Can you name any successful conservative comedians?

[Cyrano]

I think that Trump suspended all White House Press Corp roasts during the time he infested the White House. My guess is the only thing that he burst into laughter over was watching January 6th unfold.

Conservatives are the butt of many comedian's jokes. But can anyone name one conservative comedian who's actually funny? Or any conservative comedian at all?

[hlthe2b]

1. Back in the day... Bob Hope

[secondwind]

4. Two minds with but a single thought.

[irisblue]

11. Did Bob Hope do overtly politically based humor?

I realize he did the traditionally 20th century misogynist homophobic stage stuff.

[hlthe2b]

12. only mild stuff... Nothing biting.

[LeftInTX]

59. He satired both sides

[bif]

80. Except Bob Hope wasn't funny.

At least I never thought so.

[hlthe2b]

81. My parents (and their generation) loved him. And, I loved my parents. n/t

[LeftInTX]

87. I liked him OK

He had sensory issues when he got older, which made a dent in his comedy routines...

Apparently, he couldn't see well and lost his sense of timing etc...I think this was in the 70's...
He could host events, but with his vision issues etc, it was hard to have that dry humor...


I never like the "Road to ........" movies...Those were stupid and corny

[secondwind]

2. Wasn't Bob Hope a conservative?

[Cyrano]

24. Bob Hope died in 2003 and wasn't active for decades before that

It's possible that many on DU never heard of him. Mention Hope and many think it's a Cape at the southern tip of South Africa.

[rso]

3. RSO

Dennis Miller used to be funny many moons ago before he became a trumpster.

[zuul]

21. He has a show on Russia Today TV.

‘Dennis Miller Plus One.’ I shit you not. It’s on right now.

[Bucky]

72. I doubt that's ideology. Probably desperation for a buck.

There's probably even a part of him that knows he's being used by people who want to weaken our country. I imagine he rationalizes it by saying he needs the money and the gig would have gone to someone else if he had said no.

Such a waste. Dennis Miller is really brilliant. But having money and a brief taste of success for a while, then losing a lot of it, and being an insecure male has not let him play to his strengths in his career.

[Sogo]

5. Roseanne Barr, whatever you may think of her,

is/has been a successful comedienne and is a major Trumpster.

[viva la]

8. Is she funny now?

[maxsolomon]

13. The question was "successful".

She is successful.

[viva la]

32. Yeah, I haven't seen her on TV much.

She probably gets a lot of $ from residuals from her old show.

I remember she was married to Tom Arnold, who I think used to be a "conservative comedian", but isn't very conservative now.

[Drunken Irishman]

33. She was successful and she wasn't a conservative at the time of that successful.

So, no, Roseanne doesn't fit the question because she's not really been successful as a conservative comedian.

[frogmarch]

42. How old is she now?

Years ago she said that when people reach the age of 60, they should do the government a favor and commit suicide.

[JI7]

61. She was a liberal when she was funny

[viva la]

6. There was that Miller guy. Dennis?

But I think he stopped being funny.

I think most comedians have to be kind of free thinkers,skeptical. So they might tend to be liberal because those are valued in liberalism.

[RockRaven]

7. I've heard other people answer this question with "Tim Allen" but I don't actually know how

conservative he is, because I don't watch any of his stuff.

[ProfessorGAC]

22. He's Not A Drooler

But, he's very much the low taxes solve everything & it used to be better in the past type.
He & Richard Karn are still pretty good friends and Karn was thought of as very liberal.
Successful he is for sure. Funny? His early standup stuff was very much so. His character on Last Man Standing, not so much.
Funny is in the ear of the beholder.

[alphafemale]

41. Tim Allen has been doing the same shtick since the mid 90's

People got bored with it and he complains that it is because of his politics.

If he can live off his Tool Time royalties he is doing something wrong, because that seems to be on somewhere 24 hours a day.

[ProfessorGAC]

44. Yeah, I Buy That

And he's not a raving lunatic about politics.
So, that has nothing to do with his star fading.
It's just got stale.

[MurrayDelph]

63. I always wanted to ask him

"Did you change your politics after you were hired?", but I never met him when I lived in L.A. My wife did, sorta; there was a car trying to get out of a gas station, and after waving him in ahead of her she noticed it was Tim Allen.

