Zombie protester at Sarah Palin rally
Democrats and progressives may have noticed a trend lately: your Republican friends or family members send you an email, and they write something like “this isn’t meant to be political, it’s just a joke that I thought was funny.” Then the joke contained in the email is something offensive to President Obama or Democrats. It’s never politically neutral, or making fun of both sides, and never ever makes fun of Republicans. Then if you call out the sender, they tell you you’re being too sensitive, or have no sense of humor, or “can’t take a joke.”
But make no mistake, these Republican jokes are meant to score political points, or at least to make Republicans feel better by hating on Democrats. Humor can take down a politician. Remember Chevy Chase‘s “Saturday Night Live” caricatures of a clumsy President Gerald Ford? Or Tina Fey’s dead-on “SNL” takedowns of Sarah Palin using Palin’s own words? So how about we fight back, and turn the tables on these Republican jokers?
Knowledge is power, and information is ammunition. Next time you get hit with an insulting Republican “joke,” whether by email, at the holiday dinner table or elsewhere, why not arm yourself with some anti-Republican jokes? Here are some sources for great political jokes, which can be found on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere on the web:
@absrdNEWS on Twitter. This site has great humor on both sides from which you can pick your ammo. Example: “The Tea Party is now blaming Barack Obama for Rand Paul being an indefensible racist.”
@LOLGOP on Twitter. As the name implies, this site mostly aims at Republicans, and is highly satirical. Example: “Ben Carson Yelp review: Pizza was cold, like the Holocaust. And I had to wait an hour. Worst pizza since slavery :(”
The Borowitz Report at the New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/) and @BorowitzReport on Twitter: Andy Borowitz is one of the funniest folks out there. His humor attacks many targets, but you can pick out the Republican ones. Example: “Arizona Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill: ‘Let’s Focus on Discriminating Against Mexicans.’”
Jokes about Republicans and Conservatives page on Facebook. Example: “If Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were drowning and you only had time to save one … what type of sandwich would you make?”
Republican/Conservative Lightbulb Jokes. Example:
Q: How many fundamentalists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT LIGHT BULBS!!!
Daily Kos Republican joke contest August 2, 2013 by Troubador. Example (contest runner-up):
Q: Why can’t anyone cross the road?
A: Republicans won’t vote to fix it.
There are many more sources for such Republican jokes. If you have some sources you’d like to suggest, please name them in your comments, and we’ll add them to the list. Then have fun with your new arsenal the next time a Republican hits you with an anti-Democratic insult that’s “just a joke.”
Photo by Clark Mackey, used under Creative Commons license. http://is.gd/ZbsmKl
