There’s something sad about a political campaign calling it quits. All that hustle, grit and planning is suddenly gone. Sometimes, it marks the end of a political career.
It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for the candidate in question, even if he or she doesn’t share your ideology.
Tell that to the late-night comics.
They’ve been feasting on Sen. Ted Cruz’s final days as a presidential candidate. First, “Saturday Night Live” resurrected the antiquated Church Lady character to mock Cruz one more time.
And Monday, far-left host Samantha Bee piled on with a musical number torching Cruz as he exited the campaign, stage right.
The “Church Chat” sketch clearly came as a surprise. Dana Carvey’s tenure on the show ended in the early 1990s, and he hasn’t been on the pop culture radar for a while despite still his innate gift for impersonations.
Carvey’s Church Lady fell back on his/her familiar tics, but the focus was on John Boehner calling Cruz “Lucifer in the flesh.” That was all “SNL” needed to turn Cruz into the actual Antichrist.
“Was it God’s plan to be humiliated by an orange mannequin?” the Church Lady asked Cruz, played by Taran Killam.
Next page: See the SNL “Church Lady” video.
Of course, the sketch included Darrell Hammond’s take on that “orange mannequin,” Donald Trump. But the Cruz pile-on anchored the segment. The show simply couldn’t let him get away without one final kick.
And then there’s Samantha Bee, the host of TBS’s new late night show “Full Frontal.” Bee spends most of each Monday night show smiting GOP targets. Bee is the newest member of the late-night comic community, but she may be the most vicious in her attacks.
She takes special pleasure in savaging Cruz, who she has called a “fish-faced horsesh** salesman” among other personal comments since starting her show earlier in the year.
Bee said “so long” to Cruz’s campaign by having singer Michelle Branch serenade his failed campaign.
“You’re so easy to despise,” Branch sang. And it only got meaner from there.
“Won’t miss your lizard face on the news
You were the one we loathed
Can’t pay no one train to hold on to
I want to ignore you and punch you at the same time.”
Has any Hillary Clinton gag trotted out by a late-night comic sounded anything like that? Will it ever, despite her glaring negatives and scandal-plagued history?
The late-night squad can now train their comic firepower on Trump and Clinton, with the former sure to get the lion’s share of the jokes. But don’t be surprised if Cruz cracks continue to appear in the months to come.
Comedians had a hard time letting go of their President George W. Bush joke book. The same may hold true with Cruz.
Christian Toto is a freelance writer and editor of HollywoodInToto.com
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