Colbert's Kicked Out

Stephen Colbert is no longer running for president. As the Washington Post reported, "South Carolina Democrats squashed Stephen Colbert's fanciful White House bid on Thursday." The executive council of the S.C. Democratic party voted 13-3 to keep Colbert off the ballot...AFTER JUST 40 MINUTES OF DISCUSSION FOLLOWING HE FILED TO GET ON THE BALLOT. Wow. Rough.

The NY Times reported that Lumus Byrd, a member of the council, said he had been lobbied by three other members of the council who argued that Mr. Colbert would expose South Carolina to ridicule. From the NY Times: "'South Carolina has been the butt of so many jokes, and the folk here are a little sensitive about anything that a comedian who’s got that much airtime might say,' said Byrd. 'They were afraid he was going to talk about some of our dirty little linen,' he said, citing the Confederate flag, which flies on the grounds of the statehouse, the 'corridor of shame' of dilapidated schools and the state’s racial history."

At least one S.C. politician -- thank God -- seems to have a sense of humor. The WPost reported that state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter told the committee Colbert could showcase the state "in a way that none of the other candidates on the ballot have been able to do."

"I think you're taking this a little too seriously," she said.

But Byrd wasn't the only one taking Colbert's candidacy "too seriously." The legality of Colbert's campaign had been questioned in recent weeks due to Federal Election Commission regulations that prohibit corporations from contributing to candidates, either through donations or in-kind contributions such as free use of goods or services. Colbert's campaign had been promoted by the Comedy Central network -- which airs his talk show -- and Doritos was his campaign sponsor.

Apparently, the FEC doesn't have a sense of humor. In the words of Lawrence M. Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission: "The real problem comes in the fact that he actually has his own show, talking about his campaign, paid for by a network," Noble said. "These are the kind of things on slow days you'd debate until the late afternoon at the FEC, but there are serious questions that come up. In theory, he could end up having some campaign finance problems."

Last week, the NY Times Editorial Board commented on the FEC's concerns over Colbert, saying "Since it’s hard to take Mr. Colbert’s campaign seriously — he has said he is willing to consider Larry Craig as a running mate — it’s a little hard to take the complaints seriously. But the thing is, they’re right in a way.If a television personality who is not a comedian were to run for President, it could be a serious candidacy (and we can think of a few we’d be seriously worried about), using the exposure given to him by his television network to campaign and win votes."

What was different about Colbert was that he wasn't just using his celebrity status to gain votes; Comedy Central was -- according to some critics -- actively promoting his campaign by allowing him to use his show, which the network finances, to talk about his candidacy.

S.C. Democrats have promised that Colbert will get his $2,500 filing free refunded.