In my opinion–and this is only my opinion, as supporters of right-wing “humor” repeatedly point out to me-- the reason right-wing humorists are seldom funny is that most humor is at its root revolutionary. It’s the old punching-up / punching down thing. Humor comes from the less powerful ridiculing the foibles, inconsistencies, and stupidity of the powerful and the world they’ve fashioned.
Right wing humorists are at an immediate disadvantage because they are the powerful and they’re happy with the world they’ve fashioned. All they can do is punch down, which usually takes the form of name-calling (look at those crazy libs) or manufacturing situations in which they can pretend the less powerful are actually powerful and then take pot shots at the straw men they’ve erected.
This sort of approach is much better suited to bullying, whining, and public posturing than to humor. Indeed, the right have shown over and over that they’re masters of that sort of thing. That’s why rightist humor like Mallard Fillmore spends most of its time lecturing readers about how stupid liberals are rather than actually raising a smile.
