Introducing @NicoDenoir, the finest Politics is Wrestling Twitter account today

The Politics is Wrestling meme went mainstream in 2016 with Donald Trump's ascension and ultimate conquest of American Politics. As the #1 resource for the analogy, I've tracked the growth of 'Politics is Wrestling' since 2007. In the early days it was easier to find mentions of the meme as it wasn't in vogue yet. Prior to Trump, the original meme torchbearer was Jesse Ventura. The WWE Hall of Famer turned Minnesota Governor taught classes at Harvard in 2004 on how Pro-Wrestling prepares you for Politics. In 2010 the Daily Show brought the meme to the mainstream in a segment featuring Wyatt Cenac and wrestler Mick Foley. 

Today we're inundated with a deluge of stories and blog posts on how Politics is Wrestling. Taking hiatus from the blog when there were murmurs of a Trump Presidential run in 2011, I'd been out of the loop as far as storylines went. 

That was until I discovered @nicodenoir on Twitter, he's been my biggest source for keeping up to date with 'Politics is Wrestling'. Nico introduced me to Brandon Wetherbee and Chris Kelly, co-authors of 'The Donald: How Trump Turned Presidential Politics into Pro Wrestling' and the 'Great American Bash' podcast. He connected me with the 'Review America' podcast with Brian Mann and Nate Milton. Both podcasts discussing American Politics through the prism of Pro-Wrestling and founded July, 2016.

I got in touch with Nico to find more about him and get his take looking back on 2016. I'd hoped to release this by Inauguration Day but decided I wanted to crank up my animations again. Expect to see more Pundits added to the existing roster of PunditFighters and changes to some of the original cast. I'm toying with the idea of creating a stable for the best champions of the 'Politics is Wrestling' meme.

1. What's your relationship with Wrestling and Politics, how long have you been engaged with both?
 After graduating from Concordia University in Political Science, I spent over a decade in Canadian federal politics as an executive in communications, while also having been involved in the American 08’ New Hampshire presidential primaries.

My expertise is in public relations, speech writing and campaign management. My first wrestling memory is walking under the hot and arid Stampede Wrestling tent at the age of 5 in Calgary. At my first live wrestling event, I saw WWF Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat in a No DQ Match, at the Montreal Forum in 1987.

I've been with the International Wrestling Syndicate since its inception in 1999, holding various roles with them behind-the-scenes over the years, while being currently involved as a public relations and social media consultant.

2. Explain your interest in the Politics is Wrestling analogy. How did you first come up with or come across the idea? 

 I first noticed the relationship between pro wrestling and politics while studying speech writing in College and falling onto the famous Dusty Rhodes 'Hard Times' promo. To this day, I still think that promo may arguably be the greatest political speech ever.

3. What were your 5 favorite Politics is Wrestling links for 2016, providing some background?

Linda McMahon picked to be Small Business administrator https://t.co/hP2jEXk3F7

— Nico Denoir (@nicodenoir) December 8, 2016

After Linda's failed senatorial races representing the Republican Party in Connecticut, once Chris Christie dropped out of the presidential race, the McMahon’s rallied behind their old friend Trump. The McMahon donation to the Trump campaign assured Linda's candidacy for appointment.

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Vote for Rhino - Tommy Dreamer Endorsement https://t.co/ALiLLpAy6p

— Nico Denoir (@nicodenoir) November 8, 2016

While everyone's focus was on Trump, Rhyno also ran for politics this year, doing a great job in his campaign which was highly substantial in local policies. He also continued to perform as a wrestler on the SmackDown brand throughout his campaign.

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• Rock's #GOP supporter
• Presidents last 2 terms
• He won't go vs Clinton
• Hollywood 💰 to make

= #Johnson2024 https://t.co/7HJyTEJHGc

— Nico Denoir (@nicodenoir) July 27, 2016

Dwayne Johnson has alluded in passing to entering politics, but this year was his coming out in affirming his interest in running for the highest office. Ironically, US politicians generally deny until the last minute their intentions to run for President, but obviously for The Rock, "it doesn't matter what you think".

