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May 27, 2012

Conservatives can't quit Colbert

by Danny Gallagher, posted May 9th 2009 2:03PM

Stephen Colbert of Whoever says that shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report suffer from a liberal bias have no idea what they are talking about. The Colbert Report, in particular, has a large audience of deep conservative thinkers whose arteries AND veins run redder than their state.

The problem is that some of those conservatives may not be laughing at what they are watching. In fact, get ready to be scared out of your head. They might actually agree with what they are hearing.

A new study conducted by Ohio State University found that some viewers of Colbert's show who purported to be conservative are taking the show a bit too seriously. And by a bit too, I mean literally seriously.

I can probably guess exactly what you are thinking: colleges and universities are conducting studies on The Colbert Report?!? Did we finally cure that pesky cancer? Have we cracked the entire human genome and perfected our ability to keep morons from procreating? Evidently not, if you look at the latest Nielsen ratings for The Colbert Report.

The study titled "The Irony of Satire" found that "individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology." Those who lean to the right were "more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said, while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements."

Just think of what this means. If Colbert had managed to get on the last presidential ballot outside of South Carolina, the man could have actually become our next president. He would have gotten the support not only from easily confused conservatives (is that redundant?), but also from dumb fundamentalist liberals (is that also redundant?) who fail to fully grasp the implementation of satire.

As Colbert once told an extremely squirmish Bill O'Reilly, "If you're an act, than what am I?"

I believe O'Reilly answered with his usual debate reply, "I know you are, but what am I?" Makes you think, doesn't it?

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Silvio

@bruce

i tip my head to you sir. that was one of the sanest, clearest and insightful comments i have ever had the pleasure to read on the topic of the misguided american perversion of the whole church/state situation.

and one major ass kicking for hillbilly-eric. epic is the only word that comes to mind.

it's too bad that we over here in europe always only see the erics, and not the bruces. these people make you guys look like raging morons, and its really wonderful to see that there are people fighting that kind of backward thinking.

keep it up man. you just changed my perception of the american people. and one at a time can work.

again: wonderful comment.

greetings from italy,
the land that invented/marketed the damn church in the first place. where even the most fundamentalist catholics scratch their heads over the crap we hear from our brothers "in the colonies" ;)

silvio

May 12 2009 at 8:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Silvio's comment
bruce

Thanks Silvio, I really appreciate the kind words. FYI I live in Texas (land of Bush, asspit of America). Unfortunately 95% of Americans are ignorant, reactionary, uneducated, religious (to the extent they think they understand their religion), and have no knowledge of history beyond who got voted off the last episode of American Idol. The other 5% who have a clue are drowned out by the hundreds of millions of idiots blabbing about football, beer, and Jesus, throwing dung and dragging their knuckles. At the end of the day, when 80% of Americans believe in Satan and think Iraq attacked us on 9-11, there's really no point in trying to speak up and educate people. Plus they have a vested interest in their stupid ideas. The Erics of the world would be horribly saddened if scientists confirmed that homosexuality is genetic (or they'd yell and scream saying the scientists are lying and/or it's a trick of Satan to test their faith). Their stupidity allows them to feel superior while giving them an articulable reason to hate other people, which also makes them feel good.

I can say this, though - traveling to Europe was one of the most refreshing experiences of my life. Even the people working at the flower stands in Holland are more educated, knowledgable, and well-versed than the average American.

Bush destroyed this country beyond repair, and regardless of what Obama does, America is going to collapse within 2 years or so (during Obama's first term). It will be replaced with 50 nation-states, with no central government (because the federal government will have gone bankrupt and the U.S. dollar will be worthless - we've already started massive printing of money and the hyperinflation is about a year away). I plan on moving to Europe at that time. How's Italy? I've never been there... but my impression is that they take their Jesus almost as seriously as Americans do. That's a major turn-off for me. Plus I'd be afraid to be so close to the Vatican - I might get sexually molested by a Catholic priest (assrape - the preferred method of converting people to the Catholic religion).

