{"id":6370,"date":"2012-02-09T15:49:28","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T23:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6370"},"modified":"2012-02-09T15:49:28","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T23:49:28","slug":"nancy-pelosi-launches-campaign-to-stop-stephen-colbert-and-super-pacs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=6370","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Pelosi Launches Campaign To Stop Stephen Colbert And Super PACs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has just launched a campaign to <em>&#8220;Stop Colbert,&#8221;<\/em> as in Stephen Colbert, the acerbic incarnation of right-wing blowhardism. The first shot in this battle, for which a brutal retaliation from Colbert can be expected after he gets back from vacation, is this video that Pelosi posted yesterday:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"274\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lLH0fT3mbe0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The issue is one that has become an integral part of this election year that has seen income inequality, corporate abuse of power, and fair elections, take precedence over almost every issue other than jobs. Pelosi sums up her position saying that&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;&#8230;House Democrats are reintroducing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.discloseact.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">the DISCLOSE Act<\/a> today to get unlimited, secret donations out of politics. The Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in Citizens United opened the floodgates to unrestricted special interest campaign donations in American elections\u2014permitting corporations to spend unlimited funds, directly or through third parties and Political Action Committees organized for those purposes, to influence Federal elections and opened the door for the emergence of Super PACs.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It is Colbert who has succeeded in making Super PACs one of the most reviled political devices ever conceived. And he did it by starting his own (Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow) and demonstrating how easy it is to collect huge sums of money from secret sources and spending it on self-serving activities without any unaccountability whatsoever.<\/p>\n<p>The issue made headlines this week when President Obama announced that he would not oppose the formation of Super PACs to support his reelection. Republicans immediately pounced on the announcement, portraying it as a flip-flop of his previously expressed position against Super PACs. Of course, Obama did not flip-flop at all. He is still against Super PACS, he has just resigned himself to the fact that they are a part of the electoral process as it currently exists and that abstaining from using them would amount to a unilateral disarmament that would permit Republicans to vastly outspend Democrats this year.<\/p>\n<p>Obama and other Democrats still intend to pursue an agenda to bring an end to the practice as quickly as they can get support from enough members of the GOP to pass legislation like the DISCLOSE Act which Pelosi is addressing in the video above. It is only by the obstructionism of the GOP that the bill has not already become law.<\/p>\n<p>Pelosi is firing both barrels at Colbert in the video. She hammers him for <em>&#8220;taking secret money from special interests&#8221;<\/em> and for being <em>&#8220;out of control.&#8221;<\/em> And she nails him for his hatred of kittens. As an aside, she zings Newt Gingrich with what could be a fatal blow by referring to him as her friend. If Gingrich&#8217;s campaign weren&#8217;t already dead, this would surely kill it.<\/p>\n<p>Still, this campaign aimed at Colbert is a big step for Pelosi and company. It was not that long ago that one of Pelosi&#8217;s top lieutenants in the House was advising Democratic members to <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/news\/11329-emanuel-tells-freshmen-to-avoid-stephen-colbert\" target=\"_blank\">refrain from appearing<\/a> on The Colbert Report. Rahm Emanuel was the Democratic Caucus chairman before leaving to become Obama&#8217;s Chief of Staff, and then mayor of Chicago. But back in March of 2007. while still a member of Congress, Emanuel told his colleagues to <em>&#8220;steer clear of Stephen Colbert.&#8221;<\/em> That advice was widely ignored, to the dismay of many congressmen with deficient senses of humor.<\/p>\n<p>The DISCLOSE  Act is an important first step in restoring the power of people over corporations and wealthy special interests. Pelosi&#8217;s efforts on behalf of this bill are welcome. But in this topsy-turvy world it may turn out that Colbert will wield more influence over the matter in the long run. His brilliant comedic sensibility and fearlessness in injecting his satire into the real world is having an impact that could never have been anticipated. And as Pelosi says, He.Must.Be.Stopped!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has just launched a campaign to &#8220;Stop Colbert,&#8221; as in Stephen Colbert, the acerbic incarnation of right-wing blowhardism. The first shot in this battle, for which a brutal retaliation from Colbert can be expected after he gets back from vacation, is this video that Pelosi [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[152,1],"tags":[130,657,187],"class_list":["post-6370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-election","category-general","tag-nancy-pelosi","tag-rahm-emmanuel","tag-stephen-colbert"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-1EK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8629,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=8629","url_meta":{"origin":6370,"position":0},"title":"Could Stephen Colbert Join Al Franken To Form A Senate Comic Caucus?","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/10\/2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Public Policy Polling has just released a new survey of South Carolina residents on who they would prefer as the replacement for Sen. Jim DeMint, who is leaving the senate to head the conservative Heritage Foundation. Among those included in the speculation are long-time state pols like former governor Mark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50482,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=50482","url_meta":{"origin":6370,"position":1},"title":"The Taliban Bureau of Fox News Condemns Democrats for the Mortal Sin of Dancing","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/23\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Twenty years ago a group of religious extremists committed a terrorist act that brought down the World Center towers in New York City. Ever since then the right-wing Republican Party has regarded all Muslims as responsible. And one of the consequences was an overtly bigoted crusade of fear mongering over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fox News, Taliban","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-taliban-reporter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-taliban-reporter.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/foxnews-taliban-reporter.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42930,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=42930","url_meta":{"origin":6370,"position":2},"title":"Trump&#8217;s Desperation Shows as He Tries to Shank Schiff But Shafts Himself Instead","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/5\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Calling out Donald Trump for hypocrisy may seem like a needlessly redundant exercise, but occasionally there are episodes of sanctimony that are so pernicious they simply can't be ignored. And one of those episodes is playing out now on Trump's Twitter feed as he feebly lashes out at one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-big-mouth.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-big-mouth.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-big-mouth.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67032,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=67032","url_meta":{"origin":6370,"position":3},"title":"OK, So Trump is a Felon, Liar, Racist, Adulterer, and Grifter. He&#8217;s Also Just So Damn Embarrassing","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2024, a survey of presidential historians conducted by the Presidential Greatness Project found that out of forty-five American presidents, Donald Trump ranked 45th. Yet somehow, coming in dead last didn't stop his loyal cult disciples from turning out to vote for him again, sending him back the White House\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Donald Trump, Mocking Disability","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-disabled-mockery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-disabled-mockery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/trump-disabled-mockery.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35003,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=35003","url_meta":{"origin":6370,"position":4},"title":"Stephen Colbert Makes a Mind-Blowing Announcement While Guesting on Russian TV","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/24\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Fans of Stephen Colbert may have noticed his mysterious disappearance this week. His Thursday and Friday broadcasts of Late Night were replaced with repeats without explanation. The scheduling change was peculiar considering all of the current events that would be ripe for Colbert's brand of satire. 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He may not have been expecting the good-natured grilling he was in for. What took place was another example of a comedy show producing better journalism than the \"serious\" media. Early in the interview Colbert bit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Election&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Election","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=152"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stephen Colbert","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/colbert-cooper.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/colbert-cooper.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/colbert-cooper.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6370"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6372,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6370\/revisions\/6372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}