Jon Stewart Apologizes for Not Voting, Doesn’t Find Anything Funny About Democrats Losing

Comedian Jon Stewart, anchor of the
satirical Daily Show, apologized today for making a joke
about not voting—low hanging fruit on Election day—during a CNN
interview yesterday. He said he did vote and called his comment
“stupid.” NPR reports on the struggle liberal comedians had making
fun of Tuesday night’s
Democratic losses:

“Look, I’m trying to find any way to entertain people who are
truly on a ledge tonight,” Stewart joked at one point, just before
promising to replace the Statue of Liberty’s torch and tablet with
a Bible and an AK-47 to signal the GOP’s success.

The evening seemed to highlight the limits of news-tinged satire
on the political scene, as HBO comic Bill Maher’s public effort to
oust Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline — referred to on his
show Real Time as the “flip a district” campaign
— also failed.

Kline, whom Maher criticized for being “invisible” while
representing a district outside Minneapolis, won his seventh term
in office Tuesday despite repeated criticism from the comic, who
devoted a website to the effort and even visited the state for a
panel discussion on the election.

NPR also pointed out a segment where Stewart made fun of the
influence of money in politics:

Rob Riggle played a stack of cash giddily celebrating the
dollar’s role in the most expensive midterm election in history —
and [Stewart] interviewed Republican National Committee Chairman
Reince Priebus.

“Were you surprised that the Democrats’ strategy seemed to be
curling in a ball and hoping you didn’t kick them in the face too
hard?” Stewart asked Priebus, setting the tone for the rest of the
interview.

That David and Goliath set-up Stewart uses for Democrats and
Republicans when it comes to campaign spending is rich. Unions, for
example,
spent a lot trying to kick guys like Scott Walker, the
Republican governor of Wisconsin targeted for his public sector
reforms, in the face but failed. More low hanging fruit for the
echo chamber that makes up a large portion of Stewart’s viewing
audience. Blaming “money in politics,” or low voter turnout, or
voter suppression isn’t going to help Democrats “do better” next
time.

Taking an honest look at the centralization-centered agenda
behind their message and why it might not resonate in an
increasingly decentralized world, for example, might. It’s not a
comedian’s job, but I think in a way the Daily Show‘s not
just a comedy show anymore but a show for like-minded people to
have their worldview reinforced. Otherwise the over-the-top
reactions to “what Republicans winning means” for America from the
team blue diehards doesn’t require a lot of work to be pretty
hilarious.