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Two kinds of apologies... #DNC #RomanReigns pic.twitter.com/c3Tovjd94K

— Nico Denoir (@nicodenoir) July 25, 2016

I used these two incidences as an exercise to demonstrating the different ways a mistake can be publicly confronted, as the Democrats denied wrong-doing by deflecting the blame, Reigns faced his situation head-on by admitting fault and apologising.

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Donald Trump Talks RNC Entrance, McMahon, WWE on Meet The Press https://t.co/X40DeG5YH8

— Nico Denoir (@nicodenoir) July 24, 2016

While many speculated that Trump was using the professional wrestling playbook during his campaign, it was this Meet The Press interview that confirmed this reality, most notably from Vince McMahon's congratulatory call for the Republican National Convention entrance.

4. How would you best describe 2016? 
2016 was the year where the analogy of politics as wrestling was legitimized by the Trump candidacy. While Jesse Ventura has been playing this up all along since his mandate as Governor of Minnesota, it hadn't hit the American mainstream until now. By the end of last summer, politics as wrestling was on everyone’s mind.

Looking forward, it remains to be seen what effect the Trump campaign will have on others in the wrestling industry who have future political aspirations including Glenn Jacobs (Kane), Booker T, Cody Rhodes, Dwayne Johnson and quite possibly John Cena.

PunditFight interview: A conversation with Dean Barnett

A conversation with Dean Barnett

Dean Barnett is a conservative pundit best known as Hugh Hewitt's fill-in host and staff writer for the Weekly Standard. Interestingly his rise as pundit mirrors the ascent of a rising star Vice Presidential nominee. A relative unknown, Dean was nationally introduced after being tapped by a silver-haired veteran to be his backup. Dean embodies the everyman made good, a regular "Joe six-pack abs" and Baseball dad.

Dean a lifelong Bostonian began as a businessman, running for State Representative at the age of 25. He operated a popular personal blog - SoxBlog, offering his thoughts on current affairs and his beloved Boston Red Sox. Conservative Radio Talker Hugh Hewitt would later invite Dean to be his co-blogger on HughHewitt.com. When Dean saw that Hugh needed a guest host he matter-of-factly suggested "I'd like to try my hand at that" despite readily admitting he never "listened to a lot of Talk Radio". The rest as they say is history.

Our conversation is simply two regular guys talking politics, wrestling and punditry. We touch on Dean's segments with liberal blogger Glenn Greenwald and the state of partisanship, the success of John McCain and his hope for Mitt Romney.

Bonus game:
Hugh Hewitt listeners will be familiar with his patented "Barack Obama uhm counter". I've ingeniously incorporated a similar game in my conversation with Dean. A free Sarah Palin wallpaper to the person who correctly guesses the number of "uhms" uttered in our conversation. Hands on your buzzers.



Dean on the state of partisanship and why he welcomes liberals like blogger Glenn Greenwald on his show

I live in Boston which is a very liberal city. I’m pretty much a lifelong Bostonian which means that my politics is out of step with most of my neighbours, most of my friends and whatnot. I get along with people who’s politics I don’t like and don’t like my politics. So I don’t see why that can’t be the same on the Radio. Glenn Greenwald and I don’t agree with a lot politically, but I think he’s a good guy. I enjoy talking to him, I think he’s a pretty thoughtful guy. There’s no reason why we have to dislike each other even though we don’t particularly care about each other’s politics.

I’m not exactly sure how it started. It may have started when I invited him onto the show out of the clear blue sky. I’m not sure if we had exchanged any emails before then. Relatively speaking I like his blog. He’s obviously a very thoughtful, a very honest and smart guy.
I have no problem inviting guests on the show I disagree with.

