# Shows that do a good job of making fun of liberals. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814 "2020-05-14T22:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/21 "2020-05-15T20:29:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, I thought it was cringe-worthy. > > I believe Man Bear Pig came back and Al Gore was proven right. I mean, like in the last couple of seasons they went back to this storyline. > > Or did I imagine it? [Yes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_Get_Cereal). And the next episode. A certain era of Family Guy was rather cringy parody, where the conservative jokes were mean spirited even if you agreed with the criticism, and the liberal protagonists (mainly Brian) were insufferable douches. American Dad in the same era had the same creator (though not identical crews) and was much funnier when politics came up. They since realized that and Brian’s smugness has been a topic multiple times. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/22 "2020-05-15T20:43:48Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > In Community (our current binge) they pretty consistently mock Britta’s liberal positions. It seemed more like they weren’t making fun of her politics as much as they were making fun of the fact that she never followed through on anything (politically). In the first or second episode (the one with the silent protest), the writers made it pretty clear she’s all talk. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/23 "2020-05-15T21:04:19Z")
Showing my age but All in the Family, while being predicated on making fun of conservative Archie, made as much fun of Meathead who was as much of a jerk as Archie was, just a different kind. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/24 "2020-05-16T14:16:08Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Showing my age but All in the Family, while being predicated on making fun of conservative Archie, made as much fun of Meathead who was as much of a jerk as Archie was, just a different kind. Yeah, Mike was real quick to bite the hand that fed him. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/25 "2020-05-16T15:58:53Z")
I note that the Simpsons has a lot of sly jabs directed at liberals. Conservatives are either over-the-top comic villains (Monty Burns) or decent if flawed good eggs (Ned Flanders, whoever the preacher is). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/26 "2020-05-16T16:24:32Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > whoever the preacher is Reverend Timothy Lovejoy ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/27 "2020-05-16T16:41:43Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I note that the Simpsons has a lot of sly jabs directed at liberals. Conservatives are either over-the-top comic villains (Monty Burns) or decent if flawed good eggs (Ned Flanders, whoever the preacher is). I mean, pretty much every character is a flawed good egg. Other exceptions might be the conservative Mrs. Lovejoy, who has few redeeming qualities. Other portrayed conservatives are Dr. Hibbert and Krusty. And Rainier Wolfcastle, but that came later, say around 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/28 "2020-05-16T17:53:14Z")
Greg Gutfeld’s show is fairly funny if you’re willing to watch fox news. Portlandia and King of hte Hill as have been mentioned also lampoon them quite a bit. Usually for different reasons. Portlandia more lampoons hipsterism while King of the Hill tends to lampoon government regulations now and again. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/29 "2020-05-16T18:44:59Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I mean, pretty much every character is a flawed good egg. Other exceptions might be the conservative Mrs. Lovejoy, who has few redeeming qualities. Other portrayed conservatives are Dr. Hibbert and Krusty. And Rainier Wolfcastle, but that came later, say around 2003. The most obvious parody of a liberal (or rather, of a Democratic politician) of course is Mayor Quimby. Corrupt, having a trophy wife, always horny, hypocritical and so on and on. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/30 "2020-05-16T20:14:45Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The most obvious parody of a liberal (or rather, of a Democratic politician) of course is Mayor Quimby. Corrupt, having a trophy wife, always horny, hypocritical and so on and on. Specifically, I think he is a parody of The Kennedys down to his accent. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/31 "2020-05-16T20:26:22Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Specifically, I think he is a parody of The Kennedys down to his accent. I didn’t know this before reading the wiki page about Mayor Quimby today that it was foremost a dig on Ted Kennedy. I only mostly saw the Simpsons in the German dub, where such subtleties of course don’t translate. I had thought he was modeled after Jack Kennedy. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/32 "2020-05-16T20:30:22Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I didn’t know this before reading the wiki page about Mayor Quimby today. I only mostly saw the Simpsons in the German dub, where such subtleties of course don’t translate. I had thought he was modeled after Jack Kennedy. I think he is a mashup of JFK and Teddy Kennedy. But nothing at all like RFK. The Simpsons did an excellent job of parodying the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/33 "2020-05-18T19:54:05Z")
Portlandia was my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/34 "2020-05-18T20:16:40Z")
> [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Parks and Rec hits Leslie Knope’s liberal sensibilities pretty hard, perhaps even harder than the more obvious knocks on Ron Swanson’s libertarian views. I think I once read somewhere that when liberals watch _Parks and Recreation_ they see Leslie as the hero of the show and Ron Swanson’s as character as making fun of Libertarians. Whereas when conservatives watch it they view Ron Swanson as the hero and Leslie Knope as making fun of liberals. Of course at various times both characters’ political views were taken to extremes for laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/35 "2020-05-18T20:51:32Z")
What I always thought about Parks and Recreation is that the show respected Leslie’s liberal views and Ron’s libertarian views, and, more importantly, the characters respected and liked each other. It was almost as if the show was asking us, the audience, to find some common ground with those with whom we disagree. [This article from the Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2014-03-19-sns-201403191454reedbusivarietyn1201139020-20140319-story.html) has a quote from Michael Schur at a PaleyFest panel about the show, “‘In very broad strokes, Republicans and Democrats in this country simply don’t talk to each other and they don’t try to fix problems,’ said Schur. ‘The sort of cynicism of government, I think in my opinion, is worse than it’s ever been. And we just wanted to say one guy could have a set of extremely fervent beliefs that run completely counter to the beliefs of his coworker and they can still just get along and respect each other and admire each other and find things in common and they can sit down and have a glass of whiskey together at the end of a long night.’” ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/36 "2020-05-20T15:50:21Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Also, the Beverly Hillbillies has an episode with some silly little sociology major trying to liberate Granny from oppression. Wow! That is digging into the wayback machine for one episode out of 274. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/37 "2020-05-20T15:57:52Z")
Rick and Morty takes the [occasional shot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QO8ITaB5pE) Real video starts after that dumb song at 0:08 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/38 "2020-05-20T17:13:12Z")
[quote=“Little\_Nemo, post:7, topic:853814”] _30 Rock_ often poked fun at Liz Lemon’s liberal sensitivities. [/QUOTE] I just saw one last night where she wanted to know why women are under-represented in serial killer totals. “Is this sexism of some sort?” Made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/39 "2020-05-20T17:22:43Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Wow! That is digging into the wayback machine for one episode out of 274. If it is the character I think it is (played by Zelda from _Dobie Gillis_) she was in a whole arc of episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814/40 "2020-05-20T18:27:55Z")
I don’t think you can describe Sheila James (Kuehl) as being in a whole arc of episodes. She was in S02E34 and S0235 as one character. She was in S05E19, supposedly as the same character, but there doesn’t seem to be any connection in plot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-do-a-good-job-of-making-fun-of-liberals/853814.md?page=1)