An Unredacted Interview with Comedian Lee Camp

[leecamp]

(This is a short excerpt from an interview I did this week with MintPress.)

Taking on the biggest issues in politics was not on Lee Camp’s mind when he first got into comedy. The American comedian — now known for his incisive political commentary and humor — first started writing jokes when he was just 12 and began performing at 18, focusing first on “standard observational comedy” that was aimed more at lifting people’s spirits than opening people’s minds.

However, as Camp continued to perform, he became more politically aware and wanted his comedy to cover the “darker issues.” He became a contributor to the well-known political satire site The Onion and even wrote political satire at the Huffington Post, where he worked as humor staff writer for a time. Camp’s entrance into political comedy also made it into American living rooms through several TV appearances, including his now-famous 2008 appearance on Fox News, where he called the right-leaning news network “a festival of ignorance” live on-air.

In recent years, Camp has become one of the most well-known political comedians in the country, thanks to his sharp wit and unwavering willingness to tackle the big issues that the corporate media won’t touch. Indeed, Camp has been noted for filling the void left by political comedy giants of the past, such as George Carlin, by his blending of biting criticisms with sarcasm and humor. It’s no wonder that George Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, has called Camp one of the few comics today who has kept her father’s torch lit.

For the rest, click HERE

Comments

[cmplxty]

I can agree with Carlin’s daughter! There are too few comedians that say the things that you do. The fake news-comedians that are on the major networks are too scared to say things they know are true. Keep those gloves off!

[lighteye]

You are not a comedian, @leecamp. Those who call themselves MSM are. Despite the fact that they are as funny as a tumor.

[lighteye]

And if I may add, an excellent interview, @leecamp, with this as a key part:

The most dangerous lie I’d say is that capitalism should never be questioned. You can have a discussion about its benefits and its dangers and what it’s done but the fact that it can never be discussed is really dangerous. It’s cutting off thought and we are watching as our environment collapses around us, as we are being told to consume at a breakneck pace all the time. But if we don’t then we’re bad members of society or bad citizens.

If you look at climate change, deforestation, how we have lost 50 percent of all wildlife in the last few decades, how the oceans are filling with plastic, we are destroying our ability to live on this planet — but we are also being told that we can’t question the economic mechanism that is fostering our own death. That to me is the number one issue that must be discussed but there are a lot of other important ones, like the myth that we are a democracy whereas a large Princeton study found that we are an oligarchy. I think that’s another one of the biggest lies we are told.

Thank you, Lee Camp.

[c-squared]

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