“If we put a tortoise in the White House, asked it a series of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, then signed or not signed the bill depending on which way it turned, we’d be in much the same position we are in now,” he said. “From the time (Donald Trump) was nominated, I felt we were at the intersection of satire and reality, and that’s what’s making people crazy.”
Black will surely express his anger about it Thursday, April 6, performing at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati.
Black said that he, like many comedians and joke writers, struggles to forge jokes out of political statements and policies that people already consider punch lines.
“When Trump nominated Rick Perry for the Department of Energy,” he said. “I wondered if it was maybe because (Trump) saw (Perry) on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and thought he had a lot of energy. That’s the joke I’m at now. It’s pathetic.”
When it comes to political ideology, Black is an equal opportunity offender. He frequently describes the Democrats as dumb and the Republicans as stupid, and has a whole routine explaining the distinction. What seems to frustrate him most is how the partisan gridlock leads to utter paralysis.
“The only enthusiasm for Hillary was that she wasn’t Trump,” he said. “The Democrats had an opportunity to fill a void and, as usual, just ran to the nearest sword and impaled themselves on it. Washington does need to be shaken up, but instead of filling it with moderates, which is what most of the country is, we found more ways to not get anything done. As a nation, the last time we made a decision was the Iraq War.”
On the flip side, like many popular comics, Black plays a lot of college campuses and, like many popular comics, he runs up against occasional outbursts of political correctness.
“I just tell them to shut up,” he said. “Political correctness has no place in a comedy show. We have a major problem with mental illness in this country, and I do a joke about now that the gays have come out, the mentally ill have to come out. The difference is that the mentally ill don’t know where the door handle is, so we have to open it for them. Well, (the PC people) stop listening at ‘don’t know where the door handle is.’ It’s like, there’s a comma there, people. Listen to the end of the joke. Political correctness is a good discussion point, but it’s not a lifestyle.”
Contact this contributing writer at aaronepple@gmail.com.
How to go
What: Lewis Black
Where: Taft Theatre, 317 E. Fifth St., Cincinnati
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 6
Cost: $39.50-$65
More info: 513-232-6220 or www.tafttheatre.org
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