Tasteless and occasionally vulgar jokes that would make Howard Stern blush — these are the hallmarks of comedy clubs and are precisely why many people love them. The Comedy Club on State Street is no exception and regularly has me gasping for air between jokes about one-night stands and aging politicians.

My last two visits, however, made me question the comics’ morals for reasons other than their dirty jokes.

They started with the usual openers: “This town loves to drink!” “Your city kicked my ass last night.” “I think I’m still drunk.” The audience chuckled. But then, a question — “So you guys drinkin’ tonight?”

There were a few claps and verbal acknowledgements, but most were waiting for the punchline. Then it was delivered: “OK, so you’re all alcoholics. How many of you drove here then?” The audience erupted in cheers and laughter as the comic raised his glass in salutation.

Are we really still in the dark ages when drinking and driving is funny?

I get it — comics are supposed to be edgy. They’re supposed to be callous, jaded individuals who have a propensity for pointing out the absurdities of everyday life. They don’t give a damn what we think and make a career out of telling us why.

But joking about, and even encouraging, drunken driving is neither funny nor appropriate. It’s tasteless, amateurish and, to be frank, lazy.

I might have been able to pass it off as a bad choice of comic had it happened only once. But when the same jokes kept popping up visit after visit, I began to ask myself why I keep coming back.

The CC surely doesn’t endorse drinking and driving, but what is it doing featuring comics that regularly cheer it on? If these jokes are intended to encourage patrons to exceed the CC’s two-drink minimum, so be it. As long as the over-indulgers walk or are driven home, life will go on. But providing reinforcement to those that exceed the two-drink minimum to get behind the wheel and drive home is nothing short of irresponsible.

According to a 2007 government survey, Wisconsin has the worst drunken driving record in the country. Approximately 25 percent of Wisconsin’s residents have admitted to driving under the influence in the previous year, and it’s not unreasonable to think that the actual numbers are even worse. I’ll keep the preaching short — you know, I know, and even stand-up comics know drunken driving is a bad idea.

It’s no secret either that much of Madison’s social scene revolves around alcohol, so I wouldn’t expect anything less than plenty of well-crafted jokes inspired by it. The guy running down State Street naked at 3 a.m. the other night knows he’s fair game as the “butt” of someone’s joke, and Ian’s Pizza probably has enough funny stories to last a lifetime. But when our state is leading the country with our drunken driving record, we need to lay off the jokes — it’s just not funny.

I find it hard to believe that any of these guys — many of whom are smart, witty and very observant — are so hard up for material that they resort to jokes that might have been permissible 30 years ago but are profoundly out of line given what we know today about the tragic consequences of drunken driving and the enormous public resources that have been devoted to discouraging it.

So shame on you, comics, for stooping this low for a few cheap laughs. And shame on you, Comedy Club, for hiring them anyway. Step it up, be adults (or at least take a stab at it) and get some new material. I’ll be back eventually, but in the meantime, I’ll have to stick with Comedy Central.

Laura Brennan ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in communicative disorders.