comedians, politicians: is there a difference?

[kindkit]

I've started watching QI again. I didn't watch it for a long time, because I got seriously disillusioned with Stephen Fry after he said/tweeted several failtastic things, and with the show after the epically awful "Girls and Boys" episode, which repeated a lot of stupid crap about gender rather than questioning "common knowledge" as QI is supposed to do. But I've returned; I do enjoy the format and the guests (especially permanent guest Alan Davies, plus folks like David Mitchell, Rich Hall, and Jo Brand, although she hasn't been on for a while). And I like Fry when he's not so far up himself that he goes stupid from lack of oxygen.

Returning to QI led me to other Brit panel shows, which led me to discover the truly delicious Liam Fox/Adam Werritty scandal (slash mark used advisedly). Here's a summary that's as short as I can make it: Liam Fox is a Conservative MP and was, from 2010 until a few days ago, Secretary of State for Defence. He resigned after the media began reporting on his personal, business, and political relationship with Adam Werritty. Werritty and Fox are close friends--Werritty was best man as Fox's 2005 wedding--despite a 17-year-age difference (Fox is 50, Werritty 33), and Werritty has accompanied Fox on a bunch of official trips, sat in on sensitive meetings despite not having security clearance, called himself Fox's "advisor" despite having no government position, and basically brokered access to Fox for various foreign governments and business interests. Oh, and Fox let Werritty live rent-free in Fox's London flat (and then stuck the bill on his government expense account), and at one point was actually, but off the books, paying him a salary.

No one's outright said "OMG, they are SO DOING IT," but the coverage I've seen has gleefully emphasized the subtext. To the point where a Tory MP on Have I Got News For You complained about the "innuendo" and was quite deservedly laughed at, since when it comes to innuendo, nothing beats the right-wing (generally) Tory-loving British tabloids. I could almost bring myself to feel sorry for Fox and Werritty, were it not for the massive hypocrisy (if they're a couple, then what a surprise, it's another closeted right-wing politician), the corruption (funnelling government money to your secret boyfriend/girlfriend is never a good idea), and the general odiousness of both men.

And yet I kind of want RPF about them. Tragically, there doesn't seem to be any (yet?).



On the subject of comedy news, I've finally brought myself to watch an episode of Good News World, the successor to the much-lamented Good News Week (an Australian news quiz show starring Paul McDermott). World is a sketch show, and I'm baffled as to who thought it was a good idea to take a bunch of brilliant improvisers (McDermott, Mikey Robbins, Claire Hooper, Cal Wilson, Tom Gleeson) and put them in something entirely scripted where they can't play off each other. And yet . . . I expected to hate this show. Judging by the forums on the Channel 10 website, it is widely loathed. Instead I found it mildly funny and occasionally (e.g. Paul's love song to right-wing politician Tony Abbott) delightful. Not that I wouldn't trade it in an instant to have Good News Week back.



It probably says something (bad) about me that I'm more informed about Australian politics, and maybe UK politics as well, than US politics. I think that's because when it's happening in my own country, it's too depressing to bear. My country has slid so far to the right that (according to something I read in the New Yorker) people at Republican rallies have cheered for the idea of letting people without health insurance die. A good old graft-and-sex scandal would be light relief. (Unfortunately, the last sex scandal we had ended the career of a liberal who'd been awfully valuable on a lot of issues despite apparently being creepy in his personal life.)

A second factor is that UK and Australian comedy-news shows are funnier and include more gay. I'll bet Jon Stewart has never sung about his desire for Mitt Romney's manly bod.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I don't think that it's just because it's your own country that US politics are so depressing - they are almost as depressing for me, and I'm far away!

[kindkit]

Political and social collapse is bound to be depressing. And of course the US has such a huge world influence that when we screw up, everyone pays. Witness the current world economic downturn, which was largely started by the deregulation of US financial markets.

[surexit]

To the point where a Tory MP on Have I Got News For You complained about the "innuendo" and was quite deservedly laughed at, since when it comes to innuendo, nothing beats the right-wing (generally) Tory-loving British tabloids.

Not a really fair statement - the Tory party does not support or bless or officially condone the tabloids, so an individual Tory MP can have higher standards than the tabloids without that being a cause for amusement. (Frankly, an amoeba could have higher standards than the tabloids without it being a cause for amusement. Lalalala, I try to pretend the tabloids and the Mail don't exist.) And she wasn't exactly laughed at for that , more beaten down - I hate those episodes where they have the token political person, because they're very rarely funny enough to hold their own against everyone else. Even worse when it's the only woman in the room.

