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The Federal Election Commission today voted 5-1 to approve Colbert’s political action committee, giving him a shot at doing what political types such as Bush strategist Karl Rove and former Obama aide Bill Burton are already doing to finance TV ads ahead of next year’s elections.
Colbert sought a so-called media exemption that would allow him to use airtime, staff and other resources from The Colbert Report for the super PAC so that Viacom Inc., Comedy Central’s parent company, wouldn’t have to disclose them as in-kind contributions.
Given the size and loyalty of Colbert’s fan base, he could probably turn his Super PAC into a significant political force if he wanted to.
I still can’t tell if his Super PAC is an amazing long-term performance art piece that he will use to help educate the country about the current state of politics, or if its success getting approved is just another sad verification of our political system’s rapid downward spiral into total corporate control. Only time will tell.
One thing is sure though, we are our now living in the new political age of the corporate funded Super PAC.
36 Comments
This will be fun.
Did Colbert make the finger-drawn-across-the-throat gesture to the one recalcitrant commissioner who voted against him, as he suggested to his attorney (and former FEC head, it helps to have the former head on your team I guess!) Trevor Potter he would do, last night on his wee programme?
Fox News. You are now on notice. Stephen Colbert can out-conservative the shit out of you.
I for one welcome our new comedic overlord.
It’s clear that Fox news is terrified of comedians. Look at how they assigned their entire network to attack Jon Stewart after he made a mockery of their propaganda machine. Colbert totally freaks them out. I’m sure they like his show persona but that’s because they don’t realize he’s mocking them. Roger knows, his idiot talking head tards don’t.
Seconded. This will be really interesting. I’m hoping that the ads he runs are over the top conservative, parody, that mocks the right wing worldview and such.
I’m actually kinda excited. Maybe I’ll give him five bucks just to see what happens.
Hear, hear, LooHoo…! Maybe he’ll finally gain traction within the piss-poor trailer-park whites, that collectively vote against their own best interests… Hopefully, he can force them to truly open their eyes…! *g*
Did I just kill the thread…?
It might just be an interesting and eye-opening experiment in just how money can buy votes.
I’m trying to comprehend the values of the FEC Commissioners who voted for this. Just as I’m still processing the Citizen’s United decision.
If it’s true that these ‘tards don’t know Colbert is a send up of conservatives, it might be because of some genetic defects we end up with so many souls who just cannot comprehend what they are doing to others.
Comedy Central’s parent company, wouldn’t have to disclose them as in-kind contributions.
I think Fox News beat Colbert to the punch on forming a Super Pac that does not have to reveal in kind contributions. Of course how would we know if they did?
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/ohio-study-finds-conservatives-believe
Ohio study finds conservatives believe that Stephen Colbert dislikes liberalism
“Ohio State University did a study on The Colbert Report and found something very interesting.
Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements.
Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism. Finally, a post hoc analysis revealed that perceptions of Colbert’s political opinions fully mediated the relationship between political ideology and individual-level opinion.
As the Political Wire put it: Many Conservatives Don’t Think Colbert is Joking
I guess they really do live in an alternate reality.”
Jon Stewart should bring his show to Prime time there is nothing on tv most nights and he would blow Fox News out of the water with the ratings. Plus make even more money I am surprised Comedy Central has not done this before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
You can’t care about others until your own basic needs are met. The GOP has proven you can blame others for you not meeting your needs. The GOP rules the 30%ers with scapegoats.
*heh* From the Heart of the Rust Belt…!
Hadn’t a large chunk of respondents, nationwide, also deemed the Stewart/Colbert report, more reliable than our conventional MSM, recently…? ;-)
Great even humor can’t reach them:( Time to up the Snark!
Whats the latest on the Peace Flotilla?
Money buys votes. Money only listens to voters if they are convinced we will fight and they will lose.
Maybe we should form a PAC so we can bribe politicians legally?
OT
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/02/990863/-Fukushima-Facts-Reveal-Ongoing-Dangers-in-Japan,-US?via=siderecent
I think the Japanese will stop whaling.
