The Colbert retort
Political satire, always handy in highlighting the absurd, is galloping to democracy’s rescue again.
Comedian Stephen Colbert reported last week that his unlimited fundraising group or “super PAC,” Americans for a Better Tomorrow, had raised more than $1 million dollars. Colbert asked for donations from viewers of “The Colbert Report,” and they responded.
Colbert’s aim is to highlight the absurdity of campaign finance law in general and a 2010 Supreme Court ruling in particular — the one that allows corporations and unions to raise limitless money to run campaign ads.
“We raised it on my show and used it to materially influence the elections — in full accordance with the law,” Colbert said in a press release. “It’s the way our founding fathers would have wanted it, if they had founded corporations instead of just a country.”