COLBERT 2012

As the upcoming presidential election is heating up, I've turned to the Colbert report to be my daily news source on the election. I always have the channel 9 news on every morning as I'm getting ready for school, so I'm slightly informed of whats going on in Cedar Rapids. I think everyone should watch the news; if you ever find yourself in an awkward situation and you have nothing to talk about, you can bring up something to heard on TV. I wanted to be more informed about the election, so I started watching The Daily Show with John Stewart and The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert gained my respect when I heard that in the state of South Carolina, a write in ballot has him with 5% in the GOP Primary, which puts him ahead of John Huntsman who currently has 4%. Colbert has been making jokes at Super PACS (political action committee) for months now. A Super PAC is an organization that can raise unlimited sums of money from businesses or individuals for a campaign. Super PACS are controversial because they are obviously created to financially support a candidate WAY past federal campaign limits. While most PACS are created to support a candidate, some are created with their own agenda in mind, and offer financial support to a someone in exchange for legislation to benefit the company. In the 2008 election, the Laborers Union of North America created a PAC that raised over 2.5 million dollars. Of course, the Laborers Union of North America wouldn't donate their funding to a candidate who's agenda would restrict rights of workers or only benefit the wealthy. They raised that money for a reason, to help out the candidate that will get them what they want. But this is nothing new, its been going on in politics basically forever. Colbert created his own SUPER PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow. 

Colbert formally filed a request with the Federal Election Commission to allow media coverage of the operations of the PAC. He has actually gained some funding for the PAC, although the value is unknown. Colbert says the money will not exclusively be used for political ads, but also "luxury hotel stays,  private jet travel, and PAC mementos from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus." I really respect Colbert as a journalist and comedian. Most comedians would stick to just making jokes and observations, but Colbert sets himself apart from the rest by going out there and creating a federally acknowledged group just to make fun of others. Its a risk, he's dealing with other peoples actual money (I admire anyone who would donate to that cause) and there's always a chance of being prosecuted, because PACS are not supposed to be run by a candidate. This was cleared up by Colbert's lawyer, so he appointed Jon Stewart to take over control of his SUPER PAC. This switch of power was shown on Thursdays episode of the Colbert Report.