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But in spite of constant disregard, conservative comedy has thrived.
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This happens on a number of fronts.
They would call it something else outrage programming or news infotainment.
This in turn gets picked up by mainstream publications that run headlines like Why Dont Conservatives Like to Laugh?
and Why Is There No Conservative Jon Stewart?
Thats not what I find funny.
It doesnt align with my taste.And it keeps the cycle going of,That doesnt make me laugh.
Therefore, its not comedy at all.
It begins with a monologue.
He has a panel of guests on, with whom he riffs about the days headlines.
The studio-audience laughter can be sparse at times, if its even happening.
But Gutfeld is always laughing.
Even if its not in a pure setup-punch-line construction, it is a laughter that is owning the libs.
They bring them in as pundits and commentators throughout the day.
SoThe Fiveis their sort of afternoon-roundup-y, chatty, extensively newsy show, and Gutfeld is there.
Hes introducing the idea of making light jokes, doing some of this scoffing stuff in the news block.
They have a cavalcade of stars, a stable.
Its like an old movie studio theyre able to produce them.
Theyve really embraced the idea that these boundaries can be blurred.
You think,This has to be ironic, but then, its often proven not to be.
The relationship between Gutfeld and Trump is one of the more interesting things we looked at in the book.
In many cases, what Gutfeld is doing is adding light layers of irony to Trump.
The fourth chapter you call The Legions of Libertarian Podcasters.
Its really hard to put a finger on their politics.
He has a set of ideas and empathies that tend to attract a certain audience.
It need not be exclusive.
Theres two things at play.
There is actually really well thought-out even if you dont like it libertarian philosophy.
Im not a Rothbard scholar, but he seems to know what hes talking about.
That is one approach into places likeLegion of Skanks this really well thought-out thing about fundamental principles of politics.
So thats the major transition.
Then Im pussing out,or whatever.
Its this flag-waving ofI am the free-speech champion because Im the most extreme.
Its not just slurs; its slurs for free speech.
You have to start with the way these things are supported via changing industrial structures.
Why is Fox News right-wing?
Because thats how they found a way to make money; they could have gone another direction.
MSNBC is the greatest example of this.
It moves all over the place until it finds its niche.
Its not for a political purpose.
Its not some project of indoctrination by any sense.
Its just that once youre in this space, there are then other routes that one can take.
As Nick pointed out, they can go to some pretty ugly spots.
He doesnt really care where he goes after this, but where might he go after this?
To that point, the fifth chapter you call Trolling the Depths of the Right-Wing Comedy Complex.
There is another level to this.
TheLegion of Skankshave high-minded ideas and dont consider racism the goal outcome.
It might be a strategy to make money, but its something a little bit different.
These are actual, literal Nazis.
Even if they like to put a spin of irony on it, it is that.
Thats the bottom that we end up in this book.
Its formatted in a way thats very similar to all your favorite comedy podcasts.
But then there are song parodies, where they will do Oasis songs with anti-Semitic Holocaust stuff in it.
And then they will also be very overt in their politics and political theories of it.
Theyll just say that, and then that obviously leads to all these other racisms theyll work in.
We want to be very clear: We are not saying that Greg Gutfeld equals this.
But what we do want to put forth is that these things do connect in ways.
I wanted to underline the men-ness of it all.
These are safe spaces for men.
That was impossible in this book.
It really is a world that is dominated by white men just overwhelmingly so.
Dont be scared by Black Lives Matter.
Dont be scared by this trans controversy.
Were always going to provide you with a safe space here.
And the answer is that often it is both.
So maybe weve got cultural shifts thatLegion of Skankslisteners really point to.
Youve got two things going on at once.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