Dean on the role personality and likability play in politics

To use your wrestling analogy, on the one hand you’re born with what you’re born with. On the other hand there’s a craft of getting through to people. You look at some wrestlers who get so much better – look at Hulk Hogan in his initial incarnation didn’t go over at all. But in his latest incarnation after Rocky III he was the biggest thing since sliced bread. They can develop their craft to become better and better. I think the same is true of politicians. They can learn what works, they can learn what doesn’t work they stay away from their weaknesses, they can emphasize their strengths. As you point out there is no substitute for - if you’ve got someone who can deliver a speech like Barack Obama, if you’ve got someone with the charisma and personal appeal of Sarah Palin. That’s being born on third base in a political sense with that kind of talent.

You look at a guy like John McCain who’s gone as far as he has, which is very far without any of those talents. But there’s a huge advantage for someone like Obama or Palin actually having those gifts.

Read full transcript here

- Listen to Dean Barnett endorsing this blog's contention that Bill Kristol is a wrestling-style villain (heel)
- View Dean Barnett's Pundit Profile

Dean Barnett interview coming soon

I recently had the fortune of interviewing APF pundit Dean Barnett, occasional fill-in host for Hugh Hewitt and staff writer for the Weekly Standard. We talked about partisanship, his experience running for office and the two McCains (Republican Primary McCain and General Election McCain).

Longtime readers might know that Dean was the first pundit to give this site national exposure. Dean like his stablemate Hugh Hewitt are big fans of wrestling and have been very supportive of the site. Last year Dean welcomed his colleague from the Weekly Standard, Jonathan V. Last to talk wrestling and politics for an entire segment.

Our discussion had an interesting dynamic as Dean understands wrestling and has clearly read the blog. Whilst I asked vague questions you'll hear an astute Dean shoehorning wrestling references in his response. Flattering but you'll have to be the judge on whether that's a good thing or not.
Transcript and audio coming soon.

While you wait, I present the APF's first triple-outfit pundit. Toggle through the costumes using the buttons on the left wall. This new variant has Dean as the first APF pundit with a sculpted physique. As you'll see the others don't match up nearly as well.

PunditFight interview: A conversation with Sam Seder

PunditFight presents 'A conversation with Sam Seder'

Sam Seder is a liberal talker with a great following on the left blogosphere. He is a pioneer when it comes to integrating and mobilising the online progressive community using the radio medium. He is credited for elevating prominent liberal bloggers like Markos Moulitsas (Founder of The Daily KOs), Atrios, and Digby amongst many others by giving them a regular platform on his show.

During the 2006 midterm elections Sam hosted a weekly segment called 'The Fighting Dems'. Organised with Markos, the segment profiled a range of Military Vets running for office as Democrats. Some candidates ran in Primaries challenging "less liberal" Democratic incumbents. The initiative helped propel military Democrats like Jim Webb into office. Sam was arguably the first national broadcaster to spotlight Senator Webb.

Whilst Sam has enjoyed great support from his audience, he has had a tumultuous career as a talker. He has had 3 different shows on AirAmerica ('The Majority Report', 'The Sam Seder Show' and 'Seder on Sundays') with talks of a fourth. It's possibly attributed to his outspokeness - he's been suspended for calling out a stablemate and received some grief over an on-air feud with a prominent liberal talker. Perhaps it could be something else entirely, The Boston Globe did see it fit to title it's feature profile of Sam "Failure is an option".

In our conversation we discuss the differences between the Liberal and Conservative infrastructure (ThinkTanks/ Talk radio/ Blogosphere). We Talk about the price of being outspoken and his opinion of conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Enjoy!



A list of notable Sam Seder posts
1) Sam dissects Conservative talkers John Gibson and Armstong Williams (updated: broken links resolved)
2) Sam dissects Conservative talkers Michael Medved and Michael Savage (updated: broken links resolved)
3) Funny segment that involves Rush Limbaugh and regular caller 'Dewey'
4) Sam Seder on Maureen Dowd and the mainstream mediaSam on the turbulence in Progressive talk and his own career

I started my radio career at Air America, that creates some difficulty in and of itself. That whole Ed Schultz thing was blown way out of proportion. I don't think it's helped me in any way. Across the board progressive talk radio is having some growth problems and part of that is a function of the industry as a whole. They don't recognise it as a distinct format. Frankly the industry as a whole has larger problems than progressive talk.

