Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins worked a nearly packed house at the Wisconsin Union Theater Monday night, dropping one-liners, sharing Texas legislative anecdotes and instructing liberals to find humor in the face of political defeats.
\Satire is the weapon of choice for the powerless against the powerful; it always has been. God help us if we have to take George W. seriously all the time,"" said Ivins, who came to UW-Madison as part of the school's Distinguished Lecture Series.
Stories of politicians from her home state of Texas constituted much of Ivins' hour-long speech.
She talked about one legislator's plan to trump up support for his reelection campaign: pay his cousin Eddie to shoot him in the arm with a shotgun and blame the attack on a satanic cult. When the charges were found to be false, the legislator fled to his mother's house where authorities found him in a stereo cabinet.
""It was my belief he was hiding in the stereo cabinet because he always wanted to be the speaker,"" Ivins said, earning groans from the audience.
Ivins worked in another pun when she recalled two ""Bible-thumping"" legislators high-fiving and patting each other on the back after the Texas House of Representatives effectively outlawed homosexuality by reinstating a law that banned sodomy. Ivins said some reporters asked a sheriff to arrest the celebrating lawmakers because ""it's now illegal for a prick to touch an asshole in this state.""
Ivins worked in serious moments, too, like when she criticized college students for abandoning political involvement out of cynicism or boredom.
""You cannot look at politics as if it was a picture on a wall or a show on television. ... It's not something out there you can like or not like,"" Ivins said.
Ivins also rallied the crowd against a powerful conservative agenda that she says seeks to return to the McKinley era by repealing the income tax, New Deal legislation and Roe v. Wade.
""There is no right-wing conspiracy-it's in plain view,"" Ivins said.
Many in attendance said they enjoyed Ivins' blend of humor and politics.
""It was very inspiring, and it provided a gem of hope in rather cynical times when you want to throw your hands up in the air and give up,"" Jennifer Hrycyna, a UW-Madison senior, said.
Many students commented on the audience, which appeared to be made up predominately of older community members, saying their classmates missed out on hearing a good speaker.
""I think a lot of students would have appreciated what she had to say and how she said it,"" freshman Laura McCaul said.