[LuckyCharms]

9. I can name a few who are "comedians", but not

even remotely funny.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. Successful? Lots of them. They shouldn't be too hard to find. NT

[Polybius]

14. Wasn't Rodney Dangerfield a conservative?

I know Jackie Mason was.

[underpants]

15. Jackie Mason was.

Not sure bout Rodney.

[XanaDUer2]

16. Not sure if he's a comedian

there's a ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, with a real shtick show. I watched a bit, turned it off. He's mega successful

[Bucky]

17. He tells jokes. He does characters. Sure he's a comic

It's kind of funny.

[JHB]

18. I can't think of any who were successful *as* "conservative comedians"...

...but there are a number who became successful but on,y highlighted their conservatism after their success. Usually at an age where they become crotchety assholes and don't feel a need to hide it anymore.

[LeftInTX]

50. Yes, I like Patricia Heaton in Everybody Loves Raymond

She's got good timing etc, but I don't remember anything about her political leanings in Everybody Loves Raymond

[underpants]

19. Tim Allen, Jackie Mason, Drew Carey was but I think he's toned it down

Funny, on vacation one day we just happened to watch the Price is Right. My mother in law couldn’t go to the beach and it was like a way back machine for us. Drew barely even half asses it as host. One guy lost a chance at a car but got $184. Drew said “Hey, you’ve got some pocket change”.

[Bucky]

20. Norm MacDonald

I don't think he's harshly conservative, or strongly political. But from time to time you pick up hints that he's more responsive to conservative messaging, or libertarian economics.

As for comedy, he's a god.

[Dr. Strange]

37. Well...

As for comedy, he's a god.

Or so the Germans would have us believe.

Norm is my favorite!

[fishwax]

38. have you seen his Netflix talk show? I used to get the same impression you mention, though

watching the netflix show made me reconsider it for some reason. (Although I guess now that I think about it this was more along social issues than econmic ones.)

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, I also thought it was really good. I'm not a huge fan of his outside of weekend update, but I found this easily among his most enjoyable work.

[JI7]

62. Yes, more libertarian .

[lame54]

23. Patricia Heaton

[LeftInTX]

46. Yes, she's pretty good as an actress

[lame54]

49. She's kinda nutso in interviews...

But she has 2 great series under her belt

[Renew Deal]

25. Bill Burr

[Bucky]

70. He's middle of the road, but whenever he argues with Joe Rogan...

... he always seems to be more on the pragmatic liberal side. He seems conservative because he's a snarky misanthrope, but more often than not he's defending PC things

[Wingus Dingus]

93. A little conservative, on some things, but overall

a mixed bag, I think. Edit to add, he's one of my all time favorite comics.

[TlalocW]

26. I guess I need to know what you mean by successful

Everybody's star fades - Andrew Dice Clay, Dennis Miller, Roseanne Barr. More recently I think Bill Burr falls on the conservative side. Adam Sandler makes the list for successful and well as conservative. His buddy Rob Schneider much less so for successful and comedian... Carlos Mencia steals other people's stuff and claims it as his own, which is very conservative, and he was successful for a time doing that.

TlalocW

[totodeinhere]

27. Greg Gutfeld maybe.

Also back in the day Johnny Carson.

[Celerity]

30. Greg Gutfeld

I HATE that fucking pronger.

Greg Gutfeld Says Trump Supporters Are ‘Justified’ Because You Can’t Trust Elections, Sparking Chaos on The Five (Video)

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/greg-gutfeld-says-trump-supporters-are-justified-because-you-cant-trust-elections-sparking-chaos-on-the-five/

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld said President Donald Trump’s supporters are “justified” in their distrust for the media and elections during a segment on the violent attack on the United States Capitol. The remark from Gutfeld sparked a heated argument on The Five Thursday evening. “I don’t understand why calling for an audit that [Ted] Cruz and Trump wanted is a call for insurrection. It was a preventative. Because I’ve said this a thousand times, that when you remove dialogue, or conversation, or just going back and forth from the process, all you end end up with is violence,” Gutfeld said.

Trump has been accused of inciting his supporters to attack the Capitol building — which left five people dead and many more injured — by many on both sides of the aisle, including prominent Republicans like former Attorney General William Barr.

