Stephen Colbert, host of the The Colbert Report, has paved the way for a presidential bid by transferring control of his political fundraising organisation to his former boss Jon Stewart.
Lampooning the campaign finance rules that permit such fundraising groups, known as super pacs, Colbert announced it would be renamed the "Definitely Not Coordinated with Stephen Colbert Super Pac."
The move potentially paves the way for Colbert to enter the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, his home state. Campaigning politicians are prohibited from simultaneously running super pacs, or political action committees.
Colbert merely hinted at such a decision, which he had hyped ahead of Thursday's show. He announced the formation of "an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina"
Stewart and Colbert discussed the peculiar legalities of their arrangement. With Colbert's lawyer, Trevor Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, they spelled out that while Colbert was legally forbidden from participating in strategy and advertising with the super pac, he could still talk about his plans on his TV show and even volunteer for the group.
Stewart declared Colbert vice-president of youth outreach for the super pac. Along with Potter, the three joined hands like a sports team and, with thick irony, cheered in unison: "Non-co-ordination!
Colbert has been using his super pac, launched in May 2011, to parody the electoral system's contradictions and potential conflicts of interest.
A Public Policy Polling survey released on Tuesday found Colbert is polling ahead of former Utah governor Jon Huntsman in South Carolina. According to the survey, Colbert has 5% of the vote and Huntsman has 4%.
Reading out the figures on his Wednesday show, Colbert said: "This just got real."
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| Indecision 2012 - Colbert Super PAC - Coordination Resolution with Jon Stewart | ||||
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No chance unless he gets some magic underwear.
Posted by: LegFuJohnson | January 17, 2012 at 02:01 PM