Conservatives as Comics: Learning the Craft

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA - I have been puzzled and unhappy about the shortage of conservative comedians in the country. I've met some of the funniest and they have all expressed frustration with the discrimination they face in the job market. Leftist performers, for example, may threaten boycotts if a club books a conservative comedian.

Some of the problem may also be taste. Conservatives, as a rule, are turned off by foul language and sexual content, which seem common among leftist comedians. This makes the challenge of writing comedy to appeal to a conservative audience or a mixed audience all the more difficult.

Over the last few years, I've decided to do what I can to bring back conservative comedy by developing my skills as a stand-up comedian.

I've always been funny in class, as far back as high school. I had a lecture hall of students laughing by the time I held my first full-time political science job at the University of Oregon. I remember one of my colleagues at Williams once remarked that the best thing about me and my teaching was my humor.

The job of being a comedian, however, it is different when you focus solely on comedy. They mean it when they describe a venue as a comedy factory. This is because you have to keep people laughing for an extended time. So far, I've written enough good material to keep the crowd laughing every 20 to 30 seconds for about 10 minutes. The YouTube video above is my second try in front of an audience.

I took a class to learn the basics. I was surprised that when I brought out comedy that would appeal to conservatives - Obama's interest in being gay, or Michele's manly qualities - that my instructor would discourage me and politely move my act towards family oriented humor. I later found out he was apparently a Democrat who hates Trump even though he is active here in Orange County, CA.

I've finally been invited to do a 20 minute show at the Union Market at the Kaleidoscope in Mission Viejo, CA. The problem is I only have 15 minutes of material. If you'd like to see how my last performance at Union Market worked out, follow this Facebook link.

By the way, if you have any good jokes, please share them with me. I'm always looking for great new material. Eventually, I'd like to bring more conservative content into my act. Imagine, for example, what it would be like to open up the TV and see Kamala Harris as your president.