It's not everyday that someone like me finds a new cultural hero.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Well, perhaps - don't mistake the misanthropy for a genuine position on the environment

By the early noughties he was the name on every edgy comedian's tip list, and gained a further cult following through his cameos on Charlie Brooker's Newswipe, although any Guardian readers who liked his spots on there might still be advised to approach with caution. When I put it to him that, like Brooker, there's a liberal heart beating behind the misanthropic exterior (he's fiercely pro-choice and pro-drugs), he disagrees. Later that night, onstage at Leicester Square Theatre, he'll go on a dubious rightwing rant before ending with, 'Fuck you, Guardian, for calling me a liberal.'"

So what are Stanhope's politics? He maintains he's never been all that political, but can that really be true? One of the thrilling things about Stanhope's material is that, when it really works, it offers a refreshingly honest take on life, often exposing our own double standards. Even when he talks about anal porn he spins it into a message about how they should teach it in schools as a way of controlling Earth's rapidly rising population. These are often inherently political points he's making. Besides, if Stanhope really didn't care for politics why did he run for president in 2008?

"It seemed like a funny thing to do!" he says. "I thought we could maybe get on the ticket of the Libertarian Party. But people were either amused or horrified at the idea of me representing their party."

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/10/doug-stanhope-interview-tim-jonze

http://www.examiner.com/article/comedian-doug-stanhope-endorses-libertarian-presidential-candidate