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TechnographConservative humor: The ultimate oxymoron
By Eric Naing
Posted: 2/14/07 Section: Opinion Columns
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And the laughs don't stop there. Other examples of conservative humor include Rush Limbaugh's "Club Gitmo" parody wherein he compares the atrocities at Guantanamo Bay to Club Med or his Michael J. Fox impersonation which involves flailing his arms in the air. Or the time Bill O'Reilly wished that Hurricane Katrina hit the United Nations building or when he wished that al-Qaida would bomb San Francisco. Or the time when Ann Coulter said, well, basically anything.
To be fair, I have yet to watch an episode of "The Half Hour News Hour," but judging by Red Eye, Fox News's other comedic attempt to "broaden the definition of a news channel," I doubt I'll be rolling on the floor laughing out loud. In a leaked clip, Red Eye host Greg Gutfield repeats Sen. Joe Biden's recent description of Barack Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, bright, and clean" to which another host replies, "Oh. Well, I think Oprah's clean" which prompts a third host to say, "She does douche. I was told I was allowed to say the D-word!" I'm all for Oprah jokes, but that had no context whatsoever and was unnecessarily sexist and racist.
Without having seen "The Half Hour News Hour," I already know that all the jokes will be something along the lines of "Boy, (insert the ACLU, environmentalism, PETA, liberal academia, political correctness or Barbara Streisand here) sure is stupid!" And when not making fun of liberals, most conservative jokes consist of either bashing the Clintons or calling Ted Kennedy a drunk (which I admit can still be funny.)
Rush Limbaugh recently taped a segment for "The Half Hour News Hour" in which he and Ann Coulter are the president and vice president.
This is apparently funny because, well, that sure would drive liberals crazy! Sorry Fox, but I'll take Stewart over Limbaugh, Coulter or Miller any day.
To be fair, I have yet to watch an episode of "The Half Hour News Hour," but judging by Red Eye, Fox News's other comedic attempt to "broaden the definition of a news channel," I doubt I'll be rolling on the floor laughing out loud. In a leaked clip, Red Eye host Greg Gutfield repeats Sen. Joe Biden's recent description of Barack Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, bright, and clean" to which another host replies, "Oh. Well, I think Oprah's clean" which prompts a third host to say, "She does douche. I was told I was allowed to say the D-word!" I'm all for Oprah jokes, but that had no context whatsoever and was unnecessarily sexist and racist.
Without having seen "The Half Hour News Hour," I already know that all the jokes will be something along the lines of "Boy, (insert the ACLU, environmentalism, PETA, liberal academia, political correctness or Barbara Streisand here) sure is stupid!" And when not making fun of liberals, most conservative jokes consist of either bashing the Clintons or calling Ted Kennedy a drunk (which I admit can still be funny.)
Rush Limbaugh recently taped a segment for "The Half Hour News Hour" in which he and Ann Coulter are the president and vice president.
This is apparently funny because, well, that sure would drive liberals crazy! Sorry Fox, but I'll take Stewart over Limbaugh, Coulter or Miller any day.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 15
JennaT
posted 2/14/07 @ 1:48 AM CST
Eric, if your point was that a show you haven't seen yet can't be humorous because you believe liberals would have a monopoly on humor, you've been (inadvertently) funny, indeed. (Continued…)
Jon
posted 2/14/07 @ 1:55 AM CST
Construing Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh as comedians would be the equivalent of claiming Jon Stewart and Colbert are legitimate political scientists. (Continued…)
Rollie Hawk
posted 2/14/07 @ 5:29 AM CST
You don't actually get paid to write, do you? Because no editor with a clue would publish something with "ultimate" and "oxymoron" in the title.
Matt
posted 2/14/07 @ 9:17 AM CST
Do you think it will be more or less popular than Air America? Also, congratulations, I think this may have been the first article in three years not to mention Christianity in some way, shape, or form. (Continued…)
Jacqueline
posted 2/14/07 @ 9:34 AM CST
I just want to say first: i dont watch the daily show report whatever it's called nor did i watch anything remotely republican. But for every Liberal who has made some comment about how stupid Bush is, and blah blah, I think it's perfectly fine that conversatives get to do some bashing too. (Continued…)
Francisco
posted 2/14/07 @ 1:07 PM CST
Are you guys kidding me? I stand with Eric on this one. If you want proof, check out a clip from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjIfaMwIFxU&eurl=
This is pathetic at best. (Continued…)
Tyler Friederich
posted 2/14/07 @ 2:09 PM CST
Hey "San" Francisco, who wrote the book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot..."? It wasn't a conservative; it was Al Franken (a "comedian" and "satirist"). (Continued…)
Brian
posted 2/14/07 @ 2:49 PM CST
The Reason why Liberals are inherently more than Conservatives is a lot simpler than the construction of their jokes. Each side definately does a lot of finger pointing and grade school name calling, but Liberals, by definition, are more prone to look at a situation, see the natural humor, and be willing to expose the absurdities in political ongoings. (Continued…)
NVUS
posted 2/14/07 @ 4:24 PM CST
Humor isn't political, but the outlets which broadcast/publish the work of those who are humorous definitely are! Anyone who thinks comics, satirists, and the like are too stupid to realize that their best chance at success is in an industry that frowns upon conservatives is an idiot. (Continued…)
Steve D.
posted 2/14/07 @ 5:48 PM CST
Many comedians may be liberals, but there's very little fundamentally humorous about liberalism or liberals themselves. Example: go into any African-American studies class in America and explain how you are anti-Affirmative Action, and see how many friends you make. (Continued…)
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