Sam on how his experience at Air America has helped him understand party politics

There have been times in the past at Air America where people's assumptions as to why certain things were done. My losing my morning show for example or Maron losing his show. They project (pause) that dynamic of hearing what the audience thinks is happening behind the scenes. It's given me insight in the way that I as an outsider can see what is going on in the Bush Administration. There's been times where people have sent me emails about conspiracy theories that are taking place in Air America. Sometimes the conjecture isn't necessarily irrational, when people deeply care about an institution, whether it's Air America or the US government, and it's not being responsive to them in some way. They are left to their own devices in terms of creating a narrative to explain it.

Sam on Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and the conservative audience

I don't know what their (Rush and Sean's) perception of reality is because I only know them [from what I hear]. I've met Hannity a couple of times off the show but he seems like as much of a nutball as he does on his show. I don't know the way they perceive reality. They espouse, I don't know that I would really call it a philosophy as I don't think it reaches that bar. There mouthpieces to a certain extent. Hannity is just lame, he's literally almost by definition a 'tool'.

Limbaugh I think has created a worldview that sells. If you want to create a strong and loyal audience it's a smart one. It's preying on his audiences' desire not to have such doubt in their life. It's really not that different in terms of dynamic to say Scientology or any other so-called philosophy that gives you answers and makes it easier for you. You listen to Limbaugh and anytime you're having a dilemma. It's resolved for you very simply and always in a way that makes "You" the winner because everybody else by definition is wrong and that is essentially the conservative ideology. That is why they're going to do so well in the role of the opposition...

I think Limbaugh is good at what he does, it's a very easy formula. If you look in the paper and you start with the assumption that anything you see or read that you don't do or experience on a regular basis is wrong. You'll find it's very easy because everything becomes a story...

Read full transcripts of the Sam Seder interview here

Sam Seder interview coming soon

In the past week I conducted an interview with Liberal Radio talker Sam Seder, look for it to appear soon.

We discussed topics ranging from his future in Air America, the price he's had to pay for his outspokenness and the state of the Media. Sam also sounds off on other talkers like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

Read previous Sam Seder posts here:
1) The outspoken Sam Seder
2) Sam on conservative talkers Michael Savage and Michael Medved
3) Sam on conservative talkers John Gibson and Armstrong Williams

Read my other pundit interviews here:
1) Liberal talker and Comedian Marc Maron
2) Young Conservative talker Andrew Wilkow
3) Independent talker and comedian Pete Dominick

Introducing the newest APF Pundit: Pete Dominick

A conversation with Pete Dominick

Pete Dominick is a talker on Sirius Satellite Radio. His program – 'Pete's Big Mouth' is featured on the IndieTalk channel. The channel's motto: "Political talk for people who hate political talk" is a fitting description for the show.

Pete often talks about wanting his show to counter the bravado of his Talk Radio peers: "They’re really trying to get people to follow ...Ed Schultz is a liberal talker and he wants you to call yourself an "EdHead", with Rush Limbaugh you’re a "dittohead... I think that’s dangerous. It insinuates that what that person is saying is right and is always right".

Political Talk Radio has traditionally been a combative format. The talker issues their talking points, bashes the other side and only concedes failings strategically. When a caller interjects with an opposing viewpoint, they know they’re in for a fight and are at the mercy of the talker’s bully pulpit.

On Pete's show it's quite the opposite. When Pete is flippant or says something his audience find ignorant, he will host a stream of calls or read emails disabusing him of that contention. He isn't afraid to reconsider his stance after some back and forth but concedes at times “he’s been too apologetic" and admits "it isn't good for radio".

