Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. » Satire

Advice for Franken: Satire is key to your Senate skill set, so use it

Chris Steller — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:36:42 +0000

What a difference a year makes. Last summer, Al Franken got a stern lecture on satire from Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, who asserted that Franken’s abuse of the genre disqualified him from service in the U.S. Senate. In the New York Times this morning, Victor Navasky advises the Minnesota Democrat to stick with satire.

Gerson in June 2008:

Franken’s defenders explain that his edginess is the result of being a “satirist” — a term he embraces. … Rather than lampooning the emptiness and viciousness of our political discourse — a proper role for satire — Franken has powerfully reinforced those failures. … This is not prudery; it is a practical concern for the cooperation and mutual respect necessary in a functioning democracy. And it is hard to believe those causes would be served by a Sen. Franken.

Today (the fourth day of Sen. Franken’s term, if Gerson’s counting), Navasky advises the new senator:

Satire — which has a long and refreshingly subversive history as a form of truth-telling and effective social commentary — is Mr. Franken’s comparative advantage in his new job and he should exploit this blessing, not deny it.

Navasky, now a professor at Columbia University Journalism School, was a longtime editor and publisher of The Nation magazine, where he now holds the title of Publisher Emeritus. While at Yale Law School in the 1950s, Navasky started ”a leisurely quarterly of political satire” called Monocle (not the current magazine published under the same name).

Monocle was a pioneer in pushing satire into electoral politics, according to a history of the short-lived journal:

With brazen hubris Monocle even ran [humorist Marvin] Kitman for President of the United States in their Spring 1964 issue (the year LBJ ran against Goldwater), the first time in the twentieth century a comedian ran for the high office (pre-dating Al Franken by over forty years).

Video: Wassup 2008 updates eight-year-old beer commercial

Steve Perry — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:53:39 +0000

For all the impact that web video has had on the course of the presidential race this year, genuinely memorable DIY endeavors have been relatively few and far between. But this wholly unauthorized satirical update of Anheuser-Busch’s famous “Wassup?” campaign for Budweiser is one. Released late last week, it’s already racked up over 1.5 million views, and so far about half a dozen people have sent it to us. Highly recommended.

SNL Thursday: Bush endorses McCain/Palin

Steve Perry — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:34:13 +0000

Will Farrell returned for a cameo as George W. Bush on last night’s Thurday edition of SNL weekend update. The video, for sizing reasons, is below the jump.

Drew Friedman strikes again: McCain is Kirk, Obama is Spock

Steve Perry — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:25:22 +0000

Jason Horowitz assays a new gag–oh, sorry, meme–in the New York Observer. But the real treat is Drew Friedman’s illustration. (Political Friedman from earlier in the season here.)

‘Interview Palin’ site lets you spin your own Sarah Palin word salad

Steve Perry — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:04:06 +0000

Using the latest and finest in auto-text generation software, the creators of Interview Palin offer bloggers and non-network journalists the opportunity to kick it Katie Couric-style with Palin as she responds a series of questions about war, the economy and, you know, other vice-presidential stuff.

A sample:

Q: How will you fix the economy?
A: Our economy and putting it back on the verbiage that Senator McCain chose to use them. So we have to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there. I think it was unfortunate. That manifestation that we have to lead to war and it doesn’t have to keep an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are violent, and they do not let them come onto our soil and try to kind of grab it all or capture it all or capture it all and pretend like they have all the answers.

Campaign satire: ‘Young Hillary Clinton’ explains HRC campaign to us as if we were 10 years old

Steve Perry — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:19:42 +0000

This is fun. Actors Jerry O’Connell (Jerry Maguire, Crossing Jordan) and Brandon Johnson made this short depicting a 10-year-old Hillary Clinton laying the foundation for her future presidential bid.

It opens with Hillary’s team losing a kickball game. “The game isn’t over,” Hillary announces. “Yes it is,” someone protests. “Recess is over and we won.”

“Actually, I don’t think so. I suggest that we not count your home run in the third inning due to unsportsmanlike conduct.”

The YouTube description says Young Hillary will be a series. But where do they go from here?

Wait. Don’t answer that. If you’d rather see the full-frame version, that’s below the jump. [Via Wonkette]

60Frames: Young Hillary Clinton (2:58)

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Video: SNL opener goes after Hillary for a change

Steve Perry — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:27:43 +0000

Change-up or sea change? After a long series of Hillary-friendly vignettes, “Saturday Night Live’s” opening segment did a 180 this weekend, summarizing the case for HRC’s continued candidacy in three talking points: 1) “I am a sore loser”; 2) “My supporters are racist”; 3) “I have no ethical standards.”

SNL: Why Hillary fights on (5:14)

Video: Obama Girl teams up with the former Democratic presidential candidate you’ve never heard of

Steve Perry — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:52:02 +0000

There are three things one needs to know about Mike Gravel. 1) In pronouncing his last name, the accent goes on the second syllable; it rhymes with “Oh, hell.” 2) A former US senator from Alaska, he was and still is a candidate for president. (Though he started the race as a Dem, he switched in late March to the Libertarian Party.) 3) He wants you to know that, as he says in closing, “If you have second thoughts, I’m on Twitter!”

Oh, and one other thing. This isn’t Gravel’s first foray into music video self-abasement. Below the jump, see his nothing-if-not-distinctive cover of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.”

Forgotten Democrat Mike Gravel raps with Obama Girl (2:06)
Mike Gravel, “Helter Skelter/Revolution #2″ (4:41)

Video: MC McCain kicks it with the homies in his base

Steve Perry — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:56:21 +0000

This is fun: OG Johnny Mac spins rhymes about the secret of his political success. And what’s that? Hint: Chris Matthews gets a cameo as Flavor Flav.

Headzup: John McCain rap (1:49)

Video: 3 a.m. ad spoofs

Steve Perry — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:50:25 +0000

3 a.m.: Debt collector calls

3 a.m.: Nobody’s home

3 a.m.: The kitchen sink

Special Friday bonus: Below the jump, a workplace-unfriendly Hillary/Obama pastiche based on Sarah Silverman’s “I’m Fucking Matt Damon” routine.

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