General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAre there any funny "conservative" comedians?
When I think of "conservative" comedians I think of seriously unfunny Dennis Miller. I give Miller credit because he takes unfunny to another level. That takes skill.
Not a useful skill, but skill nonetheless.
Anyway if I have ever seen a funny "conservative" comedian then that comedian never let on that he or she was "conservative." It is kind of like their "conservatism" was their crazy uncle in their attic, perhaps?
Is there a funny "conservative" comedian? Or do I put that category with Superman, Santa Claus, and low priced lawyers?
hatrack
(59,436 posts)Good comedy inverts reality, it asks "why?", it punctures pretension and gores sacred cows.
Conservatives don't like any of the above, and are accordingly reduced to name-calling and bullying. Hence Dennis Miller, Victoria Jackson and Fox's short-lived Half Hour News Hour.
Cirque du So-What
(25,808 posts)Punching down is just mean.
Wounded Bear
(58,436 posts)BumRushDaShow
(127,260 posts)you had some like Jon Lovitz, who created an iconic character - Tommy Flanagan (where memes from his SNL days occasionally get posted on DU) but otherwise, the few out there do more RW editorializing then comedy.
Kid Berwyn
(14,642 posts)The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.
Malmsy
(296 posts)The smug jerk character didn't work.
Cary
(11,746 posts)RhodeIslandOne
(5,042 posts)By drug addicted Rush Limbaugh, who coveted that Monday Night Football job. Miller was not a good fit, but he was basically sandbagged out of the gate. He decided to join them instead of beating them.
tirebiter
(2,520 posts)Inasmuch as he felt he was using his first amendment rights as the fathers of our country intended it.
Cary
(11,746 posts)"Conservative" is to the right of conservative.
Coincidentally fascism is to the right of conservative.
Cary
(11,746 posts)That might make for an interesting study.
Initech
(99,909 posts)They're not good at comedy so they take it out on those who are.
Cary
(11,746 posts)I don't see a lot of executive functioning from most of them. I think the answer is probably a lower level, lizard brain thing.
TidalWave46
(2,061 posts)Some of his stand up is original, witty, and really funny.
Not sure where I heard he was a right winger. I might be wrong.
Cary
(11,746 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,145 posts)RhodeIslandOne
(5,042 posts)But comedians of his generation grew up on guys like Carlin and Pryor whod be criticized heavily today.
TidalWave46
(2,061 posts)Sirius XM's lineup of comedy.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)ChoppinBroccoli
(3,764 posts)For example, I always liked Tim Allen's stand-up, and I liked "Home Improvement" too. Then I found out he was a raging Republican, and he became very unfunny. He started injecting his politics into his new shows after "Home Improvement" and they sucked. I enjoyed Dennis Miller and his erudite routines until his act strayed off into right-wing bullshit. Now he's not funny at all.
The reason why right-wing political humor falls flat is because when you boil it down, right-wing politics is all just mean-spirited and aimed at propping up the rich and powerful. Comedy is meant to poke fun at the rich and powerful. How many "Hitler was a good guy" jokes do you know? How many jokes do you know where, "Billionaires are better people than us and deserve more of our money" is the punchline?
Comedy pokes fun at the powerful. Right-wingers poke fun at the powerLESS, and that's not funny.
WhiteTara
(29,676 posts)Sometimes I laugh when there is no punchline because they are so ridiculous.
Coventina
(26,844 posts)I think it's the kind of updated Bob Newhart thing he's got going on: bumbling and dead-pan.
On edit:
Also, his humor is usually not political, and I think that helps tremendously.
TidalWave46
(2,061 posts)I get clips of him on Sirius XM's comedy line-up and he is hilarious.
melm00se
(4,972 posts)their politics don't really worry me as long as they are funny
Some comedians who are conservative:
Jeff Dunham
Jeff Foxworthy
Tim Allen
Larry the Cable guy
But, comedy is a personal thing. There are comedians who are lean or are left who I find unfunny and there are ones from the right who I find hilarious.
One additional observation: Political correctness, especially on college campuses, is killing comedy.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)but the original "Blue Collar Comedy Team" members, including Jeff Foxworthy, always made me laugh.
Caliman73
(11,690 posts)Someone mentioned Norm McDonald who has mentioned that he is a conservative, but McDonald's comedy is not necessarily about conservative topics and usually focuses on personal experience, and the mundane.
The topics that comedians who identify themselves as conservatives and whose conservative ideology influences those topics are typically not funny to me as they are mean spirited and appear to simply ridicule.
