I think most of it comes from people feeling they actually had to create a whole network just for them.
Fox News went where the audience is. I realize that some of you will consider these heresy, but there are millions of people in the country that don’t see the politics of Dennis Kuchinich and friends as examples of moderate politics.
What is his target audience and how do you determine it? And O’Reilly doesn’t define FoxNews anymore than Tucker Carlson defines MSNBC. I don’t watch a lot of FoxNews, but they do have some good shows (along with the bad), and their straight news shows aren’t all that different from what you’re going to see on MSNBC or CNN. One of their main anchors, Brit Hume, has been and will be again a moderator at one the Democratic presidential primary debates. His show is pretty good, as is Chris Wallace’s Sunday talk show (not as good as Meet the Press, but still pretty good). Both of those are analysis shows, though, not straight news.
Not now, though. A political humor show needs regular infusions of news material that people will recognize and care about. At present, the U.S. political landscape is pretty much defined by the fiasco of a Republican President, and a consensus is growing that he’s a horrible screwup, while at the same time, there just aren’t many Democrats who are doing anything of huge importance. There just isn’t enough going on with Nancy Pelosi, who’s boring anyway, to fill 22 minutes with high quality jokes. A Republican humor show would be constantly trying to avoid the reality of the Iraq War while trying to dredge up minor news stories to make fun of Democrats. It would look desperate, and it would be.
The show might be successful in 2010, if you have a Democratic administration engaging in a fresh series of lampoonable screwups. It may literally be ahead of its time.
Besides, doesn’t Dennis Miller have a show?
I’ll finish reading this thread once I have addressed this insult to tabasco sauce. There is no greater delicacy that can made from vanilla ice cream than ice cream and tabasco sauce. Try it sometime. You will not be disappointed.
I think you’re trying to argue with John Mace, not with me, since that’s what I said.
Too true, RickJay. You reminded me about that recent bit from Dennis Miller trying to make fun of Nancy Pelosi. Essentially, he was reduced to making jokes to the effect that “Pelosi is so stupid.” Problem is, he was trying to make a joke and a meme at the same time.
In addition, it was just fucking stupid. Like most of his stuff lately.
I think it’s safe to bet that the right wing daily show will be just that. Hateful and stupid.
It died a slow and painful death. When they brought on the monkey in diapers, Miller looked like a leper who’s dick had just fallen off.
Were I a better person, I would not have so thoroughly enjoyed it.
Of course we know that. We do pay attention to the election returns.
And for my part, I do not consider Kucinich’s politics moderate, which is why I plan to campaign for him.
I think you meant to say he “looked like Father Damien’s favorite altar boy holding onto the remains of his cremaster while contemplating the sight of his genitals lying in the path on Molokai.”
And that’s why “conservative comedian” is an oxymoron. In the eyes of the Republican right, anyone who dares to make fun of conservatives – even if they give equal time to making fun of liberals – is automatically a “liberal” comedian. This distorted view of political satire ends up causing their own works to be skewed as a result, which quickly turns right-wing comedy into a one-trick pony.
Among conservatives, sure. But all the liberals and lefties I know relish a good laugh even when their own sacred cows are turned into hamburger.
I wonder how they would handle the current filibuster in the Senate. I remember when the Democrats in Texas fled the state to avoid a vote, The Daily Show made fun of… the Democrats. And that was a case where the vote actually meant something. In this case, the filibuster is to stop a completely meaningless resolution from coming to a vote. I’m pretty good at empathizing with conservatives, and I can’t think of anything funny & conservative to say about that.
I actually think he said that on Crossfire with that liberal, Clinton dude and Tucker Carlson. Hardball is Chris Mathews.
I actually found it:
The last time I picked up a book by O’Rourke, he was putting folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary on his enemies list and writing junk like, “Communism will never work because people like to own stuff.” Has he gotten any funnier?
Can I be an unbiased observer? I note that
[ul]
[li]The Daily Show makes fun of whoever needs to be made fun of. Since it’s a U.S. show, and in the U.S. the Republicans currently make up the large majority of those in power, they get hit a lot. I have total faith that should the balance of power change, there will be no delay in the left showing up there.[/li][li]Whenever someone talks about ‘conservative/right wing humour’ (and to a lesser extent, ‘left wing humour’), it’s been my experience that they mean ‘vicious, petty, belittling harping on completely unfunny stuff’.[/li][li]Dennis Miller was funny, but got boring and mean when he decided his show needed more political content.[/li][li]You can indeed get fruit-flavoured hot sauce specifically for ice cream.[/li][/ul]
A couple of things.
First, Stewart does make fun of the Democrats, and has been doing so more since they won. He did a pretty funny montage of their “hundred hours” drive, with clips of dems talking mostly about Elvis and the BCS. Last night he did some funny clips of the 2008 Dem Presidential candidates talking to the DNC. Stewart obviously leans to the left politically, but he’ll take his humor where he can find it. It killed Miller when he decided Bush was off limits, and it’ll kill this show if they won’t make fun of Republicans and Conservatives.
Secondly, here are two jokes:
1.) Your Momma’s so fat, She got her own area code.
2.) I hope terrorists kill your momma.
Joke 2 seems to be what passes for right wing “humor” these days.
Speaking of which, I notice that the esteemed font of righteous humor Mallard Fillmore still finds it excruciatingly funny to trot out Howard Dean and the great YARGH. Seriously, can we at least get some fresh material? It won’t be any funnier, but at least it won’t be so encrusted with cobwebs.
YARGH? You seem to have missed all the Chippaddaetc references in that strip.
-Joe
they did a hilarious (MHO) thing at one of the conventions where they got together a focus group: a tree hugger, a lesbian, a black, a gay guy etc. then pitted them against each other “tree hugger, how does that make you feel?” At one point, he realized he needed a Jew and opined “now where am I gonna find a Jew in New York?” If I recall correctly, the man setting it up was Colbert.