Or perhaps it is the Definitely-not-coordinated-with-Stephen-Colbert-PAC, but it still makes me uncomfortable.
The latest thing is that he is running in South Carolina. We all know that, right?
What we also know is that the deadline for getting him on the ballot is well past and there are no write-ins allowed on the ballot. So he can't really run, except for showing up in polls, and he may have led to Huntsman, who polled below him, dropping out of the race.
So what is a comedy candidate to do? Colbert has a solution:
Here is my problem with it. I get the joke. Honestly, I do. However, what he is doing seems not funny to me. He is screwing up a ballot. I know that primaries are controlled by a party rather than the state goverment (is South Carolina or Virginia the state where they wanted a loyalty oath before you voted in the primary?). I know that he is picking someone who has suspended his campaign (Cain has not dropped out completely, has he?) and someone who has not a chance in a flame for winning. I know that what he is doing is not even the least bit illegal, and no one really will be misled by his advertisements (although conceivably a very low information voter could be).
But it still seems really tasteless to me. I am trying to put my finger on it, actually -- it is misleading people potentially, lying to them about the person for whom they would be voting. But I don't think that is it. Perhaps it is the potential that someone would have for doing this seriously. Using a white person to substitute in images for a candidate who is not, for example, or using a man for a woman. Or someone prettier than the candidate is. With a real campaign's ad this would not be allowed -- you would have to stand in front of a camera and say "I'm Bubbaloo Jones and I approved this message." But of course the whole point of this performance art thing he is doing is that the PAC ads can say whatever he (or the uncoordinated he) feels like saying.
Okay. He has made the point, and I get the fun. But he is suddenly really interfering with real elections. It isn't really that funny to me anymore. I wish there were a way to work this out without really screwing around with elections themselves. Advertising the misspelling of a name, or attacking a candidate seems fair. Saying "vote for this person -- not the one you think you are voting for" seems beyond the pale. At least to me.
Please "talk me down," as Rachel used to say. Why is this okay?