Glenn Beck is going to try and be hilarious on purpose in a six-city tour this June. Apparently he's been doing these "comedy" tours twice a year since 2003. This year they might matter.

The shows sound pretty awful. Fox News host Beck told USA Today his live shows are a sort of "poor man's Seinfeld," which would make them conservative shows about nothing. "Conservative" in this context apparently means "not funny, to anyone," judging from the clip at left.

But Beck, a self-described "rodeo clown," has been drawing unexpectedly high ratings to Fox with his new show and angry faux populism. He's chosen cities with strong conservative constituencies: Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Kansas City, Houston and Richmond, Va.

Presumably, then, Beck will draw to his events plenty of people ready to lose themselves in rage — the same folks showing up for those not-so-grassroots tea parties.

If the angry mobs get large enough, Beck may be able to demagogue his way into some real political clout. Rush Limbaugh, watch your cheese.

Send an email to Ryan Tate, the author of this post, at ryan@gawker.com.