Review: Samantha Bee and the Bluegrass Goober

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Samantha Bee and the Bluegrass Goober*

What, you may well wonder, is this joker talking about? I am referring to a good portion of Samantha Bee’s most recent stint on Full Frontal, this past Monday night on TBS. She did a scathing segment on current Kentucky governor Matt Bevin.

Although she goes on to excoriate Governor Bevin for his brief performance in office (only since December of 2015), she saves a little of her well-dispersed vitriol for the young, liberal voters who could not be bothered to get up from their dead behinds and vote in one of those irrelevant off-year elections. She then goes on to lay out, not only Bevin’s record, but his dubious performance as an on-line entertainer.

These clips must be seen to be believed.

I truly feel for the unfortunate people of Kentucky. The only time I spent in the state was during my army basic training in Fort Campbell, which bestrides the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Our senior drill instructor was a barely-literate sadist with a harelip (not that your narrator wishes to mock the handicapped, but there it was). On those occasions when he caught a wild hair in some place other than atop his head, he could and did make our lives an absolute misery. And, at that, he seems to have been a more enlightened leader of men than the current Kentucky executive.

As entertaining as that segment was, her earlier bit on Ted Cruz, which she opened by finding an even more amusing way to refer to Donald Trump than Mr. Drumf, was even funnier. Still, the thrust of her segment was that anyone who thinks Ted Cruz is an acceptable alternative choice over Trump is already crazy with the heat, and here it is only March. The only parts of the segment that make Ted Cruz seem even a little bit mainstream are when she cuts away to clips of his most ardent supporters. Whew! This fellow John McGraw, who punched that protestor during a Trump rally had nothing on these people. For that matter, but for a slight twist of ideology, neither did Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Ms. Bee pointed out, even those among us who look to snake-handling as the best form of worship must look at these Cruz supporters askance.

As much as I admire Samantha Bee’s wit and delivery, I would like to throw in a modest suggestion that harks back to her opening remarks on the Matt Bevin segment. It is all very well and good to assail the peddlers of hate in our body politic, but it’s time to take a swipe at the enablers of all these reactionaries. Sure, when there is a presidential election and the chance to put a black person, a woman or a Jew into the White House for the first time, everybody on their side is ready and willing to storm the voting booths, but, when it comes to the many (and very important) local offices up for grabs, only the haters seem to turn out. To an extent, I am a little guilty of this laziness. When I do cast my ballot, by the time it gets down to Vice Deputy Dog Catcher, I often leave the selection blank. Even so, I figure it does matter who governs my state or represents me in the Congress. There will be plenty more time to talk smack about the leaders of the right, Ms. Bee. How about you take a moment to rally the people who would agree with you if only it weren’t so damn much trouble.

I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did or that you will catch it sometime in the near future if you did not get a chance when it aired.

Full Frontal, March 14, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

* The odd part of the title comes from an old Johnny Carson monologue, way back when an apparently not-too-brilliant fellow named George Deukmejian was running for governor of California. Carson’s joke was that, in response to taunts that he was too stupid to be in the California gubernatorial race, George Deukmejian protested that he was as capable as anyone to be the state goober. Actually, the joke was on Carson and his fellow Californians. Deukmejian actually won the goobership—not once, but twice. But I stray.

 

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Thomas Cleveland Lane

Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane
Thomas Cleveland Lane is a semi-retired freelance writer for pay and a stage actor for nothing more than the opportunity to make a fool of himself. Well, he does get a small stipend from the Washington Area Decency League, after playing the role of Hinezie in The Pajama Game, to never, ever appear on stage in his underpants again. When he has not managed to buffalo some director into casting him, Thomas can often be found at his favorite piano bar, annoying the patrons with his caterwauling. Thomas is the author of an anthology called Shaggy Dogs, a Collection of Not-So-Short Stories (destined to become a cult classic, shortly after he croaks). He is also the alter-ego to a very unbalanced Czech poet named Glub Dzmc. Mr. Lane generally resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and was last seen in the mirror, three days ago.