May 12 2009 at 10:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Coryan

Funny thing is, there are even liberals who think that John Stewart is for real and not just doing a satire comedy show...hmmm, is it real? How cool would it be to see our wonderful tax dollars funding a university study on the insane beliefs of Daily Show fanatics. Nah, it ain't gonna happen.

May 12 2009 at 4:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Coryan's comment
JustinD

Coryan, clearly you don't watch The Daily Show on a regular basis. Since Jon Stewart has been the host there have been several instances in which he has been interviewing a very liberal guest and made a comment about playing the devil's advocate for the sake of the interview. On the flip-side, watch him when he has a conservative guest. He argues his side with a passion that not even the best actors could match.

Of course he is an entertainer, so not every word he says is reflective of his true beliefs, but watch his encounters with Bill-O on youtube if you need further proof of his political orientation.

May 12 2009 at 8:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nathaniel

"The Republican Party no longer stands for small/limited government, individual freedom, personal liberty, and personal responsibility." Agreed as I associate more with Libertarian ideas now, I am only Republican so I can vote in my states primary in the hopes of swinging the party back to where it was, what it should be.

May 11 2009 at 4:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nathaniel

I happened to be at the taping of the report on May 6, 2009 when during the preshow Q and A when a question about this study came up. Colbert thought it was funny that people thought he was a "Conservative, acting as a liberal, acting as a Conservative." He said he would be set for life if he was that good an actor. After the show my friend asked me how I felt as I am registered Republican, I said I know that he uses satire, and I enjoy the humor even though I may not agree with the politics behind it. Also I think his satire hits the idiocy in both parties pretty well. Anyway you haven't heard anything till you hear Stephen Colbert sing Neil Diamond Tunes..

May 11 2009 at 4:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sandy k.

There's very little difference between Colbert's show and Glenn Beck. And Glenn Beck is supposed to be for REAL. So you can see why they would be confused.

May 10 2009 at 10:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Willmore2000

The study probably showed 1 episode of the show to a random group and then polled them on what they saw, who they are, etc.

I doubt there are many conservatives who mistake Cobert for one of their own after watching the show on a regular basis.

May 09 2009 at 11:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joe stalin

I agree any conservative dumb enough to believe that the Comedy channel would put a conservative on is clearly much dumber than the average Obama voter and thats saying something.
I bet you could get a large number of them to listen to a clip of Obama and say he's to right. All the good Marxists are very adept at pretending to be "regular" sane people.

May 09 2009 at 10:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bruce

M:

I'd say Democrat and Catholic are incompatible, rather than "liberal" and Catholic. Liberal means different things in different countries to different people. And Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, a/k/a "Mother Theresa" was a cruel, inhuman sadist, who tortured sick, dying people for money. I sincerely hope she is not the definition of a Catholic.

Religion and politics should be completely separate - a wall between them is not good enough. They should be separated by a 100-mile demilitarized zone, full of barbed wire, landmines, trenches, moats, toxic gas, and radioactive waste. And any religious establishment that attempts to influence the politics and/or votes of its followers should instantly lose its tax-exempt status.

Religions should not be exempt from taxes to begin with, as they're a for-profit business just like any other. And just like other businesses, they should be held strictly liable for harm caused by their defective products. If an islamic mosque teaches its customers to murder infidels for jihad, all injured parties should be able to sue the mosque for damages (including but not limited to wrongful death). If Walmart encouraged its customers to blow up Target stores and Target employees, Walmart could and would be sued (and prosecuted criminally). Religions should be held strictly liable for the actions of their followers. Otherwise we get what we have now - religions encouraging violence and then saying "oh we're a peaceful religion, we don't believe in violence" when a follower actually goes and kills someone in the name of their god. Nowhere else would such doubletalk be permitted. Religion is not special and it should not be treated like it's special.

May 09 2009 at 7:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Melissa

Humor is the the highest form of defense mechanism...with denial being the lowest.

BTW, being liberal and Catholic is an oxymoron. *Katholics*, like Palosi/Biden are in schism. If you want to see the definition of Catholic look to JPII, Benedict, and Mother Theresa.

May 09 2009 at 6:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DarthBrutal

Wait, Colbert is not serious?

May 09 2009 at 6:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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