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A Bad Performance From
Stephen Colbert AND Zoe Lofgren
By Bradley Blakeman
FOXNews.com
Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert appeared and "testified," Friday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. The comedian appeared as an "expert" witness on the plight of migrant farm workers at the express invitation of the subcommittee's chairwoman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).
His "testimony' was an
embarrassment to himself, his country, the
Congress and the entire issue of immigration reform. It amounted to
nothing more than a bad comedic monologue.
Although I find Colbert funny
at times on Comedy Central, I found nothing entertaining about his "performance"
before Congress this week.
Democrats have a long history of a cult-like
attraction and fascination with
Hollywood celebrities. It is really quite
pitiful. But this latest brush with "celebrity" is beyond the pale.
There
is a big difference between courting celebrities to attend political fundraisers
and rallies and allowing celebrities to mock government at the invitation of
politicians charged with solving the nation's problems -- not creating
Congressional carnival sideshows.
During the Clinton years, the White
House's Lincoln and Queen Room bedrooms were nothing more than Hollywood's
equivalent of a Ritz-Carlton
hotel. There was almost never a vacancy. According to
publicintregrity.org
the White House "Inn" was abuzz with glitterati including, but limited to,
Chevy Chase,
Ted Danson,
Danny DeVito, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Buffet,
Will Smith, Steven Spielberg,
Meg Ryan,
Dennis Quaid and others.
To allow comedian Colbert
to appear before Congress "in character" only serves to mock our legislative
process. To make fun of migrant workers and the issue of illegal immigration
amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.
The behavior the
Congresswoman Lofgren and Congressman
John Conyers (D-Mich.) the chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee has brought great disgrace upon the
Congress. Both should resign their chairmanships immediately.
Perhaps the only way to
explain Democrats' fascination with entertainers is that they see politics as
"show business."
The Democrats' latest brazen act of stupidity is yet
another example of why they need to be thrown out of power by the people on
November 2.
Bradley A. Blakeman served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush
from 2001-04. He is currently a professor of Politics and Public Policy at
Georgetown
University and a frequent contributor to the Fox News Opinion.