There is an inviting and casual air to the show, this follows even if you're a first time listener or disagree with Pete’s views. This is partly a function of Pete’s persona and the "independent" nature of the show. As the program is driven by audience input and Pete’s curiosity it’s hard to predetermine the direction the show will take on any given day or even hour by hour. The show has spent time discussing matters as varied as 'McCain's war record', 'racism in America' to 'audience celebrity encounters' – spurred from an encounter with Geraldo Rivera during Pete's morning drive to work. Pete often becomes animated during the topic of religion (he is an outspoken agnostic) and American party politics (doesn't like the two-party system, favouring instant-runoff voting).

Pete's personality coupled with the freedom of the Sirius format gives the show a schoolyard vibe - a regular caller greets the host with "Hey Pete, How the f*ck are ya? It's a cliché in the world of Talk Radio but there is a sense that he values every listener. He welcomes callers like they're old friends, remembering names from previous conversations by phone and email. Pete wants his audience to own the show "I'm not interested in leading people. I'm interested in having a salon discussion everyday...I just love listening to people's opinions". He feeds off the enthusiasm and intellectual appetite of his audience, Pete often jokes on air about the overzealousness of listeners sending 9 emails a day "why not just wait a little bit then send all 9 links together".

Pete's Big Mouth is built from the interactions of his audience. Pete moves the conversation with his inquisitiveness, using a skillset he describes as being his "personality, wit and off-the-cuff improvisational abilities". It's been these qualities that have attracted Sirius (he also hosts Comedy by Request on the Raw Dog Comedy Channel) and impressed Jon Stewart who invited him to be the warm-up for the 'Daily Show', eventually moving to 'The Colbert Report'.

The way Pete describes the dynamic of his Colbert audience warm-up is reflective of the spirit of his radio show "I'm going on a journey with the audience... we're leading each other and I'm making jokes in the moment. It's hard to follow that with scripted anything".

Pete's Big Mouth isn't your conventional Talk program. It's best described as a show where people discuss the memes they've just heard on the radio rather than the show disseminating it. Instead of people regurgitating talking points, they're deliberating over them. Pete encapsulates the essence of his show and personality simply, when he says "I like conversation".

Partial conversation transcripts below:
Pete on his radio peers

All I'm finding, a lot of times no mater who they are. They're really trying to get people to follow their – Ed Schultz is a liberal talker and he wants you to call yourself an "EdHead", with Rush Limbaugh you're a "dittohead"... I don't want people to identify with Pete's Big Mouth or with Pete Dominick. I don’t need that kind of following because I think that’s dangerous. It insinuates that what that person is saying is right and is always right and that’s not what I want to do. I'm not interested in leading people. I'm interested in having a salon discussion everyday, selfishly because I'm entertained by it. I love talking about the subject matter we talk about, I can't wait to get into those conversations privately with family and friends and I love doing it on the air. I just love listening to people's opinions. I think if anyone’s gonna follow me I hope they're following the idea of individual thought. That's all.

Pete on his comedy

I’m not a political comedian. It's one part of a larger act, I do current events, politics, social issues as one part of my act. I also talk about my personal life, my insecurities, my relationships and I also do an observational chunk usually as well.

I’ve never been able to pin myself down or paint myself as one type of comedian. To some extent that’s been to my disadvantage. I have always been a host and an emcee, I’ve gotten more work as a host and emcee on TV and in radio and certainly mainly in comedy clubs. As well as doing the audience warm-up. My skill set I think is my personality, my wit, my off-the-cuff improvisational abilities.

Pete on warming up for Colbert

I like conversation. I like to go onstage (when I’m doing stand up) if it would be okay with everybody I would just talk to them for 30 minutes and get laughs that way and I do do that with warm-up every night on the Colbert Report. I do that about 20, 30 minutes. Often during my jokes the laughs come from the situation.

