Stephen running for an election could be illegal? Really?! Running on both tickets could be construed as a violation of election laws? Really?! And having Doritos as a sponsor could be problematic when it comes to using election income? Really?! You know, there are wars going on in the world, and children losing health insurance and this is the best story you can come up with? Do you seriously think that Stephen likes Doritos THAT much? And did it ever occur to you that maybe this is for fun? Really?!
We’re three days into this election and I’m already sick of the “Is it real?” and “Is it legal?” angles of this story. To quote one of my favorite lines from ‘Galaxy Quest’, do they even *watch* the show?
From RadarOnline.com:
Does ‘Colbert ’08′ Break Federal Law?
By Nick Curran 10/18/07 4:32 PM…
An expert with experience in several prominent Republican campaigns says it looks like Colbert’s getting a corporate contribution from his Report in the form of air time and production costs—that’s prohibited by the Federal Election Commissions Act. “It’s something that I could see people raising,” said the former strategist. “If I was running against Colbert, I would raise this as a campaign issue.”
Viacom, parent company of Comedy Central, has been down this road before with the Showtime reality program The American Candidate, a program about fake presidential candidates in the 2004 elections. In that instance, they got their hotshot Washington attorneys on the case and asked the Federal Election Commission to provide an opinion as to whether or not the show fell under the Federal Election Commissions Act. The FEC said the show was good to go, but with strong reminders that corporations cannot make “any contribution or expenditure in connection with a federal election” and that “any cost incurred in covering or carrying a news story, commentary or editorial by any broadcast station (including a cable television operator, programmer, or producer), newspaper magazine, or other periodical publication, is not a contribution unless the facility is owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate.”
Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions owns The Colbert Report, but clearly Stephen runs the show. In other words, he’s toast.
In my opinion, a lot of people are acting as if Stephen and the Colbert Crew haven’t thought this through.
I was getting lunch, and Fox 5 had a segment about him. Everyone in the room was glued to the TV.
It’s got everyone’s panties in a bunch — in the good or bad way.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
:headdesk:
People are taking this so seriously. There’s really no need to; the satire of this whole “campaign” is so thick you could cut it with a knife. No serious presidential candidate would ever go about running a campaign in this manner.
People are also worried about the effect this will have on the elections. Again, I don’t think there’s much (if any) cause for concern. I imagine that Stephen and the TCR creative team have thought this out long and hard, and aren’t going to let this get out of hand.
And if people were to seriously vote for Stephen, I’d honestly question their integrity as voters. Especially since this is Stephen’s character that’s running.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
That people are giving him the attention he’s asking for is hilarious.
That he’s getting away with tweaking all the “serious” people’s noses is hilarious.
That he’s pulled out some arcane twist on the law (favorite son) and injected it into the conversation to further make the serious people scratch their heads & wonder AND make the it-getters more aware of the intricacies of election law (who knew how much it cost?) is very funny.
Underneath it all, I think he is dead serious and would carry it on through to the end. All being elected as favorite son means is that he can chose where SC’s delegates go OR he can defer that judgement to someone else. He will not be elected president, he’s not running for it & he knows it!
I also think he’s got incredibly smart people doing the research on exactly how to handle the Doritos endorsement & the legality of all the election issues. LOL pink pen & split-in-half Stephen! :-)
I think he’s doing it because a) that’s the kind of thing he does; b) for the publicity (he is trying to sell a book); c) to watch all the mice run around chasing their tails and talking about him; and d) to further his ability to help the good causes like Yellow Ribbon Fund & DonorsChoose & the Americone Dream fund.
Thank the heavens for Stephen Colbert! Blessings and peace be upon him & may he live long and prosper!!!
(sorry for the long post, I got a bit carried away! I don’t know if I’m correct, but it feels truthy to me…)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Honestly, I’m sure that TCR has lawyers working on this and they have done their research. It’s hilarious people acting as though he just jumped into it without a thought. I think him and the writers have an idea of what they could do and where they can go with this. And if it goes farther than they imagined, all the better and more hilarious!
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
The media may be reporting on the technicalities of his bid, but there’s no doubt that they’re loving this as well. Why else would Colbert be invited on Meet The Press..the longest running and most respected political show on TV, and just months before primary season?! They know viewers will prefer to see Colbert than John Edwards for the 10th time, and frankly they’re likely getting bored reporting the same old “Clinton v Obama” “Will Thompson Run?” stories. Now that being said, I could imagine some candidates getting slightly annoyed if their free air time is disappearing. They have to walk the fine line between staying “hip” and playing along, and not coming off dismissive/rude.
Boz
Colbert 2008
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I had this one in the zeitgeist this morning – they must be getting long enough that no one is reading them anymore. But I did try to list a variety of reactions to the whole candidacy and they range from the ridiculously serious to seriously it-getting funny.
The only way I see to look at it is through Stephen’s improv instincts – which means he’s thought it through to a point but no one knows where it’s going to go because he’s just waiting to see what happens and then to see what “Stephen” would do.
But in terms of a serious effect – a large part of the American public is learning about election laws, how primaries work, and the FEC. Not a bad side-effect for comedy.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
Yeah, I think that Stephen and the writers thought this through to a certain point, but now it’s about “discovery” and they’re probably just as eager as we are to see where and how far this can all go.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
the fact that the media is taking this too seriously or just playing along is killing me… seriously i have too many stiches… cant stop laughting
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
If you register to run on a real ticket in a real race, you’re gonna have to adhere to real laws. I don’t get why so many people are surprised that this is being taken seriously from a legal standpoint. Yeah, the campaign is a joke, but whatever the intentions are, rules are rules.
That said, I wish that REAL politicians would be held as accountable as fake ones are.
Shout Out (Hey!):
0
I have to admit feeling a bit irritated with people professing to be
Colbert fans who are upset with him for announcing his candidacy. As
if Stephen could somehow ‘ruin’ the messy shreds of our political
system. **insert serious eye rolling here** The Emperor has no
clothes on and I love Stephen dearly for pointing this out time and
time again. :)
Shout Out (Hey!):
0