# "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:** 5
**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, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/81 "2018-11-06T22:55:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **DrDeth** : > > And PJ is funny, so he is wrong. I said that conservative comedians _mostly_ weren’t as funny. I know that some are. I already mentioned Jeff Foxworthy in this thread, and in a recent similar thread, someone pointed out some great zingers that Reagan got in. So O’Rourke is another example. That doesn’t disprove the claim that most aren’t. ---
**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, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/82 "2018-11-06T23:05:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I said that conservative comedians _mostly_ weren’t as funny. I know that some are. I already mentioned Jeff Foxworthy in this thread, and in a recent similar thread, someone pointed out some great zingers that Reagan got in. So O’Rourke is another example. That doesn’t disprove the claim that most aren’t. Then, you see , you have to tell us what “most means”. Sure Liberal (or more likely progressive) Comedians are more vocal, but do we even know everyone political stance? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/83 "2018-11-07T00:14:41Z")
> [@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 forgot Tim Allen who is both a Republican and a comedian. Also Rob Schneider and Dennis Miller are both Republicans as well. ---
**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 7, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/84 "2018-11-07T00:17:53Z")
I assumed that everyone realized that I was using the standard definition of “most”, “more than half”. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/85 "2018-11-07T00:18:09Z")
I like to point out that both Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones use humor a lot on their shows. In fact talk radio is probably the one place in the entertainment industry where conservatives have dominated over the liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/86 "2018-11-07T00:40:06Z")
One, a Conservative will find it hard to punch up in a meaningful way. Conservatives tend to _like_ what’s up from them, in that they support the _status quo_ and oppose the people who want to bring it down. Two, extremists aren’t funny in general, and modern American Republicans are extremists. They’re the ones who can find an insult in a sunny day, and famously think “Hello” is Satanic because it starts with “Hell”. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/87 "2018-11-07T00:47:20Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > If you try to be liberal or conservative first, you will likely not be funny. Which is the problem I see with a lot of conservative comics who are marketing themselves as conservative comics. They’re trying to establish their political credentials first - and then tell a joke. People who are trying to be funny (but have a conservative mindset, so that’s their joke’s POV) are probably often funny. But they don’t get the platform & exposure that the less funny (but CONSERVATIVE-With-A-Capital-R) ones do. (or it could be that their sense of humor doesn’t match mine. That said, I’m another person who found PJ O’Rourke hilarious even though I didn’t agree with his worldview at all. I can’t come up with another conservative comedian who deals in political humor that I find funny.) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/88 "2018-11-07T01:59:43Z")
What’s with everyone in this thread who thinks all comedy is about punching up? It’s clearly not. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/89 "2018-11-07T03:07:04Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > A. Comedy is all about punching up, not punching down (Which doesn’t make any sense, how much of comedy revolves around making fun of your spouse/friends/family?) > [@Derleth](#): > > One, a Conservative will find it hard to punch up in a meaningful way. > [@Asuka](#): > > What’s with everyone in this thread who thinks all comedy is about punching up? It’s clearly not. Well, yeah: As I understand it, “punching up, not punching down” is an ethical condition, not a definition or practical condition. It’s what (many people think) comedy should do, not what it always does do. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/90 "2018-11-07T04:11:07Z")
I kinda skimmed this, but has **Dennis Miller** been mentioned? I seem to recall a pretty right-leaning comedy styling as of late. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/91 "2018-11-07T04:38:33Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I kinda skimmed this, but has **Dennis Miller** been mentioned? I seem to recall a pretty right-leaning comedy styling as of late. Yes, he did, indeed, have a complete humor-ectomy after 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/92 "2018-11-07T04:46:22Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, yeah: As I understand it, “punching up, not punching down” is an ethical condition, not a definition or practical condition. It’s what (many people think) comedy should do, not what it always does do. It’s hard to get anyone to laugh _with_ you when you deliver your jokes with a sneer. When someone’s making fun of someone they consider beneath them, there’s a tone of voice, a quality of affect and delivery, which says “Yeah. I said it. Take a shot at me, so I have an excuse to _really_ fuck you up” in a pose which lords it over the weaker party. The only way to make it funny is to either have the audience completely on your side, so they think you’re doing the right thing and half hoping they get to join you in repelling the imagined attackers, or to flip it by making it your comedic persona, and then taking a sledgehammer to that persona by making it a figure of fun much moreso than the people it’s ostensibly attacking. Angry punching-up, the topic of the second half of my post you quoted, isn’t usually funny, either. It’s shrill, it’s long-winded with grievances, and it doesn’t have the sense of fun comedy needs. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/93 "2018-11-07T08:45:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And PJ is funny, so he is wrong. 😕 PJ O’Rourke isn’t wrong because he’s funny; he’s wrong because he’s conservative… What were we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/94 "2018-11-07T12:00:07Z")
