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Colbert Ballot Bid Shot Down
wizzard2k writes "Some of you may have seen Stephen Colbert's bid for the South Carolina Presidential Primary, however it seems his hopes to appear on the ballot as a candidate for the Democratic Party have been shot down. From the report: 'Stephen Colbert's bid to get on the ballot for the upcoming Democratic primary in his home state was shot down on Thursday (November 1) by the executive committee of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Colbert's bid was voted down 13-3 ... Using criteria such as whether the candidate was recognized in the national news media as a legitimate candidate and whether they'd actively campaigned in the state, the committee put the kibosh on the Colbert bid.'"
They will, according to this story
I'm reminded or comedian Pat Paulson, a regular fixture on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour back in the late 60's (yes, I'm showing my age). He was a perennial (fake) presidential candidate back then. He managed to get on the ballot a few times, and came in second to George H.W. Bush in the North Dakota Republican primary, and second to Bill Clinton in the 1996 New Hampshire primary.
But what I remember best was his bid to get on the California primary in '96. He had twice the number of required signatures on his petition, paid the fees, filed well in advance of the deadline, but was still denied. March Fong Yu, California Secretary of State, explained the denial as "he's not serious about the campaign."
Paulson's response: "You mean those other guys are?"
310 of us wrote him in anyway....
It's fairly simple, digitaldc. The Democrats have requirements for candidates. One of those requirements is that the candidate's campaign be "viable". Since Colbert was only running in one state, his campaign was deemed to not be viable.
I stole this sig from a more creative user.
I don't see it that way. Voting for Ron Paul in the primaries would actually be a sharp rebuke of the policies of the current administration.
The Democratic party gets to decide who runs as a Democrat. If you want Colbert on the ballot, write him in yourself or get him to run as an Independent.
Making fun of dumb people since 2009
Heck, I would vote for him because I genuinely believe he'd be more competent than any other candidate.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
Have you ever looked at the voting record for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Both of these bills did a lot to advance civil rights in America. For the CRA, 80% of Republicans voted yes, and 60-something percent of Democrats voted yes. VRA: R 84%, D 77%. Oh, and check out the region breakdown for the Civil Rights Act. Maybe you won't be so quick to call yourself a Southern Democrat after seeing that, unless you're proud to identify with racists.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#By_party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act#Vote_count
Disclaimer:
I'm not trying to say the Republicans are champions of Civil Rights. Far from it, just look at the Patriot Act. But the Democrats aren't any better. If you want truly equal treatment for all, vote Libertarian.
Not to argue, but to provide a thought... I remember Andy Kaufman's performances well. Some of them were as good as just about anything Steven has ever done. IMHO however, Steven wins in the consistency department. Kaufman's characters had some gaps, while (still IMHO) Steven manages to carry off one of the most flawless narcissistic characters I've ever seen presented. It takes some major creativity cojones to deliver essentially every day as Steven does. And he does it with such panache, he's been able to "get" guests of essentially all stripes to join him in his performance. (Henry Kissinger? Introducing a guitar battle? With the Decemberists? Simply amazing...)
(A side note: I was a young worker at Warner Qube during a time when Mr. Kaufman was performing semi-regularly there. He was a genuinely interesting man, his talent was significant and worthy of our respect.)