There are places where one expects to
see a funny lesbian – a comedy club, leading a gay pride parade –
more to the point there are places one expects to see Kate Clinton,
and that would not necessarily be President Bush's going away
festivities. (Does she fret the loss of the effortless Bush and Dick
punchlines, and their double-entrendes, we wonder.)
But before we get to that part, haven't
there been other places you didn't expect to see her, such as
commenting on the Afghanistan war on CNN?
Last year, Clinton took her
self-described fumerism (feminist humor) on tour, when she performed
on Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008, which mixed queer politics,
rock and roll, and, as we now know, fumerists.
More political than your average laugh
hound, and with three one-woman shows (Correct Me If I'm Right,
All Het Up, and Kate's
Out Is In) and two books (Don't Get Me Started, and
What the L) under her belt, Clinton has helped raise the profile
of queer political humor over the past two decades more than any
other gay satirist we can think of.
But on January 19, you'll find openly
lesbian Kate Clinton in Washington DC – herb offerings in hand –
saying goodbye to the legacy of our departing forty-third president
... or at least his spirit.
Speaking to Charlotte Robinson at
OUTTAKEVOICES, Clinton said the idea grew from a joke she used in her
comedy about a shaman
who cleansed the area around Machu
Piccho of evil spirits after the president visited.
“We are going to meet in Washington
at 6PM at the new White House visitor's center,” Clinton said in a
new interview located at the website. “We'll mill around there for
a little bit. And then we're just gonna walk over towards the White
House, or as close as we can get, with our little sage sticks and try
to get out the bad spirits. So, we can clear out the bad spirits in
time for the new Obama administration to come in on the next day.”
OK, maybe clearing out the bad spirit
of the Bush legacy is what we can expect from an openly lesbian
humorists whose microphone leans to the left.
On the net: Kate Clinton's website is
at www.kateclinton.com You
can hear Clinton's entire audio interview, and others from prominent
gay and lesbian leaders, at OUTTAKEVOICES.COM.