Colbert's Super PAC Sets New, Higher Standard

Stephen Colbert's terrible idea, the Colbert Super PAC, is again making a mockery of our campaign finance laws.

Wonderful!

The comedian/pundit launched a fresh appeal to "seduce the prudent" on Monday, seeking donations from corporations, unions, other groups, and individuals to aid his drive to "build a better tomorrow, tomorrow."

It's all "100 percent legal and at least 10 percent ethical," he promised.

Colbert delivered his pitch as he yukked it up on camera with conservative activist Sean Parnell, whose Center for Competitive Politics favors unlimited campaign spending, whether by corporations, unions, other groups or individuals.

But while Colbert and Parnell touted secret money on camera, a stream of donor names to Colbert Super PAC, listed in the order their money was received, crawled across the bottom of the TV screen like a stock ticker.

What a great example for other Super PACs, many of which apparently intend to exploit campaign finance laws that allow them to hide their donors! Perhaps secret money solicitors like the Democrats behind the new American Bridge and Majority PACs, as well as long-established conservative fundraisers like the Koch Brothers, the US Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove's "Crossroads GPS," will somehow be shamed by Colbert's gesture into going public with the names of their supporters.

After all, if Colbert's donors, supporters of a mock pundit who boasts that he may spend their money on things like a private jet and a private jet ski, are unembarrassed by disclosure, what do businesses, groups and individuals supporting real candidates have to fear from going public?

 

Follow Bob Edgar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BobEdgarCC

Comments

[Memo From Turner]

11:50 PM on 07/25/2011

I wish they would pull the plug on the "Heros" crawler. It was funny last week when he first did it, but at this point the show is becoming unwatchable for me.

[ruthtruth]

08:07 AM on 07/21/2011

The truth comes out in many different forms and Colbert is one who does it with humor. I love him.

[Jimtoday]

12:11 AM on 07/21/2011

Has anybody heard how much The Colbert PAC has raised so far? Disclosure, I sent $25 the minute I heard of it!

[Lorenzo Bonado]

11:42 AM on 07/22/2011

As a geeky estimate:

1 name every 2 sec on the crawl started on the Colbert Report Monday 18 July 2011
1320 sec per show (22 minutes)
4 shows a week
$1 minimum donation
----------------------------------
$2640/week minimum (estimated of course)

Assuming 60 weeks through the 2012 season, that's an estimated $158400 minimum!

Extending this projected figure to a theoretical $199.99 FEC maximum non-declarable individual donation, that's a theoretical FEC non-declarable maximum projection of $31,678,416 through the 2012 campaign season!

Not too shabby if the Colbert Nation can pull it off!! lol

[Lorenzo Bonado]

02:11 PM on 07/22/2011

Correction: The FEC non-declarable minimum is $50/individual donation so an adjusted theoretical FEC non-declarable figure of $7,920,000 through the 2012 campaign season (still not too shabby!)

[60cougar]

07:09 PM on 07/20/2011

Despite the wonderful satirical humor, I am confident that Colbert will use the money donated to his Super PAC for a worthy apolitical, non partisan cause.

[Json]

04:01 PM on 07/20/2011

I saw Robert Reich's name on the crawl.

[TitaniumAvatar]

03:20 PM on 07/20/2011

Colbert's not a Mod or a Rocker, he's a Mocker.

[JudeOnPolitics]

02:44 PM on 07/20/2011

Colbert for President...and the Senate, House of Representatives, & the Supreme Court.

[denise4925]

02:14 PM on 07/20/2011

Thanks for clearing up what he was doing. I was puzzled by the idea behind the Colbert Super-Pac.

[momoluvsu]

01:13 PM on 07/20/2011

Colbert is the Albert Einstein of comedy!! Way to go!!

[dch58]

12:25 PM on 07/20/2011

"Perhaps secret money solicitors like the Democrats behind the new American Bridge and Majority PACs, as well as long-established conservative fundraisers like the Koch Brothers, the US Chamber of Commerce and Karl Rove's "Crossroads GPS," will somehow be shamed by Colbert's gesture into going public with the names of their supporters."

I see no chance of this whatsoever. Those groups have no conscience and are therefore, immune to shame.

[open2facts]

09:28 AM on 07/20/2011

Stephen Colbert is a genius!

[kvanness]

11:11 AM on 07/20/2011

He could be a great politician. A true man of the people. Except that he still has his soul.

[caveman06]

11:53 AM on 07/20/2011

Well he did testify in front of Congress, he is also a comedian, which meant he sold his soul a while ago to entertain wonderful people like you. Sounds like a natural.

[olehippie]

08:15 AM on 07/21/2011

people like Colbert and Stewart do far more good doing what they are doing than getting trapped in the paralyzing political machine.

[firewmn]

09:27 AM on 07/20/2011

It's very unfortunate the corruption to our Election System STARTS at the Supreme Court level. The middle class does't have a chance but atleast we have humor to get through America's Implosion.

Colbert for President..!

[koyak23]

09:25 AM on 07/20/2011

My name was one of those that streamed across the screen.

I wonder if that is going to count towards my 15 minutes of fame...

[AtlantaBluebelle]

12:01 PM on 07/20/2011

My husband woke me up at 12:40 am to let me know my name had scrolled across.

[Json]

04:02 PM on 07/20/2011

The show airs at 11:30. Did he wait an hour just to wake you up?

[SeenItBefore]

12:54 PM on 07/20/2011

Absolutely!

[Javalation]

09:17 AM on 07/20/2011

Just as corporations spend billions in advertising, with an eye on making huge returns, they have found that they can get even greater returns investing in politicians and Supreme Court Judges. Since politicians are the individuals who make the rules, and know how to bend them, we may be stuck with guaranteed corruption for the rest of the life of the country. Only time will tell.

[FilthyHarry]

09:11 AM on 07/20/2011

The ultimate question: Why do I learn more from a clown's* 30 min show about our country's election finance laws than I do from all the news networks combined?

*I mean clown in the highest regard and was disappointed I didn't see my name on the donor scrawl.

[fritzomatic]

09:52 AM on 07/20/2011

I agree - a sad testament to our 'bleeds it leads' media. Let's spend another thousand hours on Casey Anthony. This is why I listen to NPR - more context for the news.

[Sagrimore]

12:06 PM on 07/20/2011

And yet NPR still uncritically repeats whatever talking point the Republicans are pushing that day, no matter who demonstrably false it is. All week they've been repeating the canard that both the Republicans and the White House are being intransigent.