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Vote ‘no’ on Colbert
Comedian’s antics have no place in politics
By Amanda Moucha
I'm sure the majority of the college community would have supported Colbert wholeheartedly in taking the Oval Office by storm, but would it have been the right choice?
A comedian running for president might have been the plot of Robin Williams’ movie “Man of the Year,” but it turned into reality when extreme right-wing satirist Stephen Colbert cast his bid for the 2008 election.
This came after weeks of jokes about being “pressured" to run by the public and stating that he would first need a sign to run. The legitimacy of his campaign was questioned, but he maintained that he was serious.
Colbert had originally planned to run for both the Republican and Democratic nominations in his home state, South Carolina. He deserted plans of running on the Republican ballot after learning the filing fee for the Republican primary was $35,000, and instead paid $2,500 to be placed on the Democratic ballot.
He dropped his bid after the South Carolina Democratic Party’s Executive Council voted 13-3 to keep the comedian off the state’s primary ballot.
I'm sure the majority of the college community would have supported Colbert wholeheartedly in taking the Oval Office by storm, but would it have been the right choice?
One purpose of his campaign was to make a mockery of the political process, while poking a few sticks at the political elite.
His run for candidacy was a self-promoting media stunt to sell his new book, “I Am America (And So Can You!),” while extending his television persona into real-life politics. This left me less than amused.
Recent polls showed in a match-up against Republican candidate Ron Paul, Colbert would win 36-32%. In a match up against Democratic candidate Dennis Kucinich, Colbert would win 37-32%.
While I admit neither Paul nor Kucinich are anywhere near qualified to be president, at least they have some experience in government. It’s disappointing that voters would support Colbert, who was recently quoted saying, “I don’t actually want to win, I just want to fuck with people.”
If Colbert were on the ballot, while he may not have won, he could have had a damaging impact on the overall election by taking away votes from the primary candidates.
He would have generated three categories of people voting for him: those who think he would be a good president, those who cast a vote just to oppose the top Republican and Democratic contenders, and those who think the whole process is a joke, so they vote for the joke.
What scares me the most is not the lack of political knowledge or expertise, but the possibility that his campaign could have turned ugly. Images of “Man of the Year” keep flashing through my mind.
Williams was funny in the movie, but the comedy was too much, and in the end Williams’ character resigned from his falsified presidency.
The other images that go hand-in-hand with the Colbert campaign include constant slander and negative feedback from the other candidates and the public not taking him seriously. He needs to get out to the public and show them that he means business – that it’s not just another TV show.
If he is going to get my vote, he needs to leave the comedy on the set and step out into reality with what he stands for. Maybe then I'll consider writing out a check to him.
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