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Colbert embarrasses Dems; Conyers asks comedian to leave
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
09/24/10 10:59 AM EDT
  
Actor Stephen Colbert testifies alongside several other witnesses before a U.S. House committee on farm labor
The appearance of comedian Stephen Colbert before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law has turned into an embarrassment for the Democrats responsible for the hearing.

The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, but Rep. John Conyers is chairmen of the larger Judiciary Committee. In that role, he has a seat on the subcommittee, and he spoke up early in the hearing. To the surprise of many observers, Conyers used his time to ask Colbert to