Barney Frank Not a Fan of Stewart, Colbert’s ‘Anti-Government’ Approach

When it comes to politics, comedians generally tend to fall on the side of mocking everyone in power. Comedians who make their bread and butter joking about politics, like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, certainly take a very scathing look at how much our elected leaders suck. Sometimes those elected leaders just smile and brush past it, other times they’re too thin-skinned to let it go.

Enter Barney Frank, a long-serving Massachusetts Democrat who recently retired from Congress. In a wide-ranging new interview with Reuters, Frank talks about the influence of the press on how politics is perceived. He argues, “Even the liberal press is anti-government. Ever watched Jon Stewart say anything good about government?”

And not only that, but Frank things Stewart and Colbert are part of the problem by saying everyone sucks (which, not to add to the problem, but they do):

Him and others. The effect is to tell people it doesn’t make any difference who they vote for. I differentiate Bill Maher from Jon Stewart. Maher’s very funny, but also has

good and bad guys on the show. You say, “Oh, I agree more with this side than that side.” You come away from Stewart and especially [Stephen] Colbert, and say, “Oh, they’re all assholes.”

Frank was one of the first congressmembers ever profiled on The Colbert Report, and weeks after the interview aired, Frank publicly lambasted Colbert and called the show “a waste of TV space.” You can watch the crazy-as-hell interview here, via Comedy Central:

[h/t Raw Story]
[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac