I initially thought that was completely bonkers, but then I looked at the 2020 results. Graham ‘only’ won by a 10 point margin against Jaime Harrison, 54% to 44%. Graham won by 15 points in both 2008 and 2014.
I still think it would be impossible for a Democrat to win a statewide election in South Caroline, but it sure would be interesting.
There is nothing more important for MAGA than gaining control over television.
Remember, Colbert’s sister ran for congress in South Carolina against Sanford. They might be able to put together a credible campaign.
You’re not joking, and that makes me sad. It’s a terrible idea. Senate vs. Graham? Sure.
Julius Caesar: Late Night TV Hosts are the chief business of a conqueror of the world.
– George Bernard Shaw Caesar and Cleopatra
Okay, what he really said was that Taxes were the chief business of a Conqueror of the World, but-- close enough.
Colbert will probably pull a John Oliver and find success online.
We’ll meet again.
I’m guessing last night’s celebration was just a warmup.
If Colbert follows in John Oliver’s footsteps, he’ll find success in a cable show on HBO. I still say that The Colbert Report was genius, and he should never have left it.
About the least useful thing anyone opposing MAGA can do is run for Congress. People are largely not paying attention but the gerrymandering, voter suppression, and electoral shit-fuckery going on in the statehouses of MAGA-friendly states is all but assuring a GOP majority populated by MAGA and aligned (or at least, thoroughly cowed) Republicans in the US Congress, and even if they don’t actually win elections they are determined to challenge, challenge, challenge elections in court on any manufactured premise to bind up any ability to get consensus. I’m glad people like Liz Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are there and making noise but despite their energy they are able to do fuck-all about blocking the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 agenda, the efforts at mass deportation of immigrants (and the occasional American citizen getting swept up in the almost completely lack of due process or diligence) or the general corruption of the Trump regime.
Last Week Tonight is far from secure. WarnerMedia is not currently in the midst of a merger or acquisition but as soon as they are they’ll be sensitive to pressure and John Oliver, who has very pointedly criticized not only the Trump regime agenda but Donald Trump personally, and it’s not as if his show is a big moneymaker draw for HBO or that people would cancel subscriptions if the show were ended.
The Colbert Repor(t) was a performance of time and place, and unfortunately the reality has equalled and overtaken the satire of mocking figures like Bill O’Reilly or Tucker Carlson by just repeating their patent bullshit rationale with a straight face. Like Tina Fey literally repeating Sarah Palin’s talking points with just a slightly more clueless manner, it was sharply amusing at the time but is now just lost in how flagrantly people like Tucker Carlson just openly lie and spew obvious bullshit with no sense of shame or irony whatsoever.
The best period of Conan O’Brien’s brief tenure on The Tonight Show was after NBC elected to return Leno as the host. O’Brien, Richter, and the writers room clearly had no fucks left to give and delivered on every opportunity to skewer the NBC management and a well-deserving Jay Leno on the utter hypocrisy of that decision. I anticipate the same from Colbert.
Stranger
That’s a valid point. Politics is so insane now that it’s difficult to parody. I guess what I’m pining for is the days before the whole political system went off the rails like a train falling off a bridge, and Colbert did such a masterful job of satirizing it. His White House Correspondents’ Dinner bit was pure genius, and we all loved the way he skewered Bush, because Dubya was such a moron. And he was, but now most of us, having looked into the unimaginable depths of the abyss, would love to have him back.
America is post democracy, any run for Congress is a performative act, in this case it would be a performative oppositional act.
Regarding John Oliver, keep in mind as of 2019 he is a naturalized US citizen. I will not be surprised when DJT revokes his citizenship and kicks him out of the country. Permanantly.
On this we are in violent agreement.
Yeah, it just isn’t going to have the legislative or policy affect that people still eagerly want to believe that it will. I had a conversation with a friend recently who kept going on and on about how we need to “take back the Congress and the courts and kick the MAGA bastards out”, and I pointed out that both institutions are now so deeply infiltrated by people who are openly, nakedly opposed to democratic institutions and utterly and avowedly committed to a cult of personality and to punitive actions against anyone who opposes them that the institutions themselves are fundamentally compromised. The response was along the lines of ‘blah blah blah as long as the Constitution still stands yada yada’ as if a document written 250 years ago by a bunch of white, mostly slaveowning men who themselves were less concerned about democracy per se than preserving their class power and authority against either a monarchal autocracy or a popular uprising of ‘lesser’ peoples is an inviolate shield against populist tyranny or emergent fascism. At some point, you have to accept that the institutions you so cherish are intrinsically undermined and you are going to have to rebuild them from the fundaments (not a comfortable proposition given how often well-intended revolutions go off the rails a la the French Revolution and collapse of the First French Republic) rather than just patching over the slashes and threadbare parts.
He may try, and if he gets Supreme Court concurrence we will have confirmation of undeniable erosion of Constitutional principles. Ditto with birthright citizenship.
Stranger
What we need to be doing is setting the stage for what comes next, establishing some threads of sanity, where people are upholding the elements of the America that was that are worth re-establishing.
I was at this party this past weekend and all the older folks were talking about getting Trump out of office and returning to “normalcy.” All their kids (and me) were talking about life going forward and whether to emigrate. It was really striking.
They asked me what I did and I told them I had been a USAID funded aid worker and they were talking about starting USAID again and I said “what the hell are you talking about?” That is gone, the good will is gone, we’ll never have that status again.
Back in 2016, I was telling the interns at work that this wasn’t a normal election. I simply didn’t realize the changes I was seeing were here to stay. At least for a while.
I really wish there was some way of doing this but the political, economic and cultural upheaval is so unpredictable. Many of us are in survival mode right now. I have to stay here so I am focusing on keeping my anxiety down as much as possible and my sanity intact.
This news about Colbert is upsetting and I am not sure how to react.
Yea, America is collapsing, much like the Soviet Union did. We need to be building what comes next and public critics of the regime like Colbert will be an important element of that. That’s all I’m saying. A big public run for Congress would be a great way to criticize the fascists in a way that would permeate beyond Colbert’s core audience.
I absolutely agree with you and hope that we have some courageous people willing to step up.
Plus the idea of Colbert roasting Lindsey Graham (the poster child for spinelessness) for the length of a campaign makes me smile.
It would be awesome. Just gloves off. A Graham Colbert debate would let the decent people in South Carolina that they’re not alone.