They may be back. After a long dry spell when TV’s biggest political wag was that bow-tied bore Mark Russell singing ““Stagflation! Stagflation!’’ on PBS fund-raisers, subversive punditry is resurging. ABC announced recently that it was stealing Comedy Central’s signature show, ““Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,’’ for the post-““Nightline’’ slot as of January ‘97. HBO has scored another critical coup with ““Dennis Miller Live,’’ a bully pulpit for the angry ““SNL’’ refugee to rant like Howard Beale in ““Network’’ on everything from teen pregnancy to the death of liberalism. His inspired harangues are being collected in a book, due out in April. And who’d have guessed that Al Franken, one of the least-likely-to-make-it-big ““SNL’’ alums, would become a star doing political shtik? His wickedly funny screed, ““Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations,’’ is No. 2 on the New York Times best-seller list. At this rate, Sahl and Hef will be the next hosts of ““Crossfire.’’ Highballs, anyone?

Credit Comedy Central for exposing Maher and his fortysomething pals to a jaded young audience. Miller hosts the channel’s ““State of the Union: Undressed’’ coverage, ragging on the president and assembled congressmen while watching the speech on a TV monitor. ““There’s Al Gore, Mr. Charisma,’’ he’ll snipe. ““His personalized license plate is a random series of numbers and letters.’’ Franken, whose deadpan Comedy Central commentary was a staple of the ‘92 campaign, uses ““Big Fat Idiot’’ to download zingers from his database of political gags. The book makes relentless fun of Limbaugh’s right-wing ravings and enormous waistline. To Rush’s list of old-fashioned virtues, like self-restraint and self-discipline, Franken adds, ““STOP EATING!!!’’ Noting that Rush and his third wife, Marta, were married by a certain conservative Supreme Court justice, Franken writes, ““I can’t think of anything more romantic for a blushing bride than having Clarence Thomas perform your nuptials.’’ But the man knows his stuff. Franken is a wonk whose idea of a good time is talking entitlement reform with American Enterprise Institute policy geek Norm Ornstein. His book has more stats and charts than a Ross Perot infomercial.

Maher is more of a dilettante, smug in his comedy-club cynicism. He likes to call ““Politically Incorrect’’ a ““cocktail party’’ – or, more accurately, "” “The McLaughlin Group’ on acid.’’ The formula is so simple even a programming executive could have thought of it. Gather four absurdly disparate guests, like, say: George Stephanopoulos, Charles Manson, Mother Teresa and Babe the Pig. Then establish a topic (dwarf tossing) and let the shouting begin. This is no ““Letterman’’ or ““Leno’’ lovefest. The celebs aren’t here to regurgitate press releases for their movie/book/sitcom. ““PI’’ generates real conversation – and heat. Jerry Brown shouts and spits like a madman whenever he comes on. Garry Shandling carved up Kato Kaelin like a Thanksgiving turkey when they were on together. And Maher was smart enough to let him.

The difference between these jokers and their ’60s counterparts – or a contemporary conservative sniper like P. J. O’Rourke – is that they’re nonideological. Maher says he’s ““all over the map’’ politically. ““It’s no good when they can pigeonhole you.’’ He’s a fiscal tightwad (now that he’s making a nice buck) and a liberal on social issues like abortion, but takes a ““fry the bastards’’ line on the death penalty. Miller, a pop-culture junkie who probably knows more about the Archies than Congress, defines himself as a ““pragmatist’’ and digs Bob Dole because, much like a professional comedian, ““he makes no effort to hide his disdain for people he thinks are bleeps.’’

Clintonista Franken is the most liberal of these stand-up satirists. But even he locates himself in the ““mushball middle’’ of the Democratic Party. Whatever lever you pull in the ballot box, there’s plenty of material to work with: Newt, Whitewater, Donna Shalala. On a post State of the Union edition of ““Politically Incorrect’’ last month, Franken went after Hillary-baiting Sena-tor D’Amato, arguing that ““having Al D’Amato head up an ethics investigation is like getting Bob Dornan to lead a mental-health task force.’’ The thing about Franken is, whenever he meets one of his hated Republican enemies – Dornan, Buchanan, Roger Ailes – he ends up liking them. A true Beltway insider, he doesn’t take politics personally. It’s a joke.