When it comes to comedy, who is funnier?

[keithy_19]

Conservatives or liberals?

[Dan 'Hampton]

Neither.

[keithy_19]

Neither.

Fair enough.

[torker]

Commies are much more entertaining in general.

[King Hippos Bandaid]

Commies are much more entertaining in general.


QFT


http://blogetty.com/pics/2007_06/Yakov_Smirnoff.jpg

In Soviet Russia

[JohnGacysCrawlSpace]

the abortion.

[PapaBear]

Not the side that has this guy.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/miller.jpg

[torker]

http://www.wnd.com/images2/garofalosalute1.jpg

[torker]

Id rather eat nails:
<object style="height: 344px; width: 425px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FwXwtAZCan0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FwXwtAZCan0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></object>

[Recyclerz]

I vote for Libertarians/Anarchists/People who don't give a shit.

The only funny conservatives I can think of are P.J. O'Rourke (more of a Libertarian actually) and Christopher Buckley. All the rest who think they are funny (Coulter, the lobotomized Dennis Miller, et al.) are just smarmy.

The liberals have a few superstars (Jon Stewart & crew/Steven Colbert/Lewis Black) but a thin bench after that.

[dereckfishboy]

Liberals had Bill Hicks

[Melk]

Liberals had Bill Hicks
I have said this before, Bill Hicks appeared in Prison Planet documentaries investigating Waco. He was not a liberal.

[dereckfishboy]

I have said this before, Bill Hicks appeared in Prison Planet documentaries investigating Waco. He was not a liberal.

Well don't you get a pat on the back for saying it more than once. Looks like I'm going to have to start following all your posts now.

[Tommy Marbles]

Definitely conservatives. A wise man once explained to me that a liberal cannot admit that there's nothing funnier in the world than a retard eating ice cream.

[dereckfishboy]

Definitely conservatives. A wise man once explained to me that a liberal cannot admit that there's nothing funnier in the world than a retard eating ice cream.
Fantastic first post

[instrument]

whichever fez isn't.

[Melk]

Well don't you get a pat on the back for saying it more than once. Looks like I'm going to have to start following all your posts now.
Sorry. I get carried away with mentioning Hicks' affiliation with InfoWars. I see Hicks as being affiliated with the same non-partisan ideology as Doug Stanhope. It is not a bad thing, but I don't see him as a liberal.

I don't know many conservative comics. Dennis Miller, sure. But the conservative leaning comics tend not to bring the politics to the stage.

[Crispy_Mobile]

Seinfeld + LD = Jew = Dem.

[Tommy Marbles]

I've noticed a pretty strong trend among young comics who seem to be leaning more towards conservatism than liberalism.
For the most part over the past 10 years it hasn't been the conservatives pressuring limitations on language, but the liberals. Far right and far left are equally insane and I think most comics understand that. DiPaolo and Quinn both come across as more conservative than liberal

[Melk]

DiPaolo and Quinn both come across as more conservative than liberal
I stand corrected. DiPalo is definitely a concevative comic.

[Barnaby Jones]

The majority of comedians aren't defined by their politics, so this is a really dumb question!

[Tommy Marbles]

While I agree that only a minority of comedians are defined by their political stances, it is certainly one of the more touched upon topics in standup and it always has been. Ferrara, Alexandro, Giraldo and more wouldn't be classified as "political" but they do address certain aspects of the state of politics.
The artform is based on reflections and insights into cultural and personal realizations. Politics is a difficult topic to avoid if you're addressing whatever is relevant in your day.

[Melk]

Politics is a difficult topic to avoid if you're addressing whatever is relevant in your day.
Political comedy can be funny, but it really dates the comic's material to future audiences (I'm talking about this from a comedy album point of view)

[Tommy Marbles]

You know that's an interesting point, but listening to Hicks' Revelations and hearing him discuss George Bush and the war in Iraq and foreign oil and all that kind of helps to make me realize how much things tend to repeat themselves in history. Meet the new boss same as the old boss and all that.

[TjM]

The "They're all fucking assholes" side

http://www.chargerbulletin.com/archives/Lewis_Black.jpg

[KnoxHarrington]

I think good political comedy has to be willing to accept both sides -- but, at the same time, it has to have a sense of perspective. If one side is doing more dumb shit than the other, that side should be attacked more. You can't have this corny sense of equivalence, this attitude of "Oh, I just made a joke about a Republican, so I better make a joke about a Democrat now".

Do that, and you end up being Mark Russell. And no one wants that.

[Tommy Marbles]

When I woke up today, my first thought was, "Surely nobody will bring up Mark Russell today."
Well done sir.

[KnoxHarrington]

When I woke up today, my first thought was, "Surely nobody will bring up Mark Russell today."
Well done sir.

I aim to please.

I'd also point out that I think a problem with conservative comedy is that it can often come off as seeming mean-spirited and, really, sort of bullying. It's like hearing your boss crack jokes about your co-workers.

Comedy doesn't work well from a position of power. It's better when it's attacking that power.

[Tommy Marbles]

Well put. Frustration is what's funny, not hatred.

[Barnaby Jones]

While I agree that only a minority of comedians are defined by their political stances, it is certainly one of the more touched upon topics in standup and it always has been. Ferrara, Alexandro, Giraldo and more wouldn't be classified as "political" but they do address certain aspects of the state of politics.
The artform is based on reflections and insights into cultural and personal realizations. Politics is a difficult topic to avoid if you're addressing whatever is relevant in your day.

I think the main difference is that "conservative comedians" go out of their way to shoehorn their "conservative-ness" into their acts. They let it define them too much. It's like every "conservative comic" is just the male, conservative version of Janeane Garofalo. No thanks!

[Tommy Marbles]

Interesting point of view. I've never heard it put like that.
What comics specifically do you consider a "male conservative version of garafolo"?

[Tommy Marbles]

For the record, I don't feel in any way that a comic needs to discuss politics in order to be funny or socially relevant. Funny is what matters most, probably only

[Barnaby Jones]

Interesting point of view. I've never heard it put like that.
What comics specifically do you consider a "male conservative version of garafolo"?

Someone like DiPaulo, who goes out of their way to infuse their personal political stances into too much of their act. There's a fine line between commenting and joking and ranting on current events and the issues of the day and using their act to just spout off about their politics like it's this big important thing we need to pay attention to and must agree with them on!