Rubber Chicken Scratchings: Washington isn’t fixed yet — now there’s a Chip in it!

So, another season of high expectations, crazy behavior and dirty mudslinging has come to an end. No, not Vikings football — although that does seem to be over as well. I’m talking about the election season.

Many people are happy (Republicans), many people are sad (Democrats) and more than a few people are loopier than the Tasmanian devil buzzed out on 20 gallons of Red Bull (Michelle Bachmann).

Me? I’m ecstatic from Tuesday’s results, but it’s not because I love Chip Cravaack and follow his policies. It’s because he pulled a huge upset and beat a guy who’s been in office longer than Don Ness and Roger Reinert have been alive … combined!

I mean, since Jim Oberstar was first elected to the House of Representatives, that place down by the harbor has gone through four name changes (Amsoil Arena, DECC, the Arena, Swampy Bog) and Dennis Anderson has gone through 10.5 toupees (one of which was nicknamed, coincidentally, Swampy Bog). It’s crazy!

What’s next in this crazy, upside-down world? Are the folks at MnDOT actually gonna do some work?

But back to why I’m happy about the election results. It’s a big story that we can have some fun with at our Rubber Chicken Holiday Comedy Revue this December. It’s a story that people are talking about now and will still be talking about in a month. It’s got a long shelf life — sorta like the chicken tetrazzini at Grandma’s.

Folks enjoy coming out and seeing what kind of fun we’ll be having with a story like that. Plus, Cravaack sure has a silly name — it makes me giggle just typing it. That’s a sketch that writes itself!

I have been involved with sketch comedy revues for nearly 25 years now. First with Colder by the Lake, then with Renegade Comedy Theatre and now with Rubber Chicken Theater. And when the comedy gods hand you topics like this year’s, it’s like printin’ funny money.

Brett Favre’s cell phone fun? Makes me sad as a fan, but ecstatic as a parody guy.

George W. Bush wrote a book? The first chapter will be the first act of our show!

The NorShor is owned by the city of Duluth? Maybe they can use the sticky stuff on the floor to fill all the potholes in town!

You see where I’m going with this. In my 17 years at the helm of Renegade, our biggest shows ever were the comedy revues, and the most popular revues were the ones that occurred at the same time as something big in the news. (“The McNuttcracker” from 1997 or “I’ll Be Herb for Christmas” from 2007, for example.)

Topical story. Funny name. I’ll take that as a Christmas bonus every time.