Stephen Colbert almost bought naming rights to South Carolina GOP primary
| Los Angeles
Comedian Stephen Colbert just can鈥檛 keep away from mixing it up with presidential politics in his home state of South Carolina. After a failed attempt to enter the 2008 GOP primary there, he's at it again.
This time, he began with an audacious bid to rename the January GOP primary after his super PAC, Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.聽In exchange for a donation, the primary鈥檚 proposed new tag would have been, 鈥淭he Colbert Nation Super PAC Presidential Primary.鈥�
He also wanted to place a referendum on the ballot, asking voters to decide if 鈥渃orporations are people,鈥� or if 鈥渙nly people are people.鈥澛�
The GOP ultimately turned down Colbert's naming-rights offer and the state Supreme Court ruled there could be no referendum on the ballot, leading Mr. Colbert to appeal to the South Carolina Democratic party for help.聽
The possibility that the primary might have been up for sale is leading some Republicans to shake their heads in dismay.聽
鈥淲hat were they thinking?鈥� says Atlanta-based Republican strategist David Johnson.鈥淭hey were clearly dazzled by the potential donation and now they have egg all over their face.鈥� He says they聽ought to have known better, noting聽 that the comedy card must be played very carefully.
鈥淟eno and Letterman are one thing. They are basically a talk show and if you聽go along with them they are pretty much a softball.鈥� Mr. Johnson says. But cable hosts are a different matter, with fewer restrictions for on-air content.
鈥淵ou get down in the mud with Colbert and you will have mud all over yourself,鈥� he says.
But South Carolina Republican Party executive director Matt Moore says the comedy host was very respectful when he made the initial overture back in September. 鈥淗e promised not to lampoon us or make the party look bad in any way,鈥� he says. He made it clear that his interest was in bringing attention to a cause that is close to his heart 鈥� namely, the influence of corporate money in politics.鈥澛犅�
Party officials weigh serious donor offers carefully, balancing the risks and rewards,聽says Mr. Moore. 鈥淲e are interested in reaching out to a聽younger demographic, and Stephen Colbert clearly appeals to that group.鈥� 聽
In the end,聽the offer was turned down, in part he says, because 鈥渨e were afraid of opening a Pandora鈥檚 Box if we allowed the primary to be renamed.鈥� Beyond that, 鈥渨e were not certain if it might even lead to the聽 primary being declared invalid.鈥�
According to Colbert鈥檚 super PAC website, the comedy host is still pursuing the possibilitiy that his question about corporations versus people might still make it onto the January ballot. He has requested the South Carolina Democratic party appeal to the Supreme court to reverse its position. "Trust me, this was a measure of last resort,鈥� he says in a statement.
Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party Richard聽Harpootlian has filed a rehearing to get the referendums put back on the Republican Primary ballot, according to Democratic party spokesperson, Amanda Loveday. Even if it doesn't get on the ballot, she notes, the question may get out to some voters because 鈥渟ome of the absentee and military ballots already have been printed and have the question on them.鈥澛�
