For those who didn't hear, Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., announced that Yo-Yo Ma is officially the president of the United States of America.
His Stradivarius cello is now vice-president.
Which means we can look forward to four years of Hail to the Chief being played on cello. By the chief.
I'm OK with this.
Showing posts with label Stephen Colbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Colbert. Show all posts
22 January 2009
20 October 2007
Parties Have Too Much Power
In a stunning blow to democracy, the South Carolina Democratic Party might keep Colbert off of their primary ticket. Story here.
Ok, so we know he's running as a joke. But the requirements that could keep Colbert off the ballot are much more serious. The SC Democratic Party states that the candidate must have spent a set amount of time actively campaigning in the state and be a "viable" candidate (viable as determined by the party's executive council). While this is not detrimental for Colbert (if he wanted to, he could turn this into an hour-long Colbert Report Special Edition), other candidates could run into serious issues. It is not far-fetched to say that Obama, as a black midwesterner, is not a viable candidate in the southern state famous for flying the Confederate Naval Jack over its statehouse into the 21st century (I was living in Columbia the year the flag was taken down), or that Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, besides having not spent much time campaigning in the state, but also coming in last in fund raising, are not viable candidates (total, the two have raised less than a quarter of what Clinton has raised, and of that, 90% goes to Kucinich) are not viable candidates.
Considering that party primaries (oddly, not in the Constitution) are all but vital to making it onto the ticket, to rule out a candidate in one state primary is an electoral death sentence and a major attack on free and fair elections (I just love that as an independent, I have not voice in primaries).
But then again, the entire party system is a barrier to democracy. This, however, is an discussion for another time.
Rock on.
Ok, so we know he's running as a joke. But the requirements that could keep Colbert off the ballot are much more serious. The SC Democratic Party states that the candidate must have spent a set amount of time actively campaigning in the state and be a "viable" candidate (viable as determined by the party's executive council). While this is not detrimental for Colbert (if he wanted to, he could turn this into an hour-long Colbert Report Special Edition), other candidates could run into serious issues. It is not far-fetched to say that Obama, as a black midwesterner, is not a viable candidate in the southern state famous for flying the Confederate Naval Jack over its statehouse into the 21st century (I was living in Columbia the year the flag was taken down), or that Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, besides having not spent much time campaigning in the state, but also coming in last in fund raising, are not viable candidates (total, the two have raised less than a quarter of what Clinton has raised, and of that, 90% goes to Kucinich) are not viable candidates.
Considering that party primaries (oddly, not in the Constitution) are all but vital to making it onto the ticket, to rule out a candidate in one state primary is an electoral death sentence and a major attack on free and fair elections (I just love that as an independent, I have not voice in primaries).
But then again, the entire party system is a barrier to democracy. This, however, is an discussion for another time.
Rock on.
19 October 2007
Colbert '08
For all of my readers (ha, like I have readers) in South Carolina (ha, like South Carolina's a state...it's not like I've ever lived there...oh, wait...), be sure to vote for Stephen Colbert in both the Democratic AND Republican primaries (yes, he's running on both tickets).
If you haven't heard, over the course of the past couple of days, Stephen Colbert has lead up to this announcement (seriously, like only three days; it took Obama and McCain, what, half a year to actually make a formal decision?) and announced on The Daily Show that he would make his official announcement on a more prestigious show - only to make the announcement fifteen minutes later on his own show. Full story here.
Wait, I think I've seen this movie before. With the help of Lewis Black and a flaw in the computer systems created by Jeff Goldblum's company, doesn't he actually win? And address congress dressed as George Washington?
Robin Williams movies aside, this is perhaps the funniest thing Colbert has done. Aside from his interview with Richard Branson.
If you haven't heard, over the course of the past couple of days, Stephen Colbert has lead up to this announcement (seriously, like only three days; it took Obama and McCain, what, half a year to actually make a formal decision?) and announced on The Daily Show that he would make his official announcement on a more prestigious show - only to make the announcement fifteen minutes later on his own show. Full story here.
Wait, I think I've seen this movie before. With the help of Lewis Black and a flaw in the computer systems created by Jeff Goldblum's company, doesn't he actually win? And address congress dressed as George Washington?
Robin Williams movies aside, this is perhaps the funniest thing Colbert has done. Aside from his interview with Richard Branson.
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