“I like talking about people who don’t have any power. And this seems to be [about] people without any power,” he said, arguing that migrant workers “don’t have any rights.” … “We invite there here and ask them to leave,” he said. – ABC News
Stephen Colbert went to Congress to get attention focused on migrant workers. But he did something else, too. He made a mockery of the Legislative Branch, which so deserved this brilliant comedian’s derision for the feckless institution it has become.
Republican Rep. Lamar Smith was the unwitting sap who took the bait. Via ABC News:
Colbert’s sarcasm continued when he was questioned by lawmakers. Asked by the panel’s ranking Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, how many workers had joined him during his day on the New York farm, Colbert replied, “I didn’t take a count. I’m not good at math.” When Smith asked how many of them were illegal, Colbert replied, “I didn’t ask them for their papers, although I had a strong urge to.”
Smith asked Colbert if that one day on the farm made him an expert. Colbert replied, “I believe one day of me studying anything makes me an expert.”
And asked if he endorsed GOP policies, Colbert said, “I endorse all Republican policies without question,” prompting Smith to thank Colbert for his endorsement of the Republicans’ just-unveiled Pledge to America.
Smith asked if working in the apple orchard was hard work. “It is harder work than this,” Colbert shot back, referring to his appearance before Congress.
“It is harder work than this.” You got that right, especially since most legislators spend time ducking the hard fights.
But it’s Colbert’s quote in the title that hits what’s going on far beyond Capitol Hill, representing the energy fueling the midterm elections. People are sick of Congress not listening, putting political party or a president, whether Bush or Obama, ahead of the voters’ needs, with the fury finally catching fire.
In his wake, Stephen Colbert left a mess, with his tour de force performance for Pres. George W. Bush the foreshadowing of what can happen to unwitting pols. Rahm warned them. So, there was Democrats squabbling, with Conyers asking Colbert to leave, then retracting, while Republican self-righteousness was hoisted on Colbert’s sharpened petard.
“Republicans are concerned that I will make light of the responsibility of governance? That I will someway impede the smooth flow of the governing of this country? I take exception with that,” he said in mock outrage Thursday. – Colbert appearance causes mixed feelings
Stephen Colbert impede Congress’s ability to govern the country? Hilarious. …all evidence to the contrary. Their incompetence is their own.
