Dennis Miller is one busy guy. Ever the comedic observer of the human condition, the Saturday Night Live alum and multi-Emmy winner has hosted shows on HBO and CNBC, appeared in several films, and even did a stint on Monday Night Football. For three hours each weekday, he delivers his eclectic blend of yuks and conservative rants on his syndicated Westwood One radio show. And he still finds time to take his stand-up act to Vegas.
Miller sat down recently with Newsmax contributing editor James Hirsen to discuss comedy, politics, and how to be a Hollywood conservative and still get work.
Newsmax: You’re doing a lot of commentary now both on the radio show and on Bill O’Reilly’s show as well.
Miller: Yeah, but my main directive is to get laughs. I don’t want to turn into a pontificator. If I can score points for some sort of political acumen, fine. But mainly it’s to get laughs. Don’t assume I am all that informed. I am just another guy out here who sees the world in a specific way, and I elaborate on it, and it allows me to have a job. Do I think that it’s the way people should follow, or am I trying to change anybody else’s mind? No, I am not. Life’s too intricate for me to try to inflict myself.
Newsmax: A number of individuals, most recently Tiger Woods, have been portrayed in the media as having fallen. You’ve done Monday Night Football. What is your take on the athlete as a role model?
Miller: I have never thought about it. I think if a kid’s mom and dad aren’t role models, you’ve got trouble. Only kids who are in trouble would pick some stranger out. It has to be your mom or dad. I want my kids to have somebody that they idealize, but their role model? It better be me, or I’m not doing my gig.
Newsmax: We’ve talked in the past about good-hearted, well-intentioned people in Hollywood. They all seem to have bought into this left-of-center worldview that you have abandoned.
Miller: Not all of them. You would be surprised. I get some background communication from people who say, “I just wanted to thank you for what you’re doing, but don’t mention me.” There is something getting into the fast lane or with the in-crowd, it takes a big step to remind yourself what your real place in the world is. When these people are young, they have the world handed to them. They end up in a rarified bubble. They can just sort of out of hand say, “I believe this,” and nobody is going to say anything about it.
Newsmax: But do you think there is a healthy secret conservative society?
Miller: I admire people who let the chips fall, take a step back. But then again, I’ve got money in the bank. I look at Kelsey [Grammer] and guys like me, and I think, “Easy for us to do.” What if I’m a kid starting out and need to get hired? Do I really want to step out there? There are a million reasons they don’t give you the job in Hollywood, much less they don’t like your politics.
I remember the first time I visited troops at Walter Reed Hospital. I said, “I think my life just changed,” because it wasn’t as important to me how I was received at cocktail parties. It was important to me that I could walk in there with my head up high and say I supported their mission.
Newsmax: So how do you classify yourself politically?
Miller: I’m a Republican conservative. I am an objectivist. I do believe Ayn Rand rings true. I am not the more strident type, so I can’t go all the way with it. But I do believe in accountability in the universe.
Newsmax: So you’re a Republican conservative, small “l” libertarian. Would that be correct?
Miller: I hear libertarian thrown around a lot. I am registered as a Republican. As far as defense of the country and fiscal stuff, I’m conservative. And I’m socially liberal.
Newsmax: Are you a tea partyer?
Miller: Yes, I would go in a second. I like the tea party people; I admire them. Yes, you can put me down for that. I like the fact that it stays small. Those big marches peter out the next day. I like the fact the tea party happens in people’s drawing rooms.
Newsmax: You’ve denied it before, but your name often comes up as a potential public servant.
Miller: You know what? As much as I would love to get at a podium opposite Barbara Boxer, and believe me, I have dreams about that, I am just not cut out for it. It’s the glacial aspect of it. It moves so slowly. I would get kicked out. I would just step up to the mic when they gave me my two minutes and say, “This is bull****.” We have got to make sure that these kids come back from war and they never pay another tax. Forget giving $60 million to ACORN; give it to the troops. I would just be so off the reservation that they’d probably kick me out.
As originally published in Newsmax magazine.