Listen to my conversation with Pete Dominick (On the 12m20s mark, the audio the cuts forward to another question. Apologies for the quality)

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New Profile: Andrew Wilkow

I'm proud to announce the latest Animation Profile - Andrew Wilkow. It's a bit of an innovation from previous profiles. You will notice a toggle on the bottom left corner that will allow you to view Andrew in two different outfits, 'Suit' and 'Street' in keeping with Andrew's unique personality. I've also revamped the accompanying Republican logo to reflect Andrew's "younger" look.

In the near future expect to see new animations with a stable (team) of APF pundits. The first stable incorporating Andrew Wilkow shoulder to shoulder with Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. At this stage the tentative title for the stable is "The Freedom Alliance" though I'm open to suggestion. Your comments welcome below.



For fans of Andrew who'd like to promote his show. Email me below to get the code to have these animations featured on your site or myspace page:



Read my profile and interview with Andrew Wilkow here

Introducing the newest APF Pundit - Andrew Wilkow

A conversation with Andrew Wilkow

Deconstructing punditry using a pro-wrestling analogy, part of what I do on this blog is identify archetypes. To be a successful talker, passion for a cause is a prerequisite as well as an engaging persona that commands attention. Conservative Radio Talker Andrew Wilkow has all these qualities, but he also doesn’t fit the usual molds.

I first heard Andrew filling in for Mark Levin. I was immediately drawn to his championing of conservative principles from a youth perspective, coupling information with logic and philosophy. The hook that drew me in was his glowing praise for Metal band ‘Avenged Sevenfold’ and his suggestion that conservatives begin to explore art as an avenue for furthering and promoting conservative thought.

With hip shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report providing a gateway for younger audiences to be engaged in political discussion I pictured Andrew as the conservative antidote. This was confirmed the more I listened to him, but not in the way I originally thought.

At 35, Andrew is one of the youngest radio talkers you’ll find of any stripe. Although you’ll hear him in a tone that reflects a connection with the youth, you won’t hear him dumbing things down or patronizing his audience. Andrew isn’t interested in competing for the youth by being cool at the expense of rational thought and mature discussion, “That type of sarcasm as a stand in for intellectual thought and good debating is gonna run its course eventually.”

Andrew spends a majority of his show explaining and rationalizing liberal thinking. The non-commercial format of his show on Sirius Satellite Radio works to Andrew’s advantage as it allows him to expand on his ideas providing a fuller more pure experience, “My program is designed to not be condescending, not be esoteric…I can take an argument, I can break it down, build a new foundation then build a house on top of it, dust my hands and say See that’s how it works”

Andrew Wilkow is also known for being co-founder of ConservativePunk.com. He formed it with his now-producer Nick Rizzuto. Nick had sent an email after hearing Andrew talk about how “the politics began to take over the music”. A friendship was formed and after some “beers and burgers cooked up Conservative Punk”, Andrew continues “within a day or two of launching we had 1000 members and the BBC flew a crew out from the UK to interview us.” Many would know Conservative Punk as the counterweight to Punkvoter.com - a high profile campaign organized by ‘Fat Mike’ of legendary punk band NOFX. An initiative which enlisted fellow punkers, mainstream rock acts like Green Day and Foo Fighters and their fans to oust George W Bush in the 2004 presidential elections.

Punk is often regarded as being anti-establishment, likewise Punk is also synonymous with being contrarian, asking questions and fighting against groupthink, something the South Park guys have made a living off. Conservative Punk isn’t an exercise at just being contrarian, Andrew is quick to remind that “Johnny Ramone was a Reagan Republican” though ultimately it’s a moot point “I go to a music event to listen to music, I don’t really care about the opinions held by the band one way or another… nobody owns the music”

