KPOJ's Carl Wolfson Rocks the House
Paulie Brading
Well over 100 supporters of Lynn Howe, candidate for State Representative HD 6 poured through the doors to enjoy an evening of political comedy with none other than the very funny Carl Wolfson. Carl has been performing stand up comedy around the country for 31 years.
Carl met Lynn and her husband Jim at an AFL-CIO gathering in Sunriver a couple of years back where he entertained another large crowd. Lynn immediently knew if she ever had the opportunity she would call on Carl to bring his brand of humor to Medford. Those of us who are lucky enough to know Lynn know she has a knack for putting fun into fundraising. Carl generously donated his performance to Lynn's campaign.
Things got serious when Lynn reviewed her opponent's key votes in 2009-10 reminding the crowd that just two short years ago R-Sal Esquivel sat down with the Medford Mail Tribune Editorial Board declaring that the economy was stable. The newspaper endorsed Lynn Howe. The Medford Chamber of Commerce Executive board chose to not to endorse either candidate two years ago. Now Sal Esquivel has his lips securely attached to the Chamber's behind even reading from their newsletter on the House floor after 66/67 was affirmed by the voters in Oregon. Sal continues to insist businesses will flee the state as a result of the vote even while his record of voting no on job creating bills makes me wonder what kind of soup Sal is slurping. One example among many, he voted against establishing the Building Opportunities for Oregon Small Business Today (BOOST) account to provide loans and grants to Oregon small businesses creating new jobs for Oregonians (HB 3698). In 2009 he voted against construction projects at Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community college eliminating hundreds of potential construction jobs (SB 5505 & SB 5506).
Last night the crowd left Lynn Howe's fundraiser laughing with a smile on their faces. Carl Wolfson's abillity to weave meaningful and serious political commentary with humor made for a terrific evening of fun. John Kitzhaber and Bill Bradbury had better be prepared for the twinkle in Carl's eye when he moderates their debate on Monday. I fully expect Carl to level the playing field with laughter,
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Mar 14, '10
Did anyone record his show? Can we stream it?
I listen to Carl and Chris in the morn every morning when I wake and ready for work. I know Carl would be a riot on stage.
Mar 14, '10
Yeah, that dude can be hilarious when he's not locked down in progressive partisan mode. His act would much stronger if he were to lambaste all easy political targets with unbridled fervor rather than severely limit his material to shooting fish in a red barrel. But, that's a true believer for ya'.
12:53 p.m.
Mar 15, '10
Brian C.: His act would much stronger if he were to lambaste all easy political targets with unbridled fervor rather than severely limit his material to shooting fish in a red barrel. But, that's a true believer for ya'.
The problem for a comedian, Brian, is that Democrats have decided not to be easy political targets. President Obama especially is nowhere near as easy to poke fun of as Bill Clinton is.
I mean seriously, what's the joke going to be? "What do you call a socialist muslin secretly-not-born-in-the-US atheist nazi Kenyan who liberals say is too conciliatory to the GOP with a ex-pastor who was a marine who damned America for not adhering to the tenets of the Christian Bible?" When you come up with a good punchline, tell me.
I mean even Massa isn't a good target anymore after the GOP rallied around him for saying that the Democrats pushed him out because of his vote on healthcare. (Before he recanted.)
I know the right wing would love to laugh at the left wing like we laugh at "teabaggers". (Teabaggers? bwa ha ha ha ha.) But the truth is that we don't need to try hard to make a joke out of you. Not when you're making a joke out of yourself.
Mar 15, '10
"I know the right wing would love to laugh at the left wing ..."
But they can't. The right has no sense of humor.
Oh wait, I forgot - LARRY THE CABLE GUY!!
Mar 15, '10
No doubt there's a glut of comic fodder on the right these days but by no means have they cornered that market. This guy understood that better than most.
Apr 1, '10
wise people know laughter is good medicine speaking of health care... April Fools, really, your health is up to you ultimately.
Apr 2, '10
Posted by: John | Apr 1, 2010 8:42:00 PM
wise people know laughter is good medicine speaking of health care... April Fools, really, your health is up to you ultimately.
Is it REALLY? OK. I want to cash out. Can I do that legally? No. The best medicine is having a life that is yours, not your role down on the farm as livestock. So many in this debate sound like the vets at a factory farm!
<hr/>6:58 a.m.
Apr 16, '10
My FB ID and posted name should have been easy to match, methinks.