January 14, 2012. Los Angeles. When comedian Stephen Colbert announced on-air that he was handing control of his Super PAC, ‘Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow’ to fellow Comedy Central comedian Jon Stewart, he did so with the stated intention of running for the Republican nomination for President. Federal law doesn’t allow a candidate to run a Super PAC and transferring control to Stewart is the first legal step in actually running.
Is it a joke?
This author would guess that even Stephen Colbert doesn’t know that answer for sure yet. Surely, he didn’t expect his humorous idea for a Super PAC called ‘Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow’ to become as phenomenally successful as it has. The comedian has simply ridden the wave of donations and publicity to this point, capitalizing on the ratings and notoriety along the way. And while Donald Trump and Sarah Palin have been accused of pretending to run for President in an attempt to improve their respective ratings, Stephen Colbert’s entry into politics began as an obvious joke, but may actually end up becoming serious.
In his announcement on his show The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert began by sarcastically ridiculing the country’s polarizing and almost insincere campaign system. “For almost a day” he began, speaking of South Carolina voters’, “crying out for someone who can restore our nation's former greatness to its current perfection."The comedian went on to explain, “America, that someone is now. I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina."
Second time’s a charm
This isn’t the first time Stephen Colbert has attempted to run for President. In 2007, he attempted to acquire ballot access for President in his home state of South Carolina. His attempt was unsuccessful because, as he explained, the Republican Party filing fee was too expensive and the Democratic Party blocked his attempt. This time around, by transferring his Super PAC to fellow comedian and friend Jon Stewart and by formally forming an exploratory committee, Colbert is setting himself up to make a legitimate run, if not a serious one.
Talk of a serious Colbert run for President became very real when Stephen Colbert’s name showed up ahead of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman in the most recent South Carolina Poll. Huntsman, a moderate Republican, finished third in last week’s New Hampshire primary, but isn’t expected to do well in the very evangelical deep south. “Clearly my fellow South Caroliniacs see me as the only Mitternative," Colbert said, “It all makes so much sense. My heart always leads me to me, and I am so not Mitt!”
Too late for South Carolina
In reality, it’s too late for Colbert to run in the South Carolina Republican primary. The filing deadline was November 1, 2011 and the state is not friendly to write-in candidates. That doesn’t mean the comedian can’t run for President. To impartial viewers, Colbert seems more like an independent than a Republican anyway. And a serious campaign for President as an independent wouldn’t have to begin until later this spring.
Ironically, when the independent voters’ website Whiteout Press polled its readers for their favorite choices for President, Stephen Colbert was the only of the three comedians who didn’t get any votes. Jon Stewart raked in the most, with Bill Maher also collecting some votes. Read the Whiteout Press ‘Guide to Independent Candidates for President 2012’ for a complete list. If Colbert decides to trade his pursuit of the Republican nomination for the independent party line, he may just find a serious army of independent voters ready and waiting.
Jon Stewart
In accepting the reigns of the Colbert Super PAC, Jon Stewart sarcastically announced in a press release, “the group, which has been known colloquially as Colbert Super PAC, can now be referred to as The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC.” The press release from the Super PAC went on to joke, “I am excited to take the reins of this completely independent organization, and begin to air ads in South Caroina,” said New President and Noncommunication Director Jon Stewart, “But I want to be clear: Stephen and I have in no way worked out a series of morse-code blinks to convey information with each other on our respective shows.”
While there is no official Colbert for President campaign website as of yet, there is a Stephen Colbert for President 2012 Facebook page. Time will tell just how serious the comedian is about a run for the White House. With the field of candidates currently vying for the office, including the current occupant, anything’s possible.
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