Represent.Us, an organization that seeks to "end the culture of legalized corruption that has come to define modern politics," has put up fake candidate Gil Fulbright to run for the U.S. Senate from Kentucky.
Fulbright's most comprehensive ad is as follows:
Hi, I'm Gil Fulbright. The people who run my campaign, they've made this commercial -- and I'm in it. This campaign -- it's not about me, it's about crafting a version of me that will appeal to you. A version that visits random worksites with paid actors pointing at things. A version of me that doesn't find old people loathsome or pointless. As a conventionally attractive yet curiously still family. Listening to my constituents, legislating -- these are things I don't do. What I do is spend about 70 percent of my time raising funds for re-election. I'll do anything to stay in office -- my name's Gil Fulbright but hell I'll change my name to Phil Gulbright, or Bill Fulbright or Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts. These are the things that are important to me, and these are the fine people that finance my campaign. Now in order to do these things I have to stay in office, and to stay in office -- I have to keep these guys happy. Now if any of these things make these guys unhappy, well my hands are tied. So come November the choice is clear -- do you want another spineless mouthpiece for special interests and lobbyists or a spineless mouthpiece for special interests and lobbyists? I'm Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts and I approve this message.
Fulbright already has his own website, Facebook page and Twitter account.
Though Fulbright is not an actual candidate, Represent.Us has already surpassed its goal of raising $20,000 to help put ads for him on television and radio.
The organization's board of advisers includes many advocates for limiting the influence of money in politics, such as Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig, 2012 presidential candidate and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and infamous ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The effort echoes a previous venture by comedian and future "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert, who created his own super PAC during the 2012 election cycle.
HuffPost Pollster, which combines all publicly available polling data, has Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leading Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) ahead of the Bluegrass State's November general election:
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