 Congressional candidate Elizabeth Colbert-Busch will be joined by well-known brother Stephen and other family at a campaign event this Sunday. A prayer breakfast starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24 at the ILA Hall ( 1142 Morrison Rd. in North Charleston). Doors will open at 7:30 a.m. Rev. McKinley Washington Jr. will preside at the event. While breakfast service is limited to the first 250 who arrive, Colbert-Busch and Stephen Colbert will personally address other attendees from a parade float in the parking lot. The meal will be served by Island Catering, and the float for parking lot address comes from Parade Floats by Allen. Interested persons can RSVP and learn a little more about the event at its facebook page. Later that same Feb. 24, Colbert-Busch will be keynote speaker at the 2nd annual awards show of the Lowcountry Black Historical Society. She's also one of 11 to receive award from the organization.
 Association with a well-known name can be a plus to any political candidate, especially when that name covers politics on national television.
A recent episode of “The Colbert Report” made that clear, albeit sarcastically, when Charleston-native Stephen Colbert promoted the campaign of his sister. (See video below.)
Elizabeth Colbert-Busch is a Democratic candidate in the upcoming special election for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
On his political-humor series, Colbert farcically assumes the role of a hard-core, right-wing Republican, pointing out self-defeating idiosyncrasies of today’s GOP.
Remaining in character, he swore Colbert-Busch “no free air time!” – but in a four-minute segment of the February 6 episode, in which he also attacked many Republican candidates for the office.
| “As a broadcast journalist, I am obligated to maintain pure objectivity. It doesn’t matter that my sister is intelligent, hardworking, compassionate and dedicated to the people of South Carolina.
“I will not be mentioning any of that on my show,” he smirked. | | Colbert went on to sarcastic endorsement of Mark Sanford, explaining “I’m a family-values conservative” as his basis of support of the former governor, who in 2009 was caught in a now-infamous extramarital affair. Sanford currently appears in the lead of the GOP’s 16-candidate pool for the office. Last December after Jim DeMint announced he was stepping down, political activists created a “Draft Stephen Colbert for Congress” website sarcastically calling for the comedian to take the Senate seat. The comedian had a plurality lead in a survey conducted that month by Public Policy Polling. In December 2011, Colbert attempted to have his name included in South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary. Unsuccessful in getting on the ballots, his PAC distributed humorous advertisements poking fun at the other candidates, and Colbert suggested voters select Herman Cain, who’d already withdrawn from the race. Elizabeth Colbert-Busch announced her candidacy for the special election on Jan. 18. On the night of this broadcast, Colbert-Busch and primary opponent Martin Skelly both spoke at the Charleston Labor Council's monthly meeting.
 (photo by Taylor Hilll/Getty Images) Gov. Nikki Haley should pick comedian Stephen Colbert to replace resigning Sen. Jim DeMint, say South Carolina voters in a recent poll. Conducted Dec. 7-9 by Public Policy Polling, the Comedy Central network star and South Carolina native was selected by 20 percent, a plurality in the field of nine names mentioned. The registered voter respondents were asked to choose between Colbert, Rep. Jeff Duncan, Rep. Trey Gowdy, former state Attorney Gen. Henry McMaster, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, Rep. Tim Scott, Rep. Joe Wilson, former Gov. Mark Sanford, and Sanford’s ex-wife Jenny Sanford. Eleven percent chose “someone else/not sure.” Colbert might have done better if respondents were more familiar with him, it seems. A separate question asking for personal opinions of the comedian found that 30 percent regard him favorably and 32 percent unfavorably, while a plurality of 38 percent simply don’t know him. When the 520 respondents are broken down demographically, Colbert’s reception scored highest from Democrats and independents/third party members, voters who chose Obama in the recent presidential election, and respondents who identify themselves as liberal/very liberal. More women than men supported Colbert assuming the senate seat, as did a majority of those of non-white, non-black ethnicity. When Colbert is removed from the listing, PPP respondents next chose Jenny Sanford, who stated she was recently contacted by Gov. Haley’s office as one potential candidate. “If asked, I’d seriously consider accepting the offer,” Sanford said. When her name joins Colbert’s in removal from the listing, Scott is selected by 19 percent of respondents, followed by McMaster (17 percent) and Gowdy (15). A plurality of 28 percent was left undecided when choosing from that pool of candidates, however. In Examiner’s poll, Scott led with 23.8 percent. Colbert was tied for third with state Sen. Tom Davis and Gov. Haley, each with 14 percent, and even though Colbert wasn’t specified in the listing. Joining Colbert in write-ins for the Examiner poll was Linda Ketner, the 2008 Democratic candidate for the 1st congressional district, who was added by 4.8 percent of respondents. Haley has narrowed down her listing of potential senate replacements to Jenny Sanford, Scott, Gowdy, McMaster, and Catherine Templeton, director of the state Dept. of Health and Environmental Control, according to CNN. Templeton was selected by 9.5 percent of Examiner’s poll respondents, but wasn’t included in the PPP poll. On Dec. 6, DeMint announced he’d resign in January to become president of the Heritage Foundation.
