Back in 1996 he was the headliner for the White House Correspondents dinner and even lefty commentators like Richard Cohen thought he did a poor job. His poor performance was completely blown away by President Bush and his alter ego Steve Bridges.
Yesterday an idiot congresswoman, Zoe Lofgren, called Colbert to testify before Congress...in character as his Bill O'Reilly clone. He basically mocked Congress and the American people (from Politico):
Amid a high stakes struggle to connect with voters, House Democrats turned Friday to celebrity comedian Stephen Colbert to highlight the plight of migrant farm workers.And then there's this:
He promptly returned the favor by turning Congress — specifically a Judiciary subcommittee — into his personal comedy club.
Ditching his “prepared” testimony, Colbert delivered a punch-lined discourse on his chief qualification as an expert on the issue: A 10-hour stint working the fields. Staying in the character of a faux TV newsman, he also threw in a few one-liners more suitable for a late-night show on Comedy Central or Cinemax than morning C-SPAN.
"No doubt we just locked up the Comedy Channel vote," Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis chided. "My opinion, we should forget social satirists. Given Congress' low approval, maybe we should invite the 'Glee' cast to perform next."
Colbert's antics certainly brought national attention to the hearing room, though it’s unclear whether anyone will remember the real point of the hearing — migrant workers in America — as much as they’ll remember the day the Colbert Circus came to Congress.
Colbert delighted in asking whether he could "submit video of my colonoscopy into the Congressional Record," talking about getting a Chilean to give him a "Brazilian" wax — a delicate-area hair-removal procedure. And he apologized to Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) for using the term "cornpacker" because it is "an offensive term for gay Iowans."
While Colbert might have killed it for his "nation" of TV followers, he bombed with political strategists and analysts in both parties.
For a Democratic majority that has had difficulty demonstrating to voters that its policies are addressing their needs, Colbert provided another day off message and, perhaps, an emblem of a party that has lost its footing as it limps toward a preelection adjournment.
David Corn, who writes for the liberal Mother Jones magazine, tweeted "Colbert is making a mockery of this hearing."
Republicans were more harsh.
"I thought top libs were out of touch elitists. Colbert's visit to Congress proved me right," Dan Gainor, vice president of business and culture for the conservative Media Research Center, told the world from his Twitter account.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was apprised ahead of time of Colbert's planned appearance by Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), praised his performance...John Podhoretz adds this:
This may have been the single biggest pointless blunder in American political history, and I am not kidding. With an election only five weeks from now in which Democrats are poised for major losses, this morning’s depiction of Congress as ludicrous dupes of a TV personality — which will be replayed for weeks — will make the analogistic point that the majority is unfit to be running things. How exactly will they argue otherwise?Democrats have always been enamored of celebrities. They can't seem to separate the celebrity from their performances and often confuse celebrity with significance. The disaster yesterday was the product of a hopelessly out-of-touch Democrat leadership which demonstrated their inability to deal with the nation's problems in a serious and thoughtful manner.
We're gonna fix that.
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2 comments:
I think he might be a joke that you don't get.
This was no joke; it was all staged. What you saw on TV was dog and pony show with Colbert. But what happened after he left is the real story (that the media won't report).
Cooroborating testimony was offered under oath to the COmmittee which indicates that the US Justice Dept. is purposely turning a blind eye to civil rights discimination/intimidation cases involving minority groups as the aggressors. Think the New Black Panthers in Philadelphia.
Now we must wait to see what becomes of this cooroborated tesitmony, vis a vis if any Inspector General office picks up on the leads (I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for any action).
But when viewed in this light, it makes perfect sense why Colbert was there. Colbert was just the smoke and mirrors to hide the real damage. And it worked. Have you even seen a story, let alone a headline, on this issue?
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