“And you have people who feel like there is no hope. I think what we’re seeing here is a lot of people with no hope,” Gutfeld continued. “There is no way to turn this back. You have millions of people who do not trust their institutions, and you know what? They are justified. You can’t trust the media, because they lie to you. You can’t trust the elections, because there is fraud!” “We don’t know how much, because every time someone brings it up, they are dismissed as conspiratorial rubes,” Gutfeld concluded. “We have to change, because it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

Fox News contributor Juan Williams pointed out that Trump’s claims of election fraud are unproven. He cited Georgia Election official Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who debunked many of Trump’s absurd claims of fraud. “You had Gabe Sterling, a Republican election official in Georgia, go down the line and say this is wrong,” Williams before getting interrupted by Gutfeld. “He cherrypicked. He cherrypicked!” Gutfeld yelled at Williams. “You are just spouting what we’ve already heard,” Gutfeld added before the panel divulged into chaos.

snip



‘Of Course They’re Going to Cheat’: Greg Gutfeld Claims Democratic Hatred For Trump Proves Voter Fraud (Video)

https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/of-course-theyre-going-to-cheat-greg-gutfeld-claims-democratic-hatred-for-trump-proves-voter-fraud/

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld blamed Democrats’ “good vs. evil” narrative about the 2020 election and defeating President Donald Trump as tantamount to proof that they would engage in widespread voter fraud — even when there is no evidence of it. During a Wednesday afternoon monologue on The Five, spurred by a discussion about the ongoing recount in Georgia, Gutfeld railed against the fact that, in two of the counties, both of which were majority Republican, several hundred extra votes for Trump had not been properly submitted by the local officials. Those votes narrowed Biden’s margin of victory, but he still leads by more than 10,000 ballots.

“That’s why you have to do the recount,” Gutfeld said, before divining a dark conspiracy in the errors found by Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State. “And all of the irregularities going one direction. We were told that there was no evidence, and now that there is evidence, now we are being told, well, yeah, there is evidence, but not enough evidence.” Of note, there is zero evidence of voter fraud or malicious intent in the Georgia counties’ corrected ballot totals.

“So it’s not about fraud, it’s about trust,” Gutfeld added, now pivoting away from specific claims of misconduct. “The people who pushed the 4-year hoax created an environment where we can’t trust any institution anymore. And they pulled everybody in on this charade. So we can’t trust the media. We can’t even trust the FBI. We can’t trust anybody.” “Meanwhile they made this whole election a battle of good versus evil,” Gutfeld went on, boldly declaring Democrats’ hatred of Trump is proof enough that the party would be capable of conducting voter fraud to defeat him. “So of course they are going to cheat if you are up against Darth Vader Hitler, of course you are going to do it.”

Gutfeld then implied that the multi-year Mueller investigation into Russian election interference means Republicans have a lot more time they can call into question Biden’s victory. “We have only been at it for two weeks. You guys did it for four years,” the Fox hosts said. “And lastly I am sick and tired of smirking anchors, not talking about you,” Gutfeld said, gesturing to co-host Juan Williams, “…smirking anchors who call themselves news anchors who sit here and arrogantly dismiss people’s concerns, right? They are going, ‘You can’t be serious.’ They don’t even bother reporting, this is a legal means of checking on an election. So let it be that.”

snip

[Drunken Irishman]

34. Carson was fairly liberal.

[Greybnk48]

95. If you mean Johnny Carson, he was a hard-core liberal

and so was Ed McMahon.

[Midnight Writer]

39. Greg Gutfeld has two shows daily on FOX News.

He ain't funny but a comedian with two national TV shows a day meets the definition of successful.

[GoodRaisin]

54. He laughs at his own jokes

if that qualifies as a comedian. Otherwise I'd say he's successful as a right wing clown.

[LeftInTX]

53. Gutfeld is a comedian???

[totodeinhere]

85. I try to not hate anyone because hate is such a destructive emotion.

But when it comes to that asshole I can't help myself. And no, he is not funny to me at all but I listed him because he does have a highly rated show on FNC and he bills himself as a comedian.

[NCjack]

28. Jeff Dunham is bent to the right.

[Bettie]

29. Larry the Cable Guy?

I think he's even a MAGAT

[LeftInTX]

48. He's not funny

[Bettie]

56. No, but he's successful

right wingers have a different idea of humor than most people. Misogyny sells well among them.

[LNM]

31. I think Ron White is very funny

not sure if he's really a conservative or that's just his act.

[Bucky]

71. I get the feeling he's socially conservative, but not politically

Like on abortion & other culture war distractions, he's not on the right. But like school vouchers or deep tax cuts or social welfare programs, he'd line up with Republicans. He's definitely not a religious nut, I'd call him a whiskey & cigar conservative, a golf club conservative. Probably okay with gay marriage, but not until it quit being a political issue.

