Funny Money

I'm taking a break from my "Mosaic Sadness" series to post about some recent newsy things that have caught my attention.

In November, 2008, I asked the following questions:

"What kind of world are we living in when it is the jesters of our society (Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Steven Colbert, The Onion, etc.) who are calling bullshit and the 'serious' professional journalists who are essentially taking dictation from the powers-that-be? What happens to the virtues of truth and questioning when the journalists who are not openly biased (as are Fox News, NY Post, Wall Street Journal editorial page, The Weekly Standard, etc.) only report the controversy, not the facts much less the context…?"

The jesters are at it again, and this time they mean business. In the wake of the outrage that was the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, comedian Steven Colbert set up a Super Political Action Committee: 'Stephen Colbert's Colbert Super PAC: Making a better tomorrow, tomorrow.' He demonstrated how Karl Rove was using his own American Crossroads Super PAC and 501(c)(4) corporation, Crossroads GPS, to, essentially, launder money from anywhere and anyone into the Republican campaign. Fact is, Rove's funny money could come from the Communist Chinese or the Russian Mafia or the Nazi-spawn Koch Brothers. Anyone who wants to influence our government and politics but wants to remain anonymous. Oh yeah, and has buttloads of money.

Here's a couple of telling clips from The Colbert Report:
  

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Colbert Super PAC - Trevor Potter & Stephen's Shell Corporation
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Trevor Potter is a real lawyer, a heavy-hitter, a former FEC official. Karl Rove objected to the besmirching of his otherwise spotless sterling reputation and Colbert responded here:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Colbert Super PAC SHH! - Apology to Ham Rove
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

[Poppa' Squat!] [Of course, to Wisdoc, there's not much that's funnier than Ham Rove.]

Colbert's Super PAC reported contributions close to $1 Million dollars as of Jan-30-12. That's real money and a real Super PAC. In fact, it bought political ads in the South Carolina Republican primary, even though the Super PAC was definitely NOT coordinating with Stephen Colbert's candidacy. They were run on TV there, but, more to the point, they got replayed over and over on the cable political talk shows. Chuck Todd, NBC's political director, apparently didn't get the point and caught a case of the vapors. [Here's a clue: Yes, Chuck, he's mocking you and the lameness of your reporting that gives credibility to self-promoting, conmen, joke candidates like Herman Cain and Donald Trump. And, yes, with unlimited, anonymous monies, anyone can disrupt any party with, GASP!, or without satire. That is precisely the problem. It's called 'dramatization'.]

At least somebody gets it. Here's Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Cal) own Stop Colbert video:

 

Stopping Colbert means stopping the pernicious role of Super PAC funny money in American politics. He's even been giving clues by running an ad saying how dangerous his own ads are.

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The lineage of this form of RealKomödie goes back, in my lifetime and memory at least, to the sad-sack Pat Paulson on the old Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

[Is that Henry Fonda narrating? You'll have to search out the remaining 5 parts on The YouTubes.]

Then, of course, there's this absurdist chestnut from the Pythons lampooning media coverage of the same:



[Yes, Chuck Todd, you dimwit, they mean you!]