Colbert funny -- and not: students

By Jesse Wright

The freedom to vote has created a strong foundation for U.S. democracy.

That’s nothing to make fun of, some say.

However, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” was mocking the democratic system – until Thursday, when he was denied a spot on South Carolina’s Democratic Party's Presidential primary ballot.

Best known for his “Colbert Report” on cable’s Comedy Central, where he spoofs Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and makes fun of politicians, pundits and other newsmakers, Colbert announced on Oct. 16 that he would sign papers to get his name on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots for South Carolina.

Colbert said he wanted to lose not once, but twice, in his native state.

But besides the Democratic rejection, Colbert failed to file for or pay the $35,000 GOP entry fee for the chance to appear on the Republican ballot in South Carolina.

Students at the Green/Libertarian meetings Thursday seemed to feel that the fact that Colbert was running in only one state, and couldn’t possibly win, showed that the stunt served no purpose besides trying to be a funny running gag – and a potential sinkhole for votes.

Some students even said they’d favor Federal Election Commission rules somehow guaranteeing that candidates genuinely compete for office.

“He shouldn’t be running is he’s not running in every state,” said freshman Don Bell. “He’s making a mockery of the democratic system, and it’s unfair to all other candidates.”

Colbert’s main purpose was to get a laugh, of course, and perhaps to boost his TV ratings or the sales of his new book, I Am America (And So Can You) – already Number 1 on the New York Times’ best-seller list.

But there were risks, too.

Some said his phony candidacy nevertheless technically violated Federal Election Commission (FEC) prohibitions on “in-kind” contributions, since Comedy Central or its parent company, Viacom, were donating something of value to candidate Colbert: airtime. Also, a federal “equal-time” rule requiring broadcasters to treat political candidates equally could have created the possibility of any other Presidential candidate demanding equal time on Comedy Central. (In fact, NBC-TV has stopped airing episodes of Law & Order featuring actor and GOP Presidential hopeful Fred Thompson.)

On the other hand, this is nothing new.

The art form of getting laughs or publicity through a Presidential bid is a time-tested approach that has been used by the likes of radio comic Gracie Allen, who ran in 1940 as a candidate from the Surprise Party (proclaiming that she wouldn’t be using a Vice President since she wouldn’t tolerate vice in the White House).

In 1968, another comedian, Pat Paulsen, ran for President, frequently appearing on CBS-TV’s variety show “The Smothers Brothers.” More recently, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry threw his hat into the ring.

WIU students conceded that in a day and age when “The Terminator” is California’s Governor and Republicans venerate former President and ex-actor Ronald Reagan, celebrity counts.

“The campaign is based on image,” said WIU freshman Ryan Hamilton. “Name recognition is more important than the candidates’ policies.”

Colbert has the ability to make everybody laugh at the humorous aspects of U.S. politics, but the joke maybe went too far.