by Jeff Rusnak
Comedy Writer
Posted May 6 2005

In the decade since her ABC flop All American Girl was canceled, comedian Margaret Cho has charted a rebellious career path that all but guarantees she'll never star in another network sitcom. Once an Asian-American poster girl for the way she lampooned her mother, Cho is now a comedic provocateur in a culture war that pits her against religious and political conservatives.

Audacious and often salacious, she is idolized by gays and lesbians for how she embraced same-sex culture in her shows I'm the One That I Want, The Notorious C.H.O. and Revolution. Meanwhile, she earned the wrath of the right with the anti-Bush State of Emergency concert she performed last year for the political group Moveon.org.

That love-hate dynamic means we won't see "Everybody Loves Margaret" on a network anytime soon, which is fine with the free-speaking Cho. She brings her Assassin Tour to the Broward Center tonight to discuss the state of the union, which she describes as a "disaster."

"There's a big problem with the way the government is working against the well-being of the nation," Cho says by phone from Southern California. "It's really crazy, all the efforts by the Bush administration to take away the right to choose, and the way they're undermining the whole idea of gay marriage."

Cho, 36, also takes umbrage with the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the influence Christian evangelicals have on Republicans and plenty more. In summary, Assassin is about "how difficult it is to be ... rational and reasonable," in the United States right now. To her credit, Cho still manages to be funny even when she's serious.

Of all the issues that give a rise to Cho's voice, none is as vital to her as marriage equality for same-sex couples. Openly bisexual, she grew up in San Francisco and got her start performing in gay clubs as a teen. She cites the assassination of gay city supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978 by a council member as a seminal moment in shaping her sensibility.

"Seeing that was such a huge influence," Cho says. "It made me want to dedicate my life to something different because there would be another Harvey Milk. There would also be opportunities for us to grow and be reasonably accepted members of society."

Cho runs the Web site loveisloveislove.com, where she compiles news articles related to same-sex marriage. An inveterate outsider who once observed "the world regards single people as incomplete," Cho surprised fans when she married Los Angeles artist Al Ridenour two years ago. She says her own marriage illuminated her belief that the same right should be extended to gays and lesbians.

"I feel my life is easier; my whole existence is easier," she says. "I identify that I'm in a family and that we have this comfort. It's a very important issue in terms of quality of life, which for me is so much better because I feel connected to this other person.

"Because I was such an outsider, I didn't think I craved acceptance in this manner, but I do. I've found my life is so much better and I believe this has to be available for everyone."