Why I'm not a 'South Park Conservative', by Michelle Malkin

Townhall.com ^ | May 4, 2005 | Michelle Malkin

[OESY]

I'll get to First Lady Laura Bush's bawdy stand-up routine in a minute. But I want to highlight a related new book out about how young conservatives are shaking up the dominant liberal media culture. It's called "South Park Conservatives." My name is listed on the cover along with many other (mostly) right-leaning pundits, websites, and bloggers, but I must confess to having mixed feelings about the honor.

The best-selling book's author, Brian C. Anderson of the Manhattan Institute, writes a fun, breezy survey documenting the rise of talk radio, FOX News, the Internet, conservative publishing, and college Republican activism. Anderson's chapter on the success of conservative talk radio and the abysmal failure of liberal Air America to replicate it is incisive. Another chapter on the blogosphere (alone worth the price of the book) gives readers a useful history of the explosion of news, opinion, and political websites that have smashed the left-wing media monopoly.

But how did such a wide-ranging list of individuals and organizations -- Anderson's book cover includes the names of conservative-leaning Internet pioneer Matt Drudge and center-left journalist Mickey Kaus, the libertarian Tech Central Station, the culturally conservative WorldNetDaily, political upstart Arnold Schwarzenegger and political chameleon Andrew Sullivan, plus Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham, and myself, along with a feature blurb from Jonah Goldberg -- all get lumped under the umbrella term "South Park Conservatives"?

Anderson argues that Comedy Central's cartoon series "South Park" embodies the "fiercely anti-liberal comedic spirit" of the "new media" from Kaus to Coulter. The cartoon, he writes, reflects a "post-liberal counterculture" that is "particularly appealing to the young, however much it might offend older conservatives."

Well, I'm 34 and no fan of "South Park." I have many good friends who are indeed huge boosters of the show, but I find that the characters' foul language overwhelms any entertainment I might otherwise derive from the show's occasional, right-leaning iconoclastic themes.

"South Park" may be "politically incorrect." But "politically incorrect" is not always a synonym for "conservative."

My discomfort with "South Park's" increasingly mainstream vulgarity is not a matter of nitpicking. We're not just talking about a stray curse word here or there. As liberal New York Times columnist Frank Rich points out, "South Park" "holds the record for the largest number of bleeped-out repetitions (162) of a single four-letter expletive in a single television half-hour." That's probably about the same number of profanities uttered at John Kerry's infamous New York City celebrity fundraiser last summer, which Republicans rightly condemned for its excessive obscenities.

Rich is wrong about most things, but he's painfully on target in noting the incongruous pandering now taking place by some in the cool-kids clique on the Right. Conservatives criticize Hollywood relentlessly, but as Rich notes, "the embarrassing reality is that they want to be hip, too."

Which brings me to Mrs. Bush. She demonstrated at the celebrity-studded White House Correspondents' Dinner this weekend that you can entertain without being profane. Most of her humor was just right: Edgy but not over the edge. But her off-color stripper and horse jokes crossed the line. Can you blame Howard Stern for feeling peeved and perplexed? And let's face it: If Teresa ("I'm cheeky!") Heinz Kerry had delivered Mrs. Bush's First Lady Gone Mildly Wild routine, social conservative pundits would be up in arms over her bad taste and lack of dignity.

The First Lady resorting to horse masturbation jokes is not much better than Whoopi Goldberg trafficking in dumb puns on the Bush family name. It was wholly unnecessary.

Self-censorship is a conservative value. In a brilliant commencement speech at Hillsdale College last year, Heritage Foundation president Ed Feulner called on his audience to resist the coarsened rhetoric of our time: "If we are to prevail as a free, self-governing people, we must first govern our tongues and our pens. Restoring civility to public discourse is not an option. It is a necessity."

Lighten up, you say? No thanks. I'd rather be a G-rated conservative who can only make my kids giggle than a "South Park"/"Desperate Housewives" conservative whose goal is getting Richard Gere and Jane Fonda to snicker. Giving the Hollyweird Left the last laugh is not my idea of success.

[Peach]

Women intimidate these guys. They sound so metrosexual that it's making Kerry look positively manly.

[onyx]

Oh My Goodness gracious, me oh my...lol.
I go out for an hour or so, and come back to near warfare.

What happened?

Has the First Lady cracked more jokes?

[Peach]

It is obvious that these attackers are using this benign event as an opportunity to demonize an administration they already despise.

You got it. Exactly. I've yet to meet a Christian in real life who was offended by any of this.

[Peach]

I just got home and see the Perpetually Disturbed are still wringing their hands in dismay at a farm animal joke, all while they continue their sexual innuendo garbage spewed out as quickly as their little fingers can type.

[bonfire]

last word.

:)

[rockrr]

How appropriate (& poignant!) Thanks for looking that up!

Like the Reagans, George and Laura understand their audience more that many would give credit. I saw the tape of the ROAST and have no issue with their performance. Rather, I applaud their brilliance at stealing the thunder from their would-be detractors.

Also, to your point re: klintoon - couldn't be more timely! As he mugs for the camera and disparages "America's yut" for following his lead (gluttony), those jokes that weren't told (by klintoon) back then, got told (again & again) by everyone else. klintoon became the well-deserved "butt" of his own jokes.

[najida]

Look,
Good ole Kenny in the church yard used to tell jokes WAY more risque' than this waitin' on the bell to ring.

Granted, I was just passin' by and overheard a bit or too ;)

[dirtboy]

A good many of them have been Democrats all along.

I've made over 35,000 posts on FR - please feel free to go through them and show where I have given any indication that I've been a Democrat all along.

Y'all really are a piece of work. You'd rather just demonize the other side.

[onyx]

Oh, OK, I see, you were out for a while too...lol.

[Howlin]

I'll be back later; I'm going to pick up my 4 and 2 year old grandsons.

And I am going to tell them Laura's jokes. ;-)

[EllaMinnow]

It's funny to realize that Ferguson was writing these jokes years before any of us knew who Monica Lewinsky was, isn't it?

Hey, Hillary's great, isn't she? I feel like I can talk to her about anything. Right after the inauguration, I remember she was kind of thinking out loud. "Bill," she said, "do you think there will ever be a woman in the White House?" I said, "Sure--the first weekend you leave town."

[Palladin]

I have been browsing around other conservative forums, and more people agree with you and me and Michelle Malkin than with the vituperative folks on this thread.

Thanks for having the courage to speak up for decency in entertainment, particularly when that "entertainment" is coming from the mouth of the First Lady of the United States.

[Peach]

The whining just doesn't stop. Some people LIVE to be offended, imo.

[Chunga]

Why have you taken personal exception to a non-specific post?

[tiamat]

They only serve it in one or two places.


AND mixed drinks, and really good snackies. Like ice cream.

http://emagine-entertainment.com/

So come visit!

[mhking]

Coincidentally, your "not meant for 4 year olds" is also applicable to "South Park" as well.

Indeed. And you're right for saying so -- I took it for granted that most folk who read and digested my comments (like you, not those who went all knee-jerk on the jokes) would take that matter for granted. But considering that there are still some folks who appear to either play stupid or are intentionally using this as a whipping horse (which is now very dead, thank you very much), I guess you're right for pointing that out...

[EveningStar]

Howlin, I love FR. It has great posters. But only at FR could a non-issue become an issue. This thread is such an example as are the Laura Bush threads. At other conservative fora these topics draw relatively good debate. Here, they are nearly Apocalyptic.

Another example: The Keyes Senatorial campaign of last year. At other conservative forums there may have been a half dozen threads on the topic. Here, there were hundreds of threads. HUNDREDS.