After all of yesterday’s rumors and jokes about him filling in for resigning Sen. Jim DeMint, a local website hopes to turn comedian Stephen Colbert’s congressional bid into reality. A “Colbert for Congress” website, produced by Mt. Pleasant’s Harbor Light Media, quickly went online with the tagline “if our representation is going to be a joke, it should at least be funny.” The petition on the site is quite real, though; signers receive emails with a link to confirm validity. As of 11 a.m. EST, 325 names were accepted on the petition. “The residents of South Carolina have been suffering long enough and it’s time for someone to put us out of our misery,” the site’s homepage reads. “Many have tried and failed and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the only person for the job is Stephen Colbert.” Colbertforcongress.com also includes specific supporting arguments geared to Democrats, Republicans and independents. The incumbent senator announced his resignation yesterday morning. DeMint will become president of the Heritage Foundation in January. That leaves South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to fill the seat with a replacement for the next two years. Secret sources and government insiders have dropped the names of Rep. Tim Scott, former state Attorney Gen. Henry McMaster, state Sen. Tom Davis and countless others as DeMint’s replacement. | National media were quick to promote the Comedy Central show host, though, as the comedian himself acknowledged on last night’s Colbert Report.
“Now, folks, I’m not going to sit here and say that I should be South Carolina’s next senator, not when so many other people are saying it for me,” Colbert said in character.
| | He asked viewers to tweet @nikkihaley messages supporting his appointment with the hashtag of “#SenatorColbert”. A native of the state, Colbert made humorous attempts to run in South Carolina’s presidential primary races in 2008 and 2012, but didn’t appear on the ballots in either year. Rumors that sister Elizabeth Colbert-Busch was being recruited to run for the 1st Congressional District circulated earlier this year, too. The director of business development for the Clemson University Restoration Institute, Colbert-Busch didn’t enter the race.
 Ads for his political campaign might not have appeared on local television, but his pseudo-presidential bid has certainly been a hit on the Internet, and his video advertisements have even been included on national news shows. And tomorrow, Stephen Colbert is taking his “Cain for President” campaign right to the people with an event at the College of Charleston. Billed the “Rock Me Like a Herman Cain: South Cain-olina Primary Rally,” the event starts at 1 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20 at the Cistern by Randolph Hall. Entrance to the area begins at noon. The national historic landmark faces northwest off of St. Philip St, between Calhoun and George Sts (see campus map). "Herman is the only former candidate who truly shares my values,” Colbert said in a press release. “It's like our values were separated at birth. And our ethics are at least first cousins."The release also insinuates Cain himself will also appear. Describing the event on last night’s episode of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, the Charleston native said “there will be speeches, there will be cheerleaders, there will be a marching band and a gospel band.” Since Sunday evening, his “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” Super PAC has been releasing new humorous videos on the upcoming GOP primary election in South Carolina on a daily basis. Four have been issued so far. The second video advertisement in that series announced endorsement for Herman Cain, the former Republican presidential candidate who ended his campaign in early December. While no longer a candidate, Cain’s name will still appear on South Carolina ballots. Last night’s comedic ad attacked Colbert himself, encouraging viewers to vote for Cain in protest. Colbert formed his political action committee with sarcastic intent in 2010, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court issued ruling that such organizations could not be restricted in their attempted influence on elections. Declaring himself an exploring candidate (for the office of “President of the United States of the State of South Carolina”) in early January, Colbert handed his Super PAC over to TV cohort Jon Stewart, abiding by the one true restriction implied by that recent ruling. Currently dubbed “The Definitely not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC,” the organization and its founder have lately received lots of positive attention from the voting public. A recent poll of South Carolina voters, for example, found that Colbert has a higher positive rating than all of the Republican candidates in the contest.Also see:
Seems like Stephen Colbert’s plot to mess with South Carolina’s primary race is working. In a Public Policy Polling survey released yesterday, for example, respondents listed Colbert to be more favorable than all of the Republican presidential candidates. In response to those findings Colbert’s former Super PAC, under the temporary reins of his Comedy Central cohort Jon Stewart, fought back with a new video. And this latest in a series of advertisements, just released tonight, holds no punches in its assault. “Why is the T in his name silent?” asks narrator Samuel L. Jackson. “What else is he hiding? Letting murderers out of jail?” “Send Stephen Colbert a message,” Jackson suggests, followed by repeat of the theme found in Colbert’s video from two days ago: “Vote Herman Cain.” What few restrictions still remain on political action committees left them with no choice but to release this attack ad, says Jon Stewart. “If we were coordinating with Stephen Colbert, why would we release an attack against him?” This video ad, titled “Modern Age Combat,” is the fourth released by Colbert’s “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” PAC. In the recent PPP poll, 36 percent of respondents found him “favorable” and 28 percent “unfavorable.” The remaining 36 percent were undecided. Amongst the Republicans still in the race, Mitt Romney was closest to Colbert with a 35-percent favorability rating. All Republican candidates had majority disapproval, however. If Colbert were to appear in the General Election as an independent candidate, he would take 13 percent to Romney’s 38 and Pres. Obama’s 41, the poll also found. Also see: Colbert Super PAC releases anti-Romney videoLatest Colbert ad: vote for .. Cain?New Colbert PAC vid: give us money for negative ad so we can stop their negative ads
Sometimes, the only way to beat 'em is to join 'em.
