Monday's Washington Post touted on the front page a story on "Pointed comedy: Laughing Liberally prepares to take its 'This Ain't No Tea Party' show national." Emily Wax's story on the front of the Style section utterly failed to find the funny:
In a grungy basement comedy club on West 46th Street, Elon James White, 32, bursts onstage in a hooded sweat shirt, hip-hopistan baseball cap askew, and lobs an opening joke about Rep. Michele Bachmann.
"I’m a fan of Republicans. They are just so damn entertaining. They’re the best reality show — ever. Forget the Kardashians, I want to know what the Bachmanns are up to," he hoots.
"That’s right, everyone. I’m a Negro in a hoodie, and I know who Michele Bachmann is," he continues, as the audience claps and roars. "Sorry, but I’m paying attention!"
Eek. It's funny that a black man is paying attention to current events? Wax claimed this off-Broadway "progressive comedy revue" often "draws a packed audience filled with young Midwestern tourists in Uggs, dreadlocked blipsters from the Bronx, retired Upper West Side theater buffs, along with political wonks and human rights activists." They listen to "humor" like this:
With her heavy Upper West Side accent and frequent references to Zabar’s, comedian Katie Halper often stuns the audience by giving voice to the Palestinian plight — as a Jewish liberal.
"You’ve heard about the movie ‘Miral’ opening, right?" Halper asks the audience, referring to the recently released film about an orphaned Palestinian girl who finds herself drawn into the conflict.
"Like we really need yet another movie that looks at the conflict from a Palestinian perspective? Way to shatter the stereotype that Hollywood is run by Palestinians. And Palestinian women, specifically," Halper exhales sarcastically. "Because there are so many Palestinians running Hollywood."
After noting conservative humor has failed -- most notably on Fox's Half Hour Comedy Hour, Wax reported, "One of the few right-leaning comics is Nick Di Paolo, who has written for 'Saturday Night Live.' Di Paolo, who is socially liberal but economically conservative, has a one-hour special, 'Nick Di Paolo Raw Nerve,' airing Saturday on Showtime, in which he takes swipes at favorite targets, such as President Obama and labor unions."
