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October, shortly after her controversial MTV Video Music Awards act, Miley Cyrus hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. She gave audiences another R-rated performance by donning a brown wig to cover her blond Mohawk and grinding to the song, We Did Stopa spoof of her summer hit, We Cant Stop. Who was Cyrus supposed to be? Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), partying with a amboyant Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), portrayed by cast member Taran Killam. Bachmann (Cyrus) and Boehner (Killiam) were celebrating the successful shutdown of the federal government, thus proving they could do whatever they want. Ha. Politically themed duds like these suggest that SNLs producers may have an agenda other than laughs and ratings. Certainly the show has mocked members of both political parties in the past, but history suggests the jokes have more often than not been one sided. The parodies may seem like theyre all in good fun, but survey experts, political science professors and students make a strong case that SNL can have a noticeable impact at the polls.

ThE SNL EFFECt

Kevin Daley, a junior at Canisius College who did undergraduate work on humor in politics, sees an inextricable link between comedy and Capitol Hill. Comedic impressions can have the multi-faceted effect of entrenching ideological voters while persuading undecidedsa rare feat in American politics, Daley says. His theory is corroborated by some empirical evidence. Mike Dabadie, co-founder of Heart + Mind Strategies, a communications strategy consultancy, helps conduct a postelection survey each presidential election cycle to gauge the scope of what he and his team refers to as The SNL Effect. In 2008, they surveyed 1,049 voters to determine if SNLs political satires had any inuence on November 4. There was an absolute impact, Dabadie told Townhall. There was an extremely high viewership [of SNL] in 2008. Sixty-seven percent said theyd seen the skits. So, how exactly did the votes pan out? SNL in 2008 had a huge advantage for Obama, Dabadie explained. He had a 20 point advantage over McCain of those who saw SNL 59 percent of people who saw SNL voted for Obama, 40 percent for McCain. These numbers may reect that those who watch SNL are already likely to vote Democrat, but as Daley suggested, the show has the potential to sway independents as well. The positive impact SNL had on Obamas 2008 campaign can perhaps be explained by the comedic efforts of one woman Tina Fey.

TOP: This Oct. 5, 2013 photo released by NBC shows guest host Miley Cyrus, left, and Kenan Thompson in a scene from the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live, in New York. (AP/NBC, Dana Edelson) BOTTOM: Actress Tina Fey, left, plays Gov. Sarah Palin, and actress Amy Poehler plays Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday Night Live in New York. Online viral videos have become a staple of American politics.

(AP/NBCU Photo Bank, Dana Edelson)

ThE FEY EFFECt

The high viewership and political advantage for Obama, Dabadie inferred, was likely due to former SNL writer and cast member Tina Feys wildly popular impersonation of Sarah Palin. There was a media intensity around Palin and Feys characterthere was such a likeness and a connection. Fey introduced her Palin impression to SNL fans on September 13, 2008 for the shows 34th season premiere. Her faux press conference with fellow SNL alum Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton was then played on straight news shows for months to come. In her best Alaskan accent, Fey spewed a number of airheaded statements and appeared more interested in winking at the camera than talking public policy. Feys ditsiest line, which Palin never actually said in real life, also became her characters most memorable moment, I can see Russia from my house. After NBC aired the skit, people started believing the Russia line belonged to Palin and not her TV doppelganger.

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To some degree, therefore, the politician became more famous for her SNL characters ctional taglines than any of her actual policy stances or accomplishments a confusion which seemed to take its toll come Election Day. Sixteen percent said it did [impact their vote], Dabadie explained. Ten percent say it negatively impacted their view of the McCain/Palin ticket. Daley explained SNLs reach in 2008, Feys oft-mentioned Palin performances had the dual effect of conrming left wing stereotypes about conservatives while raising legitimate concerns about Palins tness for ofce among independent voters. And SNL continued to attack Palin after Obama was elected. In 2012, the show aired a fake movie trailer called Palin 2012, that portrayed an apocalyptic world in which Sarah Palin was president, warning viewers, Planet Earth is going rogue. Did SNL make a Lieberman 2004 or an Edwards 2008? horror lm? Nope.

HEART + MIND
STRATEGIEs
(1,049 people surveyed)

SURPRIsInG ConFEssIons
SNL has mocked its share of Democratic politicians too. Cast member Jay Pharoah, for instance, recently parodied President Obama as a clueless bystander unaware of his own health care law. However, such hits on Democrats are the exception, not the rule. Former SNL prime time player Chevy Chase has even admitted that harming Republicans drove his bumbling portrayal of President Gerald Ford. Ford, who played linebacker for the University of Michigan, was among the ttest presidents the United States has ever had. But Chase somehow managed to make Americans believe Ford used his ties as Kleenexes, walked into walls, and fell off ladders. He turned one of our most athletic presidents ever into a guy who couldnt walk and chew gum, Dr. Kevin Hardwick, a political science professor at Canisius College, told Townhall. In the opening skit of one particular episode, Ford (Chase), clumsily fell down a whole ight of stairs before announcing, Live from New Yorkits Saturday Night! Apparently Chase didnt mind almost giving himself concussions in his attempt to paint Ford as daft. Days before the 2008 presidential election, Chase gave a surprising and brutally honest interview with CNNs Alina Cho. Reporting on the impact SNL has had on politics since the 1970s, Cho introduced Chase by stating, Some believe his portrayal of Gerald Ford as a bumbling buffoon cost Ford the election in 1976. The journalist urged her guest to provide insight on this point and this fascinating exchange ensued. Cho: You mean to tell me in the back of your mind you were thinking, Hey, I want Carter ... Chase: Oh, yeah. Cho: And Im going to make him look bad. Chase: Oh yeah. What do you think theyre doing now, you think theyre just doing this because Sarahs funny? No, I think that the show is very much more Democratic and liberaloriented, that they are obviously more for Barack Obama. Chase is not the only SNL cast member to admit that politics trumps humor at SNL. Like Chase, Will Ferrell also pleased viewers with a wildly popular political impression that he eventually admitted was inuenced by political ideology. As George W. Bush. Ferrell

76 percent of those surveyed said they watched SNL during the 2008 election. Of those who saw Tina Feys Palin skits, 15 percent say it negatively impacted their view of the McCain/Palin ticket. 10 percent say SNL impacted their vote in 2008.