Fox News did create a super-PAC. That, like Colbert’s filing, is public record. And for Colbert, inspiration.
I believe so.
Stewart’s ratings are higher than Fox.
I guess that makes sense in this America.
Seriously!!! is that even possible.
It’s Colbert, for bloody sakes. And they think …
Oh hell, do they think?
Exactly, The very basics that have to be met; Food, Shelter, Water, and, Safety, all of which has been seriously threatened for far too many, of late…! 8-(
Thanks for the information. Now we need hackers to find out who the donor’s are any bets Glen Beck’s former advertiser’s gave after they stopped giving to Glen?
Thanks for the link.
But let’s be clear, that whole area is FUBARed. I’m not even talking about the people.
Whaling??? Who the F cares about whaling. Forget fishing. Forget growing things on land. That whole area is FUBARed.
When school children have to wear radiation detectors, that’s Fing game over man.
I mean, what are the children, with developing and thus susceptible nervous and immune systems, going to do? The only realistic option is to move. Good luck to them with that.
Sorry for the anger, I want to see Tepco and the Japanese govt. get theirs. And get it real …
There are a lot of folks whose needs are not being met who don’t believe in scapegoating. That’s why the demographics of Democratic voters show that those with the lowest incomes tend to vote Democratic. The bulk of the Republican electorate are predictably middle-class, relatively comfortable if not well off relative to others around them. It just takes 55% of voters for a state to be assigned a “safe state” label for either party. That means that the 25% of voters from families who are experiencing hard times are likely to be outvoted by those who are trying to make ends meet by not paying as much in taxes.
Can we up the Snark? Well it would take work. But if humor fails Mockery might work we convince them that no even if we had power we would not want to be like them.
It worked for the Church when Rome was sending them to the lions before the church in time became corrupt.
I do have an update… Audacity of Hope’s Captain is Jailed… ;-)
I suspect Japan might have to be evacuated at some point.
The GOP is afraid of Obama doing what FDR did Orin Hatch said as much when O was first elected. To bad O folded.
You can almost list the biggest donors already. Just look at who’s funded all the hit jobs for the past 25 years. And then add in the PACs that want to launder money through a super-PAC.
What you don’t know is the amount. So folks who are under attack from these super-PACs don’t know how much they have to raise to gain parity.
And because most of the money goes to media buys, election years become even bigger Christmases for media companies. And that might explain why Fox News and even Viacom might not be averse to their “talent” having a super-PAC.
When progressives find a way to win that does not involve media buys, we will have a significant comparative advantage. One would think that at some point the public would rebel against this carpet bombing of their attention and seeding doubts that cause them to vote contrary to their original intentions. But it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe Colbert’s effort will deconstruct the messages enough that folks start to be conscious of how they are being played.
If Japan is evacuated nuclear power is dead so dead GE I am sure will beg to build plants in Iran and North Korea.
Microsoft will demand first crack at hiring Sony and Nintendo workers to make the next X box compatible with the X-Box.
GM and Ford will grab Toyota and Honda engineers the oil companies will work to deny them visas Saudi Arabia will offer them Visa’s but never let them work on a car again.
The housing crisis will be over. Poor countries that are moving up like Brazil will offer them everything and pay guys like Pat Buchanan and Glen Beck to up the hate on the new immigrants so that many will come to Brazil, Russia, China etc.
We already won the court of public opinion on ending both wars, taxing the rich more, not cutting SS and Medicare we just don’t have the cash to buy our elite ruling class.
If we can’t win with elections well I expect the GOP to very soon start being very pro gun control.
And because most of the money goes to media buys, election years become even bigger Christmases for media companies…
Therein, lies the rub…! Just imagine if the FCC forced the MSM to air, as free PSA’s, the local ads the Candidates feel necessary to run for office… Any level, should they file…? ;-)
Yeah right. The Democrats represent the working class. We’re just white trash to y’all. Nobody represents us in Washington. That’s why most of us don’t vote.
I hear Viacom’s CEO got around $84 million recently. Maybe he could pony up some dough for Colbert?