# "You can't be a Conservative and a Comedian" - What does this even mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2018, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994 "2018-11-05T09:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/61 "2018-11-06T14:27:26Z")
**[Moderating]** > [@BlankSlate](#): > > Wow, stupid and ignorant. Like thinking commissioning art has anything to do with artistic creation? Your post makes Trump look thoughtful. This can, just barely, be construed as an attack on the post, not on the poster, and therefore within the rules. But it’s awfully close to the line. Dial it way back. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/62 "2018-11-06T14:45:38Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Eh? They do mock the leadership of different leftist groups (their splintering, the Loretta conversation, the crack suicide squad), but the vast majority of the movie is the lampooning of religion - I mean there was a reason it was banned in quite a few countries. Depends on what you mean by “religion”. They don’t mock Jesus or the tenets of Christianity; in fact, if you look up the origins of the film the joke that started it all - Eric Idle non-seriously suggesting a film called “Jesus Christ - Lust for Glory” - evolved into its final form because they quickly realized that Jesus and his teachings were not inherently funny, but the ridiculous things that people did in the name of religion were. So the mockery isn’t of religion but of the religiously ridiculous. And the reason it was banned all over is because the Malcolm Muggeridges of the world started braying that “BRIAN IS JESUS AND YOU’RE MOCKING JESUS AND IT’S BLASPHEMY” and ignoring the fact that the film explicitly indicates that Brian isn’t Jesus because otherwise they’d have to admit that what the film was mocking is them and the ridiculous stuff they were doing such as banning the film for stupid reasons. > [@](#): > > And the establishment is seen as ineffectual and absolutely idiotic twits. > > Now the point that they do mock the left is true, but a small portion of it. As noted, they mock everyone - the establishment, rebels, the faithful, the mercenary, women, men, crowds, individuals (or not), soldiers, prisoners, and in general the whole ludicrous human condition. There’s not really any left-or-right mockery in the film, although afterwards there was plenty of mockery of the aforementioned Muggeridges and their idiotic crusade of ignorance, and rightly so. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/63 "2018-11-06T15:04:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’re just repeating what you said, which is simply wrong. History is replete with monarchs, potentates, and rich people commissioning art, right from antiquity through to the present day. Even the much-maligned Koch brothers sponsor art - one is apparently a significant collector per the BBC. Now, I’ll grant you that Trump likely hasn’t a clue. Here in the UK Sir Michael Hintze is a billionaire Tory donor and a major sponsor of the arts. > > It’s stupid, ignorant, and easily disproven statements like yours which make Trump look good. I’m not educated enough to do a deep dive on the art v. conservatism debate, but I think there is a big difference between commissioning/patronizing art and creating it. Especially when we see so many paintings commissioned by monarchs and important people that contained details mocking them and their hangers-on. This suggests to me that the motivations of the patron and the artist were often at odds. My gut tells me that since art is often about challenging norms and provoking thought that could be critical of the status quo, at least that kind of art is inherently un-conservative, if we take “conservative” to mean accepting of and protective of the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/64 "2018-11-06T17:02:15Z")
Honestly, there is nothing more unfunny than liberals doing political jokes nowadays. It was funny for like a month and now it’s just extremely tired. Jimmy Kimmel is unwatchable now and he used to be a nightly staple at my house. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/65 "2018-11-06T17:18:17Z")
But it’s not just political jokes that people are talking about. Even comedians who do non-political comedy generally endorse Democrats over Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/66 "2018-11-06T18:02:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But it’s not just political jokes that people are talking about. Even comedians who do non-political comedy generally endorse Democrats over Republicans. My guess is thats largely a function of liberals being more drawn to performing arts as a profession than conservatives, not that conservatives are “less funny”. If ANY conservative can be funny, it kind of blows the “conservative humor can’t be funny” assertion out of the water. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/67 "2018-11-06T18:32:02Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > My guess is thats largely a function of liberals being more drawn to performing arts as a profession than conservatives, not that conservatives are “less funny”. > > If ANY conservative can be funny, it kind of blows the “conservative humor can’t be funny” assertion out of the water. That’s absolutely right-If you can find just one funny conservative comic, that means that conservatives are just as funny as liberals. :rolleyes: Edited to add: A conservative comic is not the same as conservative comedy. Show me some comedy that has a conservative bent that you like. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/68 "2018-11-06T18:50:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That’s absolutely right-If you can find just one funny conservative comic, that means that conservatives are just as funny as liberals. > > :rolleyes: > > Edited to add: A conservative comic is not the same as conservative comedy. Show me some comedy that has a conservative bent that you like. Colin Quinn makes fun of PC culture a lot and his show Tough Crowd he definitely took a lot of the conservative positions, and he was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/69 "2018-11-06T18:57:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well when I think of comedians I think of George Carlin, Chris Rock, Lisa Lampanelli, Doug Stanhope, etc., and none of those guys are PC. Once you’ve confused “PC” with “liberal” you have totally lost track of the topic. Comnedians, as a group, are not “politically correct.” The fact that one can hand pick a few examples of comedians who act politically correct is the epitome of taking anecdotes over data. Comedians love to offend. > [@ashtura](#): > > Honestly, there is nothing more unfunny than liberals doing political jokes nowadays. It was funny for like a month and now it’s just extremely tired. Jimmy Kimmel is unwatchable now and he used to be a nightly staple at my house. Kimmel isn’t funny because he isn’t funny. Seth Meyers, who is also liberal, is consistently hilarious. Stephen Colbert, a liberal, is reasonably funny, way above Kimmel but in my opinion not even close to Meyers. This has nothing to do with their politics (if anything Kimmel is the least political of the three) but just their writing staffs. Meyers has outstanding writers who are producing high quality jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/70 "2018-11-06T19:09:45Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Kimmel isn’t funny because he isn’t funny. Seth Meyers, who is also liberal, is consistently hilarious. Stephen Colbert, a liberal, is reasonably funny, way above Kimmel but in my opinion not even close to Meyers. This has nothing to do with their politics (if anything Kimmel is the least political of the three) but just their writing staffs. Meyers has outstanding writers who are producing high quality jokes. I’d agree a lot with this. Jon Stewart had amazingly funny writers, then when they all left when Trevor Noah came on the show stopped being funny for the most part. It’s had its moments but it definitely seems like they value production now over actual writing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/71 "2018-11-06T19:12:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There aren’t as many conservative comedians as liberal ones, and the ones that do exist mostly aren’t very funny. Why that is is surely the subject of debate, but it’s tough to dispute that it’s true. PJ O’Rourke. I find him quite funny. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/72 "2018-11-06T19:17:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > PJ O’Rourke. I find him quite funny. 1. He has been mentioned several times already, and 2. When someone says “There is more of A than there is of B”, trotting out a single example of “B” doesn’t exactly counter that statement. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/73 "2018-11-06T19:21:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 1. He has been mentioned several times already, and > 2. When someone says “There is more of A than there is of B”, trotting out a single example of “B” doesn’t exactly counter that statement. Yes, and so? That’s not the OP. The Op was about there being NO conservative comedians. _“Conservative comedy isn’t funny”, “There’s no such thing as a conservative comedian”, “You can’t get humor from being conservative”._ ---
**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:** [November 6, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/74 "2018-11-06T19:23:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, and so? > > That’s not the OP. The Op was about there being NO conservative comedians. _“Conservative comedy isn’t funny”, “There’s no such thing as a conservative comedian”, “You can’t get humor from being conservative”._ You quoted (and supposedly responded to) this statement: > [@](#): > > There aren’t as many conservative comedians as liberal ones, and the ones that do exist mostly aren’t very funny. Why that is is surely the subject of debate, but it’s tough to dispute that it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/75 "2018-11-06T19:26:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You quoted (and supposedly responded to) this statement: And PJ is funny, so he is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/76 "2018-11-06T19:49:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But it’s not just political jokes that people are talking about. Even comedians who do non-political comedy generally endorse Democrats over Republicans. While isn’t 50-50 I think it’s more evenly split than that. 70-30 at least. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/77 "2018-11-06T20:37:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That’s absolutely right-If you can find just one funny conservative comic, that means that conservatives are just as funny as liberals. > > :rolleyes: > > Edited to add: A conservative comic is not the same as conservative comedy. Show me some comedy that has a conservative bent that you like. Well, there seems to be some overlap here between “conservative comedy” (what even the hell is that?) and “comedians that happen to be conservatives” doing comedy. To me, when either side starts getting overtly political in their subject matter, it becomes less funny. I watch a LOT of comedy. I never think of the comedy as “liberal” or “conservative” unless they explicitly talk politics. However, a lot of comedians talk about about things that have _nothing to do_ with politics, and when that happens, I don’t see either having a particular edge. There are simply more openly liberal comedians and entertainers in general. Does anybody say “Democrats sing better”? No, that’s stupid. More singers openly identify as democrats though. I really fail to see what “conservative comedy” is, specifically. Is there a single self-proclaimed liberal that does “conservative comedy?” Impossible? I don’t think so. If “conservative comedy” is a thing that’s completely divorced from the comic, then theoretically it could be ghost-written for a liberal comic. Are there any examples of this? As far as who, plenty of those have been named here already. Norm McDonald is one of my particular favorites. Bill Burr as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/78 "2018-11-06T20:46:08Z")
BTW, it would not surprise me, at all, if there were a lot more comedians pulling the lever for R than we know about. Even ones that virtue signal progressive. Unless you’re very established, openly identifying as a Republican is career suicide in the entertainment industry. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/79 "2018-11-06T21:06:07Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > BTW, it would not surprise me, at all, if there were a lot more comedians pulling the lever for R than we know about. Even ones that virtue signal progressive. Unless you’re very established, openly identifying as a Republican is career suicide in the entertainment industry. Yes because as we all know John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, James Woods, Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Kelsey Grammer, Patrica Heaton and Sylvester Stallone never worked again. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/80 "2018-11-06T21:10:41Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Yes because as we all know John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, James Woods, Clint Eastwood, Chuck Norris, Kelsey Grammer, Patrica Heaton and Sylvester Stallone never worked again. You noticed I said “very established”, right? Also interesting that almost every person you listed there is either dead, close or past retirement age, or not doing much work nowadays. Different times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994.md?page=5)