The Colbert gap

July 3, 2006

The Washington Times, of all papers, ran a fun story today on lawmakers who appear on [tag]The Colbert Report[/tag]’s “[tag]Better Know a District[/tag]” segment. Apparently, members are consistently surprised at how much positive feedback they get from people in their district who watch the show, no matter how [tag]foolish[/tag] the show makes them appear.

As for the party’s leaders, at least one side knows who Colbert is.

House Minority Leader [tag]Nancy Pelosi[/tag], who has been a guest on “The Daily Show,” said the Colbert segment is “humorous,” but wouldn’t recommend members make an appearance.

“I would think it would be OK to go on if you were live to tape, but don’t subject yourself to a comic’s edit unless you want to be made a fool of,” the California Democrat said. “I think: Why would anybody go on there? Not that I don’t think they have all done very well.”

Mrs. Pelosi added that she watches the show “all the time.”

House Majority Leader John A. [tag]Boehner[/tag] of Ohio, by contrast, said he had never heard of the show. “I’m culturally illiterate,” he told The Washington Times.

I think Pelosi is justified in wondering why anyone would subject themselves to the inevitable humiliation that comes with the territory — I wonder that myself all the time — but I hope she doesn’t discourage Dems from appearing. After all, as Rep. [tag]Earl Blumenauer[/tag] (D), from Oregon’s “Fightin’ Third,” who appeared on the program several weeks ago, said, “We tend to take ourselves too seriously in this business.”

No better way than to show humility than to let Colbert make you look [tag]ridiculous[/tag].

Strangely, they are all ‘Fightin’ districts. Before I’d go on that show, I’d insist on a unique nickname for my district.

Some lawmakers have come off better than others. But Pelosi is right about it being better to appear in the studio.

On the other hand, having the courage to appear is not bad, and you will become more identifiable for a portion of your electorate you probably couldn’t tell you from a dime store Indian.

  • “I’m culturally illiterate,”
    Some don’t even need a Colbert, they write their own unknowing satire.

  • Yesssss! Give it up for my own rep, the bow-tied, bike-riding Blumenauer! He’s also probably one of the few Congressmen who understand Net Neutrality, too, but damn if any Dems are going to have a say about it.

    He had just the right attitude about it. You’re going to be skewered, but swallow your pride because the opportunity to connect with your voters is worth it.

    Of course I suppose it should be pointed out that this probably matters very little for many reps from districts who don’t usually watch Colbert, probably districts like Boner’s.

  • I don’t know. As long as you’re not too stupid and have a quick wit and understanding of what he’s doing, I don’t think it’s inevitable that they’ll look stupid. What surprises me isn’t that they go on, but that they seem entirely clueless as to what his act is. Because they keep acting like he’s serious and won’t revise their standard responses to the demands of the show. And not just with the District segment, but with almost all the guests. They almost all act like he’s serious and have no idea how to roll with his punches. I find that deeply scary that these are our public talkers.

  • Big fan of TCR.

    I thought the Dem Congressman from the San Fernando Valley played the perfect foil. SC locked onto the fact that 75% of the world’s porn comes from the Valley and kept asking the man about porn while he would categorically deny it till the pizza boy showed up and the porno background music blared in the background.

    SC makes everyone look like a tool. The BKAD feature is almost a litmus test for those who take themselves too seriously.

    Strangely, most of the participants have been Dems.

  • Not the same thing, but I was pretty impressed when Joe Scarborugh actually got the joke.

    As awesome as Stephen’s performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was, I’ve been disappointed because it meant that more people got the joke. Lucky for us, however, too many-usually conservatives, bless their hearts-still don’t get it.

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