In the upcoming South Carolina Republican primary on January 21, 2012, Stephen Colbert is looking to play a role in the outcome. Well, legally, it’s his former Super PAC that’s making the play. The road to this point took some legal maneuvering, but the strategy is simple: if you want to vote for Stephen Colbert, vote for Herman Cain.
Last Thursday, January 12, the ingenious satire known as the Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Super PAC was transferred from Stephen Colbert to Jon Stewart, much like how a symbiont goes from Trill to Trill in Star Trek, only without any surgery. In the transfer, Stewart acquired untold tons of cash and the ability to purchase television ad time (along with bejeweled crowns and pre-chewed Mario Batali meals).
Colbert has been mulling a bid to run for president in South Carolina and candidates can’t have any affiliation with Super PACs. Legally, this transfer of control is all that is needed to separate Colbert from the entity popularly known as Colbert Super PAC; the separation of candidate and Super PAC is essentially bound by the undoubtedly bulletproof honor system. Should Stewart’s Super PAC happen to run ads supporting one candidate or attacking others, the actions are perfectly legal so long as they are officially unaffiliated with any candidate.
One hurdle to Colbert’s partial presidential bid is gone, but there’s another catch: it appears to be too late to put Colbert’s name on the ballot and South Carolina’s primary ballot does not support write-in votes. While the ballot clearly hates freedom and comedy, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow may have the answer – and a brilliant one at that.
On the January 16 episode of “The Colbert Report” and in the Super PAC’s latest ad, Stewart and Colbert advocate voting for Herman Cain as a proxy for Colbert. Cain is no longer running for president, but his name remains on the ballot. Should the idea gain traction, votes for Cain’s name could essentially gauge votes for Colbert and have a real impact on the outcome of the primary.
This strategy is somewhat similar to Colbert’s previous attempt to affect Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll. In the non-binding vote, Colbert encouraged voters to write in Rick Perry’s name with an “a” to read “Rick Parry.” The Iowa Republican party refused to release data on how many votes Colbert affected, but the bump to Cain’s votes could shed far more light in South Carolina.
Sources:
TheDailyShow.com
ColbertNation.com
ColbertSuperPAC.com