. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/64 "2012-03-12T01:27:04Z")
> [@Dufus](#): > > There is no denying that Republicans are hateful and vicious. There is no denying that Democrats are hateful and vicious, even on this thread. Kettle calling the pot black. Are you saying that they do it equally-that one is not worse than the other? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/65 "2012-03-12T09:17:10Z")
Some of the writers for the Simpsons were conservative and it shows. King of the Hill’s Mike Judge and South Park’s Matt Stone+Trey Parker are libertarians, so they also spear ‘progressives’ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/66 "2012-03-12T09:19:21Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Pointing out the obvious isn’t “bias”; bending over backwards to pretend that the Republicans aren’t as hateful and vicious as they are, now that’s bias. Pretending that they _aren’t_ is ignoring the elephant in the living room and makes useful honest discussion of this thread’s subject impossible. Easy there Glass House. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/67 "2012-03-12T10:26:22Z")
> [@Dufus](#): > > There is no denying that Republicans are hateful and vicious. There is no denying that Democrats are hateful and vicious, even on this thread. Kettle calling the pot black. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are you saying that they do it equally-that one is not worse than the other? It’s a standard defense of the Right these days; they can’t defend their actual positions, so they assert that “both sides are just as bad” which neatly absolves them of actually having to defend or justify anything they say or do, while simultaneously smearing their opponents. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/68 "2012-03-12T13:10:22Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > Wait, are you saying the Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter were going after laughs? Do you think Ann really thinks women shouldn’t be allowed to vote? That Iraqis should be converted by the sword? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/69 "2012-03-12T13:39:49Z")
There’s a difference between hyperbole and humor. The two can, and frequently do, mix … but Coulter has never been quite able to muckle on to that skill. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/70 "2012-03-12T14:10:04Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Do you think Ann really thinks women shouldn’t be allowed to vote? That Iraqis should be converted by the sword? Has she ever said, when it comes to those two topics, anything like “Y’know, that was just a joke-I don’t really believe that.”? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/71 "2012-03-12T15:11:29Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Do you think Ann really thinks women shouldn’t be allowed to vote? That Iraqis should be converted by the sword? Just a few weeks ago Coulter had a “debate” with Lawrence O’Donnell for charity, and she stuck to the “women shouldn’t be allowed to vote” story, along with another that no one should be allowed to vote until age 26. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/72 "2012-03-12T15:19:28Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > In what the Hindus call “karma,” a thread about how liberals are funnier than conservatives will always include multiple posts by **Der Trihs**. That’s his dharma. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/73 "2012-03-12T15:24:12Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Fox News tried to do a [funny conservative news show](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_1/2_Hour_News_Hour) to counter Stewart and Colbert, but it sank like a stone. Either they couldn’t come up with conservative humor that was actually entertaining, or the concept was so foreign to their audience that they didn’t know how to respond. We talked about it at the time, and the problem with it wasn’t that it was conservative, but that conservative was all it was. They hadn’t actually come up with an idea for jokes. “The Daily Show” isn’t just a liberal rant; it is a parody of news media itself. There’s an actual comedy idea going on there. (Of course, it could be even simpler than that; maybe they just didn’t have good writers. After all, The Simpsons and According To Jim were both family sitcoms but one is brilliant while the other is shitty; According To Jimès existence can’t disprove the humor potential of a family-based sitcom when The Simpsons exists.) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/74 "2012-03-12T16:25:13Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > [Here’s a relevant CNN article.](http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/10/tech/web/sxsw-internet-comedy/?hpt=hp_c2) I saw that article and came back here to post it. The most crystalized, accurate observation, I think, is this: conservatives aren’t as funny as liberals for the same reason Christian rock isn’t as good as regular rock. Rock and humor are both about toppling establishment, screaming out the king is naked, and generally disrespecting authority. That’s antithetical to conservative values. It’s interesting what’s ‘conservative’ each generation, though. They always want things like they were 30 years ago. But 30 years ago, conservatives wanted things the way they were 30 years before _that_. Conservatism changes at the rate of funerals. > [@](#): > > We talked about it at the time, and the problem with it wasn’t that it was conservative, but that conservative was all it was. They hadn’t actually come up with an idea for jokes. They had one. One joke that worked, total. That Obama’s approval rating had fallen to “an all-time low of 99.4%.” It made (valid) fun of the idea that the left was goofy-in-love and hypnotized by Obama. But they probably didn’t understand what they had done. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/75 "2012-03-12T17:42:08Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I saw that article and came back here to post it. The most crystalized, accurate observation, I think, is this: conservatives aren’t as funny as liberals for the same reason Christian rock isn’t as good as regular rock. > > Rock and humor are both about toppling establishment, screaming out the king is naked, and generally disrespecting authority. > > That’s antithetical to conservative values. I think that’s an accurate assessment. By definition, “conservative” means adherance to traditional values and institutions. So when I you hear conservative humor, it often involves mocking or ridiculing those who don’t fit in or meet certain expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/76 "2012-03-12T18:11:23Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Do you think Ann really thinks women shouldn’t be allowed to vote? That Iraqis should be converted by the sword? Yes, I think that she and probably a significant percentage of the Right really believe that, and many other equally fanatical things. This is the same woman who spoke out in favor of Timothy McVeigh’s terrorism, after all. ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/77 "2012-03-12T20:09:00Z")
Comedians are funny, Comedians are Liberals, ergo Liberals are funny. Businessmen are not funny, Businessmen are Conservatives, ergo Conservatives are not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/78 "2012-03-12T20:16:11Z")
> [@TheBori](#): > > Comedians are funny, Comedians are Liberals, ergo Liberals are funny. Businessmen are not funny, Businessmen are Conservatives, ergo Conservatives are not funny. I’ve met funny businessmen. There is more to it than that. A lot of people are funny. It takes a special talent beyond that to do it professionally. And usually a huge character defect that makes them crave being on stage. Listen to them off stage. Comedians as a whole are some fucked up people. Therapy is expensive but they pay you to go on stage to talk about your life. Win-win. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/79 "2012-03-12T20:45:21Z")
I’m surprised more people hadn’t mentioned The Colbert Report as an example of “conservative” humor, even though its mocking conservative humor through a liberal. But I think that show illustrates a very good contrast between what is typically liberal humor and what conservatives would consider humor. On The Daily Show, Stewart riffs on other people, the media, politics, from a liberal POV. The humor there exists in the absurdity of real life, and parodying it to an extreme degree to bring out that absurdity. We watch along with Stewart at how inane politics are, and we laugh with him at those people who are absurd. The Colbert Report is based on a similar goal, which is to make fun of the world, but with the emphasis switched to coming from a supposed conservative. But we all know that on TCR, the humor really derived from the host, that is, Colbert’s impersonation of a bloviating conservative pundit, and we’re supposed to laugh AT him instead of WITH him (though frequently we still do laugh with him). I think conservatives are trying so hard to copy Stewart but they often come off like Colbert, but without the mediating fact that TCR is a parody. The real conservative Colbert would be totally serious, and the audience can sense that. They don’t want to laugh with him or at him, but the inanities of his schtick are actually horrifying. Its not funny when the host takes himself more seriously than the audience. Conservatives need to somehow bridge that gap, if they can or want to, in order to be consistently funny. They have to somehow humble themselves and allow some humor to be about themselves, instead of all about liberals. The people mentioned most in this thread, the Limbaughs and Coulters, cannot do that. They can’t be the punchline, they feel they always have to be the one above it all, raining down scorn on others and pointing out how funny that is when we just need them to make fun of themselves once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294/80 "2012-03-12T20:52:49Z")
The above Outer God made me think of something. Seth MacFarlane writes his shows with a liberal perspective. _Family Guy_ is rarely about politics, but when it does, it hits you over the head with a hammer. It’s kinda obnoxious, it got so bad when it seemed like Brian was an jerkish author avatar. One episode did come down on him though. On the other hand, _American Dad_ is explicitly political. Stan is pretty much an animated Colbert. Yet somehow, while it constantly mocks conservatives, it seems to do so for the sake of humor rather than _Family Guy’s_ proselytizing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-funny-conservatives-mean/615294.md?page=3)