FREQUEnt SoURcEs oF ElEctIon NEws oF MIllEnnIals, PEoPlE aGED 16-32:

68% Network News 58% Online Aggregator (Yahoo!, Google) 56% Cable News 52% Facebook or Twitter 50% Political Satire Shows (The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live) 50% News Website 44% Newspaper 37% Late Night Talk (The Tonight Show, Late Night)
Source: Comedy Central/TRU Insight survey (online 25 minute survey of 1,020 Millennials).

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(AP/Charles Sykes)

constantly made the 43rd president sound unintelligent by making up words such as strategerie and confusing common phrases: Im gonna be around for a long time, on the job, making the tough decisions 24/7thats 24 hours a week, seven months a year. Ferrell would later tell the A.V. Club in an exclusive interview, I had a couple of opportunities to go and meet him [Bush], and I declined, partly out of comedic purposes, because when I was on the show [Saturday Night Live] at the time, it didnt make sense to really meet the people that you play, for fear of them inuencing you. And then the other side of it is, from a political standpoint, I dont want to meet that guy.

SNL producer Lorne Michaels, however, regardless of his former employees declarations, denied any such bias on the show. He told Cho, Were not partisan. And were not putting on anything that we dont believe is funny. Whether SNLs effects on voters are intentional or unintentional, theres no doubting the show has the unique opportunity to spread a message far and wide. As Chase told CNN, When you have that kind of a venue and power where you can reach so many millions of people and youve become a show that people watch, you know, you can affect a lot of people, and humor does it beautifully, because humor is perspective and has a way of making judgment calls.

PALINS
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I I THiNK THiNK THAT THAT THE THE SHOW SHOW iS iS VERY VERY MUCH MUCH MORE MORE DEMOCRATiC DEMOCRATiC ANd ANd LiBERAL-ORiENTEd, LiBERAL-ORiENTEd, THAT THAT THEY THEY ARE ARE OBViOUSLY OBViOUSLY MORE MORE FOR FOR BARACK BARACK OBAMA. OBAMA.

then panned to Romney (Sudeikis), holding a town hall with voters, I understand the hardships facing ordinary Americans. For example, this summer, one of my horses failed to medal at the Olympics. Pharoah then deadpanned, Stick with whats barely been workin, or take your chances with that. SNLs portrayal of Romney as an out-of-touch politician reected the real life efforts of the Obama campaign. In September of 2012, for instance, the presidents team released a damning ad called, Heavy Load, which accused Romney of turning a blind eye to the struggles of the middle class, suggesting he was only interested in catering to the elite.

MIllEnnIalS anD ComEDY

SNLs political bent is particularly troubling considering where young voters get their news. A research study that Comedy Central conducted with TRU Insights and Insight Research, released less than three weeks before Election Day 2012, showed that half of Millennials get their election news updates from political satire shows such as Comedy Central late-night talk programs or Saturday Night Live. Despite these numbers, some Millennials insist they are not so persuaded by SNL when deciding

(AP/NBC, Dana Edelson)

As even cast members admit, SNLs political agenda, coupled with the millions of viewers in their hands in each Saturday, proves to be a dangerous combination.

ThE 2012 ElECtIon

Readers increasingly alarmed by SNLs political inuence may nd some temporary solace knowing it declined in 2012, along with the shows viewership. Obamas advantage with those who had seen the election-related parodies dropped from 20 points to 12, according to Dabadie. This can be attributed, in part, to the fact that the cast had no characters as strong as Chases Ford or Feys Palin. That doesnt mean the production team and cast didnt work with who they had, however. Jason Sudeikis, portraying Republican candidate Mitt Romney, cast the former Massachusetts governor as an out of touch politician who couldnt relate to middle class Americans because of his wealth. He rst cemented this characterization during SNLs 38th season premiere. Pharoah, playing Obama, opened the season by stating his campaign had a secret weapon: Mitt Romney. The camera

who gets their vote. I feel like their prime has passed a while ago, Alexander Morales, a Guilford College student told Townhall. During the past election, I did nd some of their impressions amusing, although completely ineffective in changing my vote if that was the intent of their sketches. I really think that SNL is no longer the trendsetter for political satire anymore. I think that shows like the Daily Show and Colbert Report are contenders for that spot. SNL may be losing political clout with some of its viewers, but Dabadie still foresees the show having an impact in 2016. For two election cycles now, at a minimum at least 15 percent of voters polled said SNL impacted their votes. As long as SNL is Live from New York!, it will bring Capitol Hill to viewers living rooms whether politicians like it or not an unnerving reality for conservatives considering the show has a history of saving its most memorable punch lines and outrageous impressions for the GOP.

Cortney OBrien is a Web Editor for Townhall.com.

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