Dennis Miller. An incredible wit, an encyclopaedic memory for TV and movie details, and an unashamed capitalist in the midst of the looniest left there is, Hollywood. (Full disclosure, I grew up not far from there, I can bash Hollywood with license)

But I don’t really like him. When he had the recurring show on HBO, it was always apparent that he saw himself as well above his audience intellectually. Of course, for the most part that is true, but what he did with it was enjoy firing thoughts at them knowing they weren’t really keeping up, and being immensely smug about knowing it.

This is also why he didn’t do well on Monday Night Football. Sports is an American subculture where you have Joe Six-pack who uses sports terms to euphemize ordinary events, like slam-dunk, shutout, strikeout, touchdown, personal foul, curveball, etc… Then here comes Dennis Miller as a color commentator describing his reaction to an unusual football play in terms of a scene from Hamlet. (He actually did that) He regularly quoted obscure movie lines and such, and I honestly can’t say if he thought a substantial portion of the viewing audience could relate, or if he was continuing his older behavior of proving he was the smartest guy in the room. Either way it was sure to be a short-lived job.

Now, all that said, his talent and humor are not to be questioned. As for Drudge busting Miller’s chops about his conservative bona fides, that stinks. Miller came from the hippie-drug 60’s, for him to make the Churchillian move to the right at all was a brave thing to do, and has cost him immeasurably in his professional life. I’ve seen many many “fake” liberal blogs done by conservatives, but I’ve never come across a parody right-wing blog. TV shows try to fake a conservative character all the time, but the stupidity of it is always painfully obvious. Miller isn’t faking it when he talks pro-gun, anti-big government, and pro-defense. If he was it would smell to high heaven.

Freelancer on October 6, 2006 at 6:31 PM

Soothsayer,

Hey, I need your help getting this speck out of my eye. Soon as you yank that log out of yours, ok?

Furiously deriding people in such a way never makes the point you wish it to. Do you believe for an instant that calling someone an “alleged Christian” will make them suddenly sit up and think “wow, I’ve been blowing it all this time, I really need to straighten up and fly right”?

There is a lightyear of difference between having a point, and making it effectively. If you think that someone here is “desperate to be liked by the left”, can you also think that they will repent in a fit of guilt over your name-calling?

I would agree that Dennis Miller doesn’t represent my values, but I never invited him into my midst. I wouldn’t be likely to watch a show of his simply because he tends to the vulgar and indecent, things I avoid no matter the politics of the person involved.

The fact that he has often been MISTAKEN FOR A CONSERVATIVE, continues to rankle him and at every opportunity, like his most recent Hannity and Colmes appearance, to distance himself from the conservative movement.

I’ll take your word for that, you obviously know much more about Dennis Miller’s current status than I do. I frankly don’t care what he calls himself as far as political labels, to me he is what he is.

All that said, a discussion regarding a humorous TV clip, on this non-religious blog site shouldn’t be subject to such a legalistic tirade. As my friends would say whenever someone got a bit too wound up, “Throttle back, Turbo”.

Freelancer on October 8, 2006 at 2:45 AM