Why can't Republicans hear the laughter?

by: One Citizen

Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 11:15:56 AM EDT

I'm starting to think that Glenn Beck's spiel is sort of a Pavlovian dog whistle for hard-wired rightwingers.

Last night Kieth Olbermann showed the prescient comedy routine from 1994 (as seen in the youtube below), pointing out that the sketch appears to have been lifted directly from Glenn Beck broadcasts. Which is highly unlikely, since Beck was probably in a rubber room recovering from drug and alcohol abuse at the time.

If you think comparing Beck's dystopic rants to this low-budget Kids in the Hall skit is just silly, then compare it to another YouTube (below the jump) comprised completely of Beck clips.

All it lacks is the spontaneous laughter of a live Canadian studio audience.

Note that Beck's ratings have recently plummeted to below where he was when he first came to Fox.

The above chart reveals that since this clown's ratings peak during the week ending January 22, his popularity has slid nearly 50%.

It's no coincidence that Jan. 22nd marked the end of Beck's special "Revolutionary Holocaust: Live free or die" broadcast. I actually watched/ listened to much of that craziness, because to me it was a laugh-riot, especially because Beck was taking himself very, very seriously, despite his utterly ridiculous statements, just like Kids in the Hall's Dave Foley.

The drop in ratings after Beck's "Holocaust" special likely reveals that even avid Republican teevee audiences can only stomach so much of that bullshit, apparently because they lack the capacity to know when to laugh without a track to guide them. And without realizing that it was all a spoof, it must have gotten boring due to the constant repetitious theme, at least to all but the most ignorant and gullible of wingnuts..

Speaking of wingnuts, it's no coincidence that Sarah Palin was tapped by Time Magazine to write the essay for Glenn Beck Time's recent annual edition of their "World's Most Influential People". Evidently she could see Glenn from her front porch when she wrote

Who'd have thought a history buff with a quirky sense of humor and a chalkboard could make for such riveting television? Glenn's like the high school government teacher so many wish they'd had, charting and connecting ideas with chalk-dusted fingers - kicking it old school - instead of becoming just another talking-heads show host. Self-taught, he's become America's professor of common sense, sharing earnestly sought knowledge with an audience hungry for truth. Glenn, 46, tackles topics other news shows would regard as arcane. Consider his desire to teach Americans about the history of the progressive movement: he's doing to progressive what Ronald Reagan did to liberal - explaining that it's a damaged brand.

So Beck is a "history buff", "progressives" are a "damaged brand", and two million viewers a night supposedly makes Beck one of the world's top 100 most influential people, eh, TIME?  Hell, ABC's Mr Belvedere used to attract an average of over 10 million viewers per broadcast, but he never made Time's "most influential" list, even though he used to easily  capture well over 15% of market share.

Apparently when TIME fired Wee-Willy Kristol and Chucky Kraphammer back in 2007 they went ahead and signed up National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru to guide them towards the likes of Beck and Palin. "Most Influential" indeed.

Back when Mr. Belvedere ruled the airwaves, Republican leaders never kowtowed to any pundit's whims and utterances as they now do to Beck and Limbaugh. That's primarily because back then, Republican leaders actually had the GUTS to LEAD. Today, however,

"A new survey finds Americans continue to find it difficult to name a leader of the GOP. Only 29% of respondents named someone, while 18% said nobody and 52% were unsure."

Anyway, because Beck's viewership recently dropped so precipitously, Jed Lewison over at the Big Orange predicts Beck's career will hit the skids in the same way as Morton Downey Jr.

Part of me hopes that Beck stays on Fox a long, long time, feeding rightwingers with those outrageously stupid and transparent talking points. It is notable that since Beck first came to FoKKKsNoose, the G.O.P. has dropped in both popularity and credibility among American voters. His beloved Tea Party is chasing out moderate Republicans like Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Ohio Senator George Voinovich.

I guess if Beck's stardom as a pundit keeps fading he could go directly into comedy. Except comedian Lewis Black already has the "rich, white and angry" routine down cold, and Carrot Top has far better props.

In the meantime, the G.O.P may well have shrunk to where it is now drowning in its own teacup.