The Hollywood and New York liberal left "brutalized" Saturday Night Live (SNL) alumnus Dennis Miller because, according to his former SNL colleague Dana Carvey, the comic is a conservative.
Carvey, 59, told "Kozversations" host Carl Kozlowski, "If you live in New York or L.A. and you’re liberal and you’re playing to a liberal crowd it’s almost like a rally. It’s not edgy.
"The true edge is what Dennis Miller did, and he’s been brutalized for it," Carvey said,
Breitbart News reported.
A Pittsburgh native, Miller, 61, who currently does the "Miller Time" segment on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor," saw his six-season stint on SNL come to an end in 1994. He won two Emmys for Dennis Miller Live on HBO and spent two seasons on ABC's Monday Night Football,
Biography notes.
Carvey, in an interview with Kozlowski for
Pasadena Weekly, said that cracking jokes about President Obama still can land comedians in hot water with liberal crowds, but he doesn't let that stop him.
"Because of the sensitivity of having an African-American president, which is completely understandable, people tend to tread lightly, but policy-wise there was some disconnect because people had complaints.
"It took a while to satirize our president but that’s American. It’s what we do," Carvey said.
"I come from the old school that says you go where the power is and make fun of it. When it becomes off-limits to say or do certain things without being brutalized or uncensored, that’s a shame, but it’s where the country’s going right now."
Carvey's satirical impersonation of President George H.W. Bush was a big hit for him on SNL. However, Bush, who invited him to the White House to do the impression for him, was a good sport about it.
"The first two years, Bush was so popular we were just going with what the rhythm was," Carvey told Kozlowski.
"Then, when the country’s mood turned and got a little more satirical towards him, it certainly didn’t help him, but he could sense I’m not an ideologue in the traditional sense where 'someone who opposes me is my enemy.' I’m an Americanist. I’m a radical moderate. He sensed that and did not take it personally.
"I always want to be funny, number one, and political arguments often end up ugly," Carvey said, Pasadena reported.
"Politics is the most toxic area a comedian can go into," Carvey told the
Reno Gazette-Journal. "We're all in metaphorical foxholes right now, as a society. If you say or write one thing accidentally, it can get you in a lot of trouble."
However, he added, "I don't shy away from it, either. In fact, now that the elections are past, I'm getting bigger laughs with my Obama satire than any other thing in the act right now."
As to the belief that only liberal comics are funny, Carvey told Kozlowski, "That’s just crazy leftover ideas from Watergate. I always believed you question authority. Whether it’s Asian-American, a woman president or Native American, you have to hit.
"What’s happening during this time is that everyone’s afraid of making fun of certain areas because you’ll be given a name (as a racist) and that’s very twisted stuff.
"I take pride in having liberals and conservatives in the crowd."
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