What if stephen colbert was president

Colbert's political activity this year -- forming a super PAC, running ads in Iowa, testifying before Congress -- has primarily been about illustrating the boring but important issue of how corporations have been given near unlimited ability to influence elections. So, we wouldn't totally rule out another announcement by Colbert to send up the legal fiction that super PACs are "uncoordinated" from the candidates they support -- but his lawyers are probably checking it out thoroughly first.

And so will every other attorney who works in campaign finance. Every election lawyer in the country is watching Colbert," said Kappel. Hasen, for his part, predicts Colbert will make a surprise endorsement for former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic.

Your Turn is a unique section from ThePrint featuring points of view from its subscribers. If you are a subscriber, have a point of view, please send it to us. Some may find this an exercise in futility, others an act of frivolity. Nevertheless, I write this piece in an attempt to assuage my disappointment at being let down by my favourite television comedy show host. To put that period in perspective, it was four years of insanity and incredulity that was the Donald Trump presidency.

The silver lining of his term was the fodder he used to provide to the late-night talk show hosts with his faux pas and tweets, and the fervour with which they milked it for comedy gold. I used to double over laughing watching his over-the-top Trump impressions and these videos were sure-shot stress busters for me.

He was also vocal and sensitised to many social causes like gun control, the MeToo movement, and vaccine hesitancy. However, things have changed since Joe Biden took over. Can you possibly win the nomination being on the ballot in one state? It's not likely.

And, as in past years, Smaragdis said he expects that number to rise even higher as the election draws closer. And even if he wanted to switch allegiances now, the faux-conservative Colbert has missed his chance, as the filing period for presidential candidates to get on the Republican ballot in the state ended at 5 p. If he hadn't balked at the high price of candidacy, Colbert might have made it an even dozen, Godfrey added, because "any candidate who meets the constitutional requirements, the federal election requirements and files the appropriate paperwork and pays the fees can be on our ballot.

But for comedian Stephen Colbert, who announced his plans to "explore" a presidential bid in South Carolina earlier this week, it's not the long hours of campaigning or the intense public scrutiny that weighed against his decision to run, it was giving up control of his Super PAC.

Do you know how hard it is to give away a baby? Now imagine if that baby had a whole lot of money. Imagine how much harder that would be to give away. Colbert is using his faux bid for the White House to draw attention to new campaign finance laws that allow unnamed donors to pour unlimited funds into super PACs, which can spend that money to support political candidates as long as they do not directly coordinate with a candidate.

That just means more speech than ever before in South Carolina. Gingrich has said any untrue statements should be removed from the ad, but, because the PAC does not coordinate with Gingrich, it has refused to re-edit the ads, which some say stretch the truth about Romney's time at Bain Capital.