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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.'"
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....
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
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.)