Laughing All The Way To Deja Vu

Mark Russell is a political comedian who delivers his comedy through a combination of jokes and satirical songs that he sings while accompanying himself on the piano. Russell has been a fixture on the Washington scene for well over forty years.
During one of his shows at Washington's Shoreham Hotel, which was recorded for a comedy album, Russell made the following remarks:
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" For those of you that are from out of town we want to welcome you to Washington because this is your capitol where your laws are made and broken, by the same people in many cases."
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" I talk about politics and religion, two things that are supposed to be taboo. But, I feel that if I bring in everybody and give all groups equal time, by the time I finish , nobody should be angry. Except last night, I was really stymied; we had a Whig Muslim in here."
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" They have a special sub committee for the investigation of juvenile delinquency and , ah, they're trying to figure out what causes it. That's why they're analyzing these TV shows. Every couple of years they try and attribute juvenile delinquency to something. Remember a few years ago it was comic books; remember that ? They had a big thing in the comic book industry, " Well the kid goes out and reads Donald Duck and bludgeons his grandmother".
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" The road to success is to go to Harvard and turn left. "
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( during this show, Russell sang the following song )
" Overcome your stress and strain; come watch me hijack a plane. While the pilot's, at the wheel into the cabin I will steal. Watch and see what jolly fun as the pilot spots my gun."
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As Russell himself says during this act, " That's pretty contemporary, isn't it ? " Actually, the answer to that question is "yes" and "no". These quotes were made and recorded by Mark Russell in 1962. Kennedy, a Democrat, was President . Most of us look back on those days as being somehow perfect in a political way. Judging from Russell's work, it really wasn't very much different than it is today.
Here's a taste of some more recent "vintage" political comedy. Let's travel back in time to the year 1988 and sample some quotes from four of 1988's top political comedians.

1. Will Durst : ( on the first President Bush from 1988 ) :
" To him the needy are corporate execs without summer homes in the Hamptons ."
" No matter what his policies, are you have to admire his ability not to get involved in them."
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2. Barry Crimmins : ( from 1988 )
" It's a Presidential election year and I think we'll all agree the big problem is somebody will win. "
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3. Randy Credico : ( on Ted Kennedy from 1988 )
" I saw Ted Kennedy the other day; he was there at that rally in front of the embassy. He delivered a great speech, he said, " I can identify with the squatters in the shanty towns of South Africa. I can recall when I was a kid being forced to move from Hyannisport to West Palm Beach. It was quite a tragedy for the Kennedy family ".
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4. Jimmy Tingle : ( on illegal aliens from 1988 )

" These people would make very good citizens; you look at what they do to get into this country. They do like a triathlon in the dark, just to pick lettuce. I mean, think about that - walk the desert, swim the river, pay that man a five hundred dollar bribe, run across the border. First ten thousand get to pick lettuce. The government says, " We can't let them in ; they're taking our jobs." They're not taking our jobs ; they're doing all the jobs we don't want. I mean, when was the last time an American citizen went for a job picking lettuce ?"
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Whether your politics lean to the left or right, there is solid comedic evidence that the new boss is, in fact, same as the old boss, and that the boss of the future will be "same as the old boss". How can this be ? How can we keep going around in circles and not realize it ?
Now that we are a nation of 300,000,000 people and instant media is available to all 300,000,000 of us, perhaps the same thing that killed Vaudeville will bring our ever-repeating political circus of comedy to an end. In Vaudeville a performer could take the same act from city to city finding a fresh audience in each town they played. Once radio and movies made it possible for the entire nation to see or hear a performer simultaneously, 99% of the acts in Vaudeville could no longer earn a living. Those acts, which comprised the bulk of the acts in Vaudeville, were forced to quit show business and ,as a result, the way Americans experienced entertainment was changed forever.
Today's nation-wide and world-wide instant political coverage is making it harder and harder for our elected political entertainers (aka political Vaudevillians ) to use the same "political act " from one day to the next. As a result, the public is losing interest in what these elected political entertainers have to say. Perhaps a change is on the horizon. Maybe it's no coincidence that there are fewer political comedians these days than in past decades; maybe politics just isn't that funny anymore ? How can a comedian sell a political joke to us when we've already seen the original version of the joke delivered on the nightly news ?

* Mark Russell quotes from: "Up The Potomac Without A Canoe" ( 1962 ) Columbia Records
* All other quotes from : "Strange Bedfellows" ( 1988 ) A&M Records