The FEC just approved Stephen Colbert's super-PAC, according to Think Progress.
Today, comedian Stephen Colbert attended a Federal Elections Commission (FEC) hearing to make his case for “Colbert Super PAC,” a political action committee created to highlight the 2010 Citizens United decision that opened the flood gates to corporate money in elections. In a 5 to 1 vote, the FEC board is allowing Colbert to form his PAC.
Looks like Think Progress got it a little wrong. Here's the National Journal version.
The Federal Election Commission has approved an advisory opinion that will allow comedian Stephen Colbert to use funds from a media conglomerate to create advertisements for his independent expenditure-only political action committee.
But the commission voted, by a five to one margin, that those advertisements could not be run outside of Colbert's show, opting for the most narrow interpretation of the media exemption out of three drafts presented to commission members.
The decision is the closest campaign finance reform advocates could have come to a win. Reform advocates had worried that Colbert's request, apparently made in an effort to spotlight unregulated money flowing to so-called Super PACs, could have instead widened loopholes those PACs were already exploiting.
Business Insider calls the FEC Colbert's "straight man," and has this:
According to a tweet from POLITICO's Ken Vogel, Colbert said after the ruling was announced that serious media personalities owe him for paving the way for them to plug political groups on the air.
"I think I should get bouquets of flowers from @KarlRove ... & @SarahPalinUSA if she stays on Fox," he said.
On his show last night, Colbert said he will make his ads "less responsible," than other campaign ads on television.
WaPo tries to convince its readers that the FEC takes its job seriously (yeah, right!) and reports:
In a meeting devoid of anything beyond a gentle chuckle, the FEC decided that Colbert could go ahead with his plans to form a self-titled “super PAC” that could raise and spend unlimited money on the 2012 elections. ...
...Colbert himself said very little during the hearing, leaving most of the talking up to his attorney, Trevor Potter, and to FEC commissioners.
Meaning there were almost no jokes at all.
“If we had viewed this as just a funny request, that would have been a lot easier,” said Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic FEC member.
The real parody came outside the FEC building, where Colbert began accepting donations from fans for the newly registered “Colbert Super PAC.”
“Some people have said, ‘Is this some kind of joke?’ ” Colbert told the crowd. “I for one don’t think participating in democracy is a joke.”
In truth, Colbert may have been one of the few people in Washington yesterday who doesn't treat democracy as a joke.