You have comedians like Chris Rock, who make fun of some of the things Black people do, or George Lopez with Latinos, but that comedy is about relating to cultural practices and pointing out some of the absurdity. We laugh our ourselves through their story telling. Conservative comedy appears to be about "keeping people in their place", which to me, is not funny at all, therefore anyone who uses that type of comedy is not funny to me.
Cary
(11,746 posts)It seems that the consensus here is that they can be funny if they suppress their politics. That adds a layer of complexity.
I prefer to lump them all as humorless humorists because I am not in a mood to be generous towards any of them. If that makes me a bad man, so be it.
Caliman73
(11,690 posts)You can lump whoever you what into whatever you want.
Not sure where you are getting the idea that you are being told you are wrong or a "bad man".
Cary
(11,746 posts)I just surmised from your words that you couldn't tell me.
Nuance is often lost on internet forums.
The only thing I can say with certainty is that I do not think that the premise of conservative humor is funny to me at all. I find it demeaning.
I love to laugh at myself and others like me. I appreciate when comics point out the absurdities in their personal lives and in parts of their own cultures. When Margaret Cho talks about her mother, it is freakin hilarious. When Cedrick the Entertainer talks about the stereotype that Black people can't parallel park, comedy gold! When George Lopez talks about sneaking food into Dodger stadium or sharing one churro with all your cousins, that was me and my cousins, "lick it and pass it, lick it and pass it, take a bite and see what happens..." ROTFL.
When comedians made fun of president Obama's idiosyncrasies, that was good. Amy Pohler's Hillary was awesome!
Conservatism is about protecting the status quo. The power structures that have oppressed women, minorities, the poor, and other marginalized groups, so any humor that supports that ideology cannot be funny in my book.
TheFarseer
(9,308 posts)Dennis Leary? Does Adam Corolla count as a comedian? Not sure if he does stand up. Just off the top of my head.
WhiskeyWulf
(569 posts)Conservative humor seems mostly mean-spirited and childish to me.
Cary
(11,746 posts)CrispyQ
(36,221 posts)I loved his misanthropic take on racism:
It's stupid to hate someone for the color of their skin, when if you spend just five minutes talking to them, you'll find plenty of valid reasons to hate them.
Tarc
(10,472 posts)But that's about it. Comedy really isn't a good venue for those with prejudices.
Thekaspervote
(32,605 posts)Gothmog
(143,998 posts)Liberal In Texas
(13,452 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Dont know his politics but would guess he is conservative.
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,079 posts)There have been comedic actors whose work I have liked who unfortunately have turned out to be staunch conservatives and/or Trump defenders.
John O'Hurley, a.k.a. Seinfeld's J. Peterman for example. Or Craig T. Nelson from the television show Coach.
But I don't know of any conservative stand-up comedians I enjoy or find funny.
LeftInTX
(24,541 posts)I'm picky though.
I liked Jeff's self deprecating sense of humor. I even bought his book. (I think I paid $1 for it at Dollar Tree or Dollar General)
Kaleva
(36,145 posts)Kablooie
(18,571 posts)1. Jon Lovitz
2. Adam Sandler
3. Rob Schneider
4. Norm Macdonald
5. Victoria Jackson
6. Dennis Miller
7. David Spade
8. Colin Quinn
9. Jay Mohr
Left-face
(59 posts)Some are probably funny right up until I find out they're right wing and then there's that *poof*! moment when suddenly nothing they can say or do is funny. *poof*! Funny how that works, huh?
mwooldri
(10,291 posts)Not intentionally a comedian but at times he can be funny for all the wrong reasons.
LetMyPeopleVote
(143,998 posts)Conservatives are too stupid to do comedy. This show was worst than the Half Hour News Hour which is saying a great deal
Link to tweet
Link to tweet
The former White House communications director spent just 11 days on the job. Former President Donald Trump was so infamous for his hiring and firing that Scaramucci became a unit of measure by which employment under Trump was calculated.
Gutfeld was preempted by former Trumpster Larry Kudlow, who infamously screamed at Dr. Anthony Fauci for disagreeing hydroxychloroquine was a cure for COVID-19. Fauci ultimately was proved right, and Kudlow got a Fox News show.
The show from Gutfeld was an attempt to craft humor over liberal policies or progressive statements, but it has frequently fallen flat with the audience.
Again, this show was not funny and is the second time that Fox News tried to launch a comedy show. The first attempt-The Half Hour News Hour was really bad