Um, that's just a guess

[Drunken Irishman]

35. There are plenty of comedians who appeal to conservatives.

Some overtly conservative and others more apolitical.

Guys like Ron White and Jeff Foxworthy likely have a much more conservative fan base than someone like Dave Chappelle. But I don't believe they're outwardly conservative or all that political in their acts.

Larry the Cable Guy is generally more political and certainly a conservative.

Tim Allen has been a known conservative for most his career and was a big Trump supporter during his first campaign. He's seen success both as a comedian and actor - starring in two hit sitcoms.

Roseanne is conservative now but absolutely was not one during the height of her success, so I won't count her. Dennis Miller also flipped but a bulk of his success came prior to that. However, unlike Roseanne, he's at least been able to build a career as a conservative comedian and seen relative niche success among the FOX News crowd but hardly at the level of success he saw in the 90s. So, I'd say he fits the bill still.

Norm MacDonald is another likely more conservative. But he's Canadian so who knows what his feelings are on American politics.

[lame54]

51. Foxworthy is very christian right...

And a trumper although it has been a while since I've heard from him

[Drunken Irishman]

60. He may personally be a Trump supporter but I don't think he ever did political humor.

Oftentimes, like with George Carlin, Foxworthy's bits are used to push a political agenda he did not make.

Like this right-wing bit that was popular on the internet a few years ago:

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jan/07/facebook-posts/no-evidence-jeff-foxworthy-behind-viral-facebook-p/

As for him being a Trump supporter - I wouldn't doubt it with his style of humor. But I doubt he's lobbing too many political jokes.

And that's the difference, I guess.

I actually do find popular conservative comedians focus more on observational humor than social critics like Carlin or Chappelle, who identified as liberal, or more left-leaning. Why? I don't know. Probably because even they'd admit their side slides into crazy (Hence, 'you might be a redneck...).

I don't know. Either way, there's not a lot of mainstream comedians who use political conservativism in their routines. They might resort to conservative commentary but it's more jabbing liberals for drinking their lattes as opposed to doing the total social deconstruction of an ideology like Carlin used to do in his routines.

Of course, as awful as this sounds, I think their core audience is too simple to understand that humor and since many of these comics are businessmen even before they're comedians, they're not going to offend by going after the low fruit that may gain the applause of their audiences - like, you know, calling Obama a Muslim traitor or something stupid. A good example of this is Roseanne, who used racist and sexist terms to describe Valerie Jarrett. It wasn't funny. It was shocking. But it didn't gain her anything. It lost her her TV show and basically has turned her into a pariah.

[mvd]

36. Jeff Foxworthy has been successful with country satire

His political leanings align with the rest of the “conservative” country crowd, however.

[LeftInTX]

47. Yes, he's good and he's politically conservative

[alphafemale]

40. Conservative comedians tend to "punch down"

They try to at least edge up to racism and sexism and homophobia. And they also wail and moan that they are being censored and silenced from being able to go full throttle with the racism and all the nasty rest as they had been in the past.

I agree with most of the names here.

I would also add Bill Cosby. If you see a shot of the crowd from his earlier days it is nearly exclusively white, conservative looking people.

[alphafemale]

43. Victoria Jackson - but she flounced and raged her way out of successful

I was stunned to learn the stupid was not an act.

[LeftInTX]

52. She was funny on SNL, but I haven't been following her lately

Last I saw she was doing a conservative whine and that was not funny

[Bucky]

73. She's another talented stage persona who imploded careerwise

I don't know if she ever did a stand-up act. Maybe a novelty act of some kind. I also suspect there was a lot of drug use on SNL in the '80s. Lots of hard partying powder sniffers end up going knee jerk conservative when they get off the glitter.

There's a lot of put on, surface level social rigidity that goes with the conservative mindset. Plus social conservatism feeds on social resentment, which a lot of ex drug users connect with.

I remember Robert Downey Jr wants to making some sanctimonious comment about how once you've been to prison and rehab, you can't be a real liberal anymore. It might not work for some of those shallow & naive limo liberals in upper class Hollywood. If I ever got sent up river, I would totally want John Maynard Keynes to have my back in a yard fight.

[LeftInTX]

88. Jackson attended Florida Bible College after graduating from HS

Then she went to various other schools and the acting bug bit...

