How to Write Comedy About Congress Without Falling Asleep

The Challenge of Making Bureaucracy Funny

Congressional dysfunction writes its own jokes, but making them actually entertaining requires skill. The key is finding the absurd in the mundane.

Step 1: Highlight the Theater

“The Senator’s impassioned speech against healthcare reform would have been more convincing if he hadn’t missed 83% of committee votes.”

Step 2: Follow the Money

“The bill failed 50-49, with all no votes coming from members who received donations from the industry being regulated. Coincidence? Probably.”

Step 3: Play With Process

“After 14 hours of debate, the Senate voted to form a committee to study the possibility of considering potential solutions.”

Advanced Techniques

1. The ‘C-SPAN Drinking Game’

Turn congressional procedure into comedy: “Take a shot every time someone says ‘my good friend across the aisle’ while voting against their bill.”

2. The ‘Legislative Mad Libs’

“The [adjective] Honorable [title] from [state] proposed an amendment to [bill] that would [verb] all [nouns] by fiscal year [number].”

3. The ‘Lobbyist Translator’

“When they say ‘commonsense reform,’ they mean ‘corporate handout.’ When they say ‘overreach,’ they mean ‘anything that helps people.'”

Conclusion

Congressional comedy writes itself – your job is just to edit out the 90% that would put audiences to sleep and highlight the 10% that reveals the farce.