That's especially true nowadays, says Stephen Colbert's political action committee in its latest ad, which was just released this evening.
But to continue the fight, they'll need your help to pull it off.
In "Double Negative," the third in a series of video ads released in the past three days, viewers are reminded of how a 2010 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has resulted in the current flood of attack ads being used in the Republican Presidential Primaries.
"You can't turn on the TV these days without seeing some negative attack ad," a narrator says, detailing how PACs supporting Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have traded multiple jabs on the airwaves with a flood of negative commercials.
The only way to beat them, though, is to join them, the video ad continues. And Colbert's group can't do it without your help.
"Donate today," it requests, "and we'll destroy both these guys and their Super PACs with a merciless ad(.)"
In a press release from Colbert's Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow PAC, stand-in chair Jon Stewart says "people are tired of the relentless attack ads from Super PACs supporting Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. So we plan to run negative ads attacking their negative ads to make it right. That'll learn 'em." In January 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down former campaign laws that previously limited the spending of corporations, non-profits and special interest groups such as PACs on political advertisements. Due to this Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, PACs, private companies, lobbyists and even foreign companies can spend unlimited money on negative advertisements against political candidates. The decision also allows candidates a secondary outlet to accept campaign donations, which are ordinarily limited in dollar amounts, and by having donors contribute directly to the organizations that will produce such ads against campaign competitors. Opponents to that ruling state it allows unfair corporate influence on elections in which only individual citizens are supposed to determine outcomes. Six months after that ruling, Comedy Central star and Charleston native Colbert f ormed his own Super PAC in sarcastic response to the Supreme Court's decision. Since announcing last week his desire to appear on the South Carolina Republican primary ballots, Colbert temporarily stepped away from his PAC, asking television cohort Stewart to temporarily hold the reins. On Sunday, Colbert's Super PAC released a video ad attacking Mitt Romney. In another ad released last night, Colbert posed as Herman Cain, asking voters to choose this now-withdrawn candidate in the January 21 primary.
Even though he can't get his name on the ballot, Stephen Colbert hasn't given up on making a last-minute entry into South Carolina's Republican presidential primary.
He's just using another name instead.
Yes, the latest video ad by the comedian and Charleston native pictures Colbert, but while using Herman Cain's name.
And who else will South Carolinans have to choose from, asks the video? "He's such a Washington outsider, he's not even running for president!" (originally appearing on www.colbertsuperpac.com) Cain dropped out of the race on Dec. 3 after several allegations of sexual misconduct. He led the slate of Republican candidates before the incidents became publicly known. This is the second video released in two days by the Colbert Super PAC (which is now operating as "The Definitely Not Coordinating With Stephen Colbert Super PAC," but which has "Americans For A Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" as its official political action committee name.
Even though he finished second-to-last in a recent poll, that standing meant a quite a lot to Charleston native Stephen Colbert. After all, the comedian and talkshow host isn't even a candidate. But while he's now only considering to run for the office he's named "President of the United States of South Carolina," Colbert is still playing an active role in the state's upcoming Republican presidential primary. His political action committee recently completed a video advertisement taking on Mitt Romney, who's still in the lead of the latest polls. Referring to the former Massachusetts governor as "Mitt the Ripper," its narrator (actor John Lithgow) says "If Mitt Romney really believes 'corporations are people, too,' then Mitt Romney is a serial killer," referring to Romney's previous business ventures. Bain Capital, which Romney once served as CEO, allowed six of its owned companies to go bankrupt, laying off over 5,000 workers in the process. Bain still netted over $450 million from those now-defunct companies, though. The video (titled "In Like Jack" on its youtube page but as "Attack in Minor B For Strings" on the website of Colbert's political action committee) does not endorse another candidate. It only recommends voters select "not Mitt." A recent poll by Public Policy Polling reported Colbert to finish second-to-last in the slate of all candidates to appear on South Carolina's January 21 ballots. That his five-percent take bested Jon Huntsman's four was Colbert's inspiration to at least consider the possibility to enter the race, if only tongue in cheek, in the last week before the state's Republican Presidential Primary. To do so properly within very loose federal election laws, Colbert had to find another operator for his PAC. Currently, co-Comedy Central star Jon Stewart is chair of what recently changed its name to "Definitely not coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC." The South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary takes place January 21.
Just because his resolution's been rejected from appearance on the GOP's presidential primary ballot doesn't mean that Stephen Colbert's question can't be answered.
The Comedy Central star and Charleston native offered the South Carolina Republican Party big bucks to have his sarcastic query appear with other resolution questions on the Jan. 21 slate.
The state Supreme Court may have rejected it (and all the other proposed ones, too), but that doesn't mean you can't express your opinion! See the question below in the exact wordage it was supposed to appear on the ballots, and feel free to answer away.
|
RSS Feed