ANYWAY.

[kindkit]

I'm sure if this had happened during a Labour government and had been a Labour cabinet member, the Tories would have been innuendo-ing their hearts out. And given that the Tories are, as a party, against gay rights, I didn't find Mensch's implied "you're judging him because he might be gay!" all the convincing. Anyway, I lost any respect for her after she tried to claim that the protesters at St. Paul's weren't allowed to criticize capitalism if they had decent tents and drank Starbucks coffee.

the only woman in the room

Jo Brand was hosting, and she's never hesitated to call people out for sexism.

My point about the tabloids was unclearly phrased; what I was trying to get at was that the Tories have generally benefitted a lot from the tabloids' devotion to innuendo and sex scandals, and it's hypocritical of them to get all sensitive when it's one of their own. But I'm quite willing to believe that most individual Tories do have higher standards than the Daily Mail, since the UK isn't quite as messed-up as the US. Yet.

[surexit]

Of course they would! Innuendo is how my country works. (I've wasted too much time this morning watching Carry On film trailers.) And I agree with you that the Tories have benefited from the tabloids + Mail and their love of sex scandals - no issues with it stated that way.

(Although I thing 'the Tories are, as a party, against gay rights' is a little sweeping given that we're probably going to get gay marriage under this government and they're overall not doing horrendously on that front. They have been awful, but not so bad now.)

I thought it was Alexander Armstrong who hosted when Mensch was on most recently? Are we talking about different episodes?

[kindkit]

Ah, you're right about the hosting--I was confusing the Mensch episode with the previous one, which Jo Brand hosted and which also had a lot of discussion of Fox and his friend.

[tree_and_leaf]

Werrity and Fox are a pair of sleazebags, and if they are in a relationship, my sympathy is limited. Peter Mandelson (who was closeted for most of the time he was prominent in politics) may have been involved in several dodgy political deals, but none of them involved funnelling money to his partner.

The Tory political scandal that's been making me 0_o most was the revelation that Oliver Letwin was dumping work papers in a park litter bin, though.

[lilacsigil]

the revelation that Oliver Letwin was dumping work papers in a park litter bin

When I heard about that, I couldn't believe the stupidity. Then it turned out that the hospital where I'd had surgery a few years ago was getting rid of old patient records that had now been digitised by throwing them in an open skip belonging to a nearby building site. On a windy day. On top of a hill.

[tree_and_leaf]

!!!

[kindkit]

Good God. Is there some kind of worldwide paper-shredder shortage I haven't heard about?

[kindkit]

Oh, I don't have any particular sympathy for them, except for that vague smidge of general sympathy I have for people who are closeted or in denial. (That's assuming they are in some way sexually/romantically involved, which does seem likely.) But the money and the influence-peddling is pure sleaze, I agree.

Oliver Letwin was dumping work papers in a park litter bin, though

Yeah, that's a headscratcher. When I heard about that I thought "I've heard that name before" and discovered that Julian Barnes wrote about him during the 1992 election, when he had the misfortune to be running against Glenda Jackson for the constituency of Hampstead and Highgate. Barnes, who's definitely not a fan of the Tories, made him sound quite intelligent and thoughtful, not the sort of person to end up dumping sensitive papers in a public bin. (Maybe Fox gave so much money to Werritty that now the Tories can't afford shredders?)

[tree_and_leaf]

Hah! Possibly the only explanation. Or maybe he doesn't know how to use one, like the Russian generals who failed to destroy the evidence of their coup plot because they didn't know to remove the staples and jammed the shredder?

[kindkit]

Heh. Letwin's secretary never gets another day off again, ever.

[(Anonymous)]

Tragically, there doesn't seem to be any (yet?)

Psst: http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Adam%20Werritty

[kindkit]

Ah, thanks for the link. I did search AO3; I don't know why those didn't come up.

[lemposoi]

Ugh, I haven't seen any Good News World, but I agree with you on the basic problem of the premise. I wish GNWeek was back.

It would be refreshing if it turned out Werritty and Fox just had a good old boys type mentor/pupil relationship, of if they turned out to be father and son.