The Democrats is a joke which has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since Vaudeville, and often only among an audience of other comedians. It is rarely told the same way twice. The joke is something of a game in which those who tell it try to top each other in terms of shock value. This was also used as an inside joke by comedians to test the mettle of others. Throughout the history of the joke it has evolved from a cliche staple of the Vaudevillian comedian into a postmodern anti-joke.