How liberal comedians became lap dogs for establishment power w/Lee Camp | The Chris Hedges Report

The fusion of politics, news, and entertainment has given prominence to comics like Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Bill Maher, who serve as attack dogs for the Democratic Party, which has joined forces with the establishment wing of the old Republican Party against Donald Trump and his supporters. By belittling Trump and his followers, these comics feed the smug, self-righteousness of the ruling establishment, bolstering their sense of moral and intellectual superiority. All the while, they remain comfortably constrained by the corporations and advertisers that employ them. They function as court jesters, never questioning the right of the rulers to rule or the terrible social injustices built into a rigged system. They serve as attack dogs for establishment power, directing their comedic barbs at critics of the system, even if these critics come from the left. Comedian and political commentator Lee Camp joins The Chris Hedges Report to discuss the transformation of comedy from an art form rooted in the counterculture to one that has largely become a megaphone for power.
Lee Camp is a comedian, political commentator, and former head writer and host of the national TV show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp on RT America. He’s a former contributor to The Onion, former staff humor writer for HuffPost, and his web series “Moment of Clarity” has been viewed by millions. Camp has toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy, and George Carlin’s daughter, Kelly, credited him as one of the few comics keeping her father’s torch lit. His website is www.LeeCamp.com.
Studio Production: David Hebden, Cameron Granadino, Adam Coley
Post-Production: Adam Coley
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[@user-em6ie2be7x]

Calling Bill Maher a comedian is an insult to funny comedians.

[@lenuvian]

Stephen Colbert made the fastest transition from sublime satire to vomit inducing propaganda ever. As soon as the contract cleared, he flipped the switch. It was mind blowing to watch.

[@judykinsman3258]

A perfect name for Maher, court jester for the self righteous & ignorant.

[@sawyer4713]

I was listening to this when my son called. I live in France. He lives in Lebanon. What's that noise, Mom? Sorry, I was just listening to an interview by Chris Hedges with Lee Camp. My son's response--Chris Hedges is so great. The influence is far and wide, Chris.

[@williamc9578]

How America misses George Carlin. Possibly the seminal comic for political satire and commentary.

[@GreenIvy3834]

Thank you Chris Hedges for having Lee Camp on your show.

[@dalelittlefield57]

I've followed Lee Camp for years, I never thought he was a great comedian, more a outstanding social commentator. Luv Ya Chris + Lee

[@geoffreysmith49]

One of the reasons Hicks was so engaging and so threatening to power is the poignant subtlety of his critique of the spiritual bankruptcy of capitalism, how it profits by selling us the worst of ourselves and profiting handsomely from its baseness. He was genuinely in awe of our collective potential and was able to find humor in the great distance that separates us from that potential and we collectively revelled in the sad absurdity of the human condition.

[@brianolinger3973]

I wanna push back a bit on the claim that John Oliver does not criticize power. It’s hard to find the full segment, but I’ll provide a link to what I could find here, to a Last Week Tonight piece covering the Israeli bombing of Gaza that killed hundreds a couple of years ago, that followed the Hamas rockets into Israel that killed eight, in response to the brutal treatment of Palestinian protestors after the Al Asqa Mosque was raided by the IDF, as well as the forced expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Sheik Jarrah. HBO allows John Oliver and his writing staff, like George Carlin before, quite a bit of journalistic and artistic freedom regarding their reporting and activism. The SLAPP suit episodes and the actual SLAPP suit that resulted against HBO are another great example. Anyway, here’s the link to part of the segment that drummed up so much controversy and backlash from so many Israel-supportive media outlets and pundits:

[@geraldtrudeau3223]

I remember when I was a kid and Lenny Bruce was active. The only thing I ever heard about Lenny Bruce was that he was a '' sick'' comic. Every time I heard a reference to him on the old black and white TV, his name was always prefaced with the word sick. I was too young to understand how propaganda Works back then, so of course I fell into it. I had to grow up to find out who the really ''sick'' people were.

[@rebrana]

“Power only laughs at its own jokes”

[@rjames3981]

‘How do we know they had WMD? Because we have the receipts.’

[@treefrog3349]

This is the first time I have ever heard Lee Camp's intellectual critique of comedy. His sarcasm has always been evident, but not so much his intellectual discernment. I applaud his moral spleen and objective brain.

[@David-fd9cr]

Chris and Lee are some of the few out there shining the light to inform the public about the grim realities of empire.

[@sandymarienagy4395]

Thank you both so much for your work that tells the "rest of the story". Without people like you, the world would continue to grow darker and we'd never know until it was too late.

[@mestinks]

Excellent discussion on how comedy is sanitised enough for peasants not to start looking at pitchforks and guillotines

[@treefrog3349]

Regardless of occupation, wealth has become the distinguishing and dividing aspect of humanity. Bill Maher has become so wedded to his own privilege that his capacity for objective discernment has been neutered. It is very typical and not surprising. Sadly, he has joined the ranks of our "deciders". I now fantasize about his future life as a homeless former-comedian pan-handling for his next lunch.

[@treefrog3349]

This entire conversation falls under the rubric of "the manipulation of the American Mind". It is so Orwellian, the implications make me shudder and it makes me content with my advanced age.

[@jocelynnowen3078]

Lee Camp is needed today on main tv.

[@kevinmhadley]

I think the Smothers Brothers fits in there with those who rebelled against corporate media. They had a somewhat lighter touch but slipped in their criticisms and were cancelled twice..