Don't expect to find Andrew making his name from dissing fellow talkers. There is a graciousness and respect for his competition, be it left or right because he knows “the road to talk radio is really, really hard”. You could sum up Andrew’s career as the collision of passion, hard work and opportunity. His first major break came from a “risktaker” that saw talent and found him “compelling”. A young woman heard Andrew as a Rock DJ and recommended it to her father. That man happened to be Phil Boyce, the Program Director who revitalized NewsTalkRadio WABC (AM) in New York City and the man responsible for giving Sean Hannity and Mark Levin their big breaks. Andrew began his talk career as a trial fill-in for Mark Levin, eventually inheriting the weekend timeslot as Mark moved up. Andrew was later enlisted by Sirius Satellite Radio, adding him to their conservative roster on the ‘Sirius Patriot’ channel. The young woman who first took notice of Andrew would later become his wife.

Mark enjoys a camaraderie with Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Andrew is one of the privileged few “Mark allows to fill in for him” and one of the few people Hannity allows to broadcast from his ‘Freedom Concert. It’s no surprise that Sirius have programmed Andrew with his colleagues, kicking off a formidable 8 hour bloc from noon which continues with Hannity then Levin.

With the support of influential friends and a cutting edge media in Sirius Satellite Radio, you can expect big things from Andrew Wilkow. Quoting from his website, “Now is the time for the new school of conservative voices with a whole new style and passion – moving to SIRIUS lets me take that style and passion nationwide."

Listen to Andrew by signing up to Sirius Satellite Radio
Go to Andrew’s official page on the Sirius site
Go to Andrew Wilkow’s myspace page
Go to ConservativePunk.com

NerdsGoneWild presents: A conversation with Marc Maron

PunditFight presents 'A conversation with Marc Maron'

Australians will be in for a treat this coming April as APF Pundit Marc Maron will be visiting our shores. Maron will be performing several dates at the Sydney Comedy Store.

Meanwhile as we await his arrival, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marc. He touched on various subjects from politics to Reality TV. Marc also spoke candidly about his previous and only experience in Australia, where he was sent home after bombing disastrously performing in Melbourne 1992.

You can listen and download a sample of the interview here. Marc talks about punditry and where he fits in it. He comments on some of his counterparts and peers from Bill O’Reilly to Al Franken. He also talks about Barack Obama and the idea of the ‘symbolic president’.

Listen to the Marc Maron interview here


Maron on Comics and Punditry

MARC MARON: If art is suppose to be nothing more than disguised self help or some example of leadership in terms of making people feel better about themselves then I don’t know. I don’t have a real problem with Dane Cook, I do have problems with people who are just blindly confident without any real bearing and that’s really the only gift that they give.
Pundits it seems, there's a lot of time to waste on television and there are a lot of people with monied interests who like people to waste that time for them so they can sell other things and it just seems that all it does is give relatively uninspired loudmouths the podium to blather on and on about bullshit that has no bearing on anything and only serves to confuse real issues and distract people from making up their own fucking minds hard enough for them to do anything.

Maron on being viewed as a Pundit

MARC MARON: No, I’m not a pundit. I was put in a position to educate myself and become more partisan than I probably would be publicly otherwise, more educated than I would be and I’m grateful for that. But on either side of the political spectrum whether its right or left you have bullshit and you’re going to become a distributor of whatever’s side bullshit you tend to align yourself with. So my issue has always been to figure out what my gut instincts were on what’s happening. Where’s the hypocrisy? And what would best serve me and other people.

So the one element of being a pundit I didn’t like, was sort of being in the position to be partisan and righteous in ways I may not have thought through completely or in ways I didn’t find were completely authentic just because I had such resentment towards the other side.

I will be posting more snippets in the future. You will find the complete transcript on the upcoming issue of NerdsGoneWild Magazine (Issue #2). Found in Australia and internationally, check the site for shop listings or you may also buy here. Expect to find the full Audio in due time on the NerdsGoneWild website.

Marc will be performing at the Comedy Store in Sydney, beginning Tuesday April 15 and ending Saturday April 26. For full details go to the Official Comedy Store Website

- Go to Marc Marons's official website
- Read a more comprehensive Maron interview transcript here