I don't get the impression that she was very stable...

I wouldn't be surprised if she was into drugs while at SNL

[ShazamIam]

45. Jay Leno, but I always found him creepy.

[fishwax]

58. nah, Leno is definitely not a conservative

[ShazamIam]

76. I disagree, he openly faved Republicans on his show the one or three times I saw one, usually

while visiting someone who liked him.

edit: add

He says he is a fiscal conservative and a social liberal, to me that means libertarian or neo-liberal and that is conservative where it counts, economics.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2013/08/06/jay-lenos-candid-remarks-about-his-personal-political-views

[haele]

55. I've heard of conservative comedians with successful character acting careers...

But if you ask if their actual jokes or stand-up is any good, I rather doubt they're any better than a stopped clock if they stray into political comedy.
As for "Edge Lord" comedy, which many conservatives like to play with - that's a dark humor that many people can't take, while others can take small amounts of if done well, and adolescents who refuse to grow up eat like ice cream because they think it shows smart and independent thinking, even though most edge comedy is cribbed from Jonathan Swift or Mark Twain, with naughty bits and cuss words thrown in.

But the real rule of comedy is that good comedy kicks up, not down. Good comedy holds a wry mirror up to folly. Good comedy also does not kiss ass.

And conservatives just can't seem to get any of that right.

Haele

[jalan48]

57. Kelsey Grammer was great in Frazier but I'm not sure how much of it was his material.

[MurrayDelph]

65. All of it

He's an actor, not a comedian.

[jalan48]

66. Thanks-I thought he had something to do with the production of the show.

[MurrayDelph]

67. Any "producer" title he may have on a show

is a negotiated honorific they may come with (or in lieu of) extra money.

If you are interested in details of working/writing in Hollywood, I recommend the podcasts "Hollywood and Levine" and "Children of Tendu"

[jalan48]

69. Thanks-I know nothing about Hollywood and will check out the podcasts.

[Roland99]

64. I wrote this about a year ago re: right wing creativity

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212962225

[Maru Kitteh]

68. Bill Cosby.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

74. Conservatives are too stupid to be funny

Conservatives are bad at satire. This site is so weak and unfunny that it reminds me of this cartoon

[BumRushDaShow]

75. Dennis Miller and Joe Piscopo

at least when they were on SNL.

[Polybius]

77. What are Jay Leno's and Conan O'Brien's politics?

If they are liberal, they don't mention it like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon do.

[Aristus]

82. Jay Leno is pretty liberal.

I understand he's a die-hard Democrat and party campaign donor.

[Polybius]

83. That's good to hear

I saw an interview where he said Johnny Carson said to him that you can joke about politics, but never show what side you’re on.

I think it was great advice, even though the aforementioned are liberal and everyone knows it. I prefer it when they keep us guessing like Leno.

[Calista241]

78. Joe Rogan probably.

He's tried to obfuscate his political leanings, but he's a pretty conservative guy. He moved out of CA to get away from the taxes and homeless, he is a big time gun rights supporter. He likes Alex Jones and a bunch of other right wingers.

[Polybius]

84. He supported Sanders last year though

Last edited Mon Aug 9, 2021, 12:40 AM - Edit history (1)

He said he like him and Tulsi the best.

[Bucky]

92. like a lot of people, his attachment is emotional, not ideological

Joe likes a strong message from a strong leader. That's why he ultimately supported Trump over Biden. He liked the strength. Biden was all policy this and effective, responsible government that. Where's the pizzazz? Where's the sexiness? Biden is gray haired and has a little shake in his voice cause he's nearly 80. All he talks about is American traditions and the rule of law. How fucking boring can you be?

Um, I quit watching Joe Rogan last year when I saw his leanings. I admire Bernie Sanders's ability to draw in independent moderate voters with his vigorous defense of the working class. But I have about zero respect for the voters who are so damn flaky that they'd go from a fighter like Bernie to a bullshit spewing con artist like Trump. Rogan is shallowness pretending to have common sense.

[Leith]

79. Joan Rivers

I could take only 38 seconds. And that was enough.

[LeftInTX]

89. With the exception of his novelty songs, is he funny?

Guitarzan and his jungle band....
They're all you can stand....

[maveric]

90. Larry Miller? Colin Quinn used to be a bit right-wingie.

[uponit7771]

94. Change 'successful' to funny and the answer is but a few