Bob Dole knew how to tell a joke. I sincerely believe that if his handlers allowed him to be funny during the campaign he would have been elected President. (I also still believe that Libby was the better choice.) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/95 "2018-11-07T19:37:16Z")
All this discussion of why conservatives can’t be funny misses what may be the biggest reason liberals outnumber conservatives in Comedy: Because standup comedy is done in big city comedy clubs and college campuses, where the audiences skew heavily liberal. Therefore, a conservative comic is going to have a much more difficult time getting laughs unless their comedy is completely non-political. This means a career in standup for a conservative is much more difficult unless they hide their conservatism. Call it liberal comic privilege. Conservative comics, if we include actual comic writers, should include Scott Adams. Dilbert has been one of the funniest cartoons around. Scott Adams is a MAGA dude. Joe Rogan is a good standup comedian, and while he’s not conservative, he definitely leans libertarian and regularly has people on his podcast like Steven Crowder, another conservative comedian. Greg Gutfeld can be very funny. Jim Norton, Nick DiPaolo. Adam Sandler. Dennis Miller. Rob Schneider, Tim Allen, Adam Carolla… I suppose you could add Jerry Seinfeld in there, as he has complained that Colleges are now too PC even for his bland humor. We can probably add Jay Leno to the list as well, although he has always followed Carson’s lead and tried to make jokes of both sides. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/96 "2018-11-07T19:50:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > All this discussion of why conservatives can’t be funny misses what may be the biggest reason liberals outnumber conservatives in Comedy: Because standup comedy is done in big city comedy clubs and college campuses, where the audiences skew heavily liberal. Therefore, a conservative comic is going to have a much more difficult time getting laughs unless their comedy is completely non-political. This means a career in standup for a conservative is much more difficult unless they hide their conservatism. Call it liberal comic privilege. > > Conservative comics, if we include actual comic writers, should include Scott Adams. Dilbert has been one of the funniest cartoons around. Scott Adams is a MAGA dude. > . Good point. No, Dilbert\* used to be \*funny. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/97 "2018-11-07T19:59:57Z")
I did say it ‘has been’ one of the funniest comics. ---
**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 7, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/98 "2018-11-07T20:07:15Z")
But was he conservative back when it was funny? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/99 "2018-11-07T20:11:45Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > They mock everyone. However, most of the heavy hits are against their own side. On the other hand while yes establishment does come in for ridicule, they also have their good qualities called out, _what have the Romans ever done for us,_ basically takes contemporary leftists and anti-colonial claims and turns them on its head. Tbf, I think this is a bit of slanted looking at things based on your own biases. There was nothing more establishment in the 1970s in Britain than the Church (ok, maybe the Crown, but they were connected of course). Do they mock some left leaning groups, of course, but most of their mockery is for how religious people make big deals of sometimes little inconsequential things (I saw this as a practicing Christian). > [@](#): > > She was dead-set against Bernie, so this is hardly a counter. > Just see her bit after the Aziz Ansari allegetions. Perhaps, but then you are dividing making fun of your ‘side’ into a multi-faceted discussion rather than just 2 sides, right? So in the above, Monty Python can be argued to be mocking those liberals that they disagree with. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994/100 "2018-11-07T20:23:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > 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. I have found that generally anti-Christian liberals tend to be fine with the idea of Jesus (though not His divinity), but not fine with the religion that professes to worship Jesus. So by religion, I mean the established Christian Churches. On the DVD commentary, the Monty Python folks contend that the film is heretical, but only because it mocks organized religion, not because it’s blasphemous towards Jesus (although Cleese to this day contends it’s not heretical, but Jones, just as strongly contends it is. So yes, while indeed Monty Python mock all sides, it is generally a movie that is about mocking the structures & practice of religion which also includes jokes about left wing acronymed liberation groups. I mean, as a Protestant, the factions between the group following the sandal and the group following the gourd was hilariously on the mark, IMO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-be-a-conservative-and-a-comedian-what-does-this-even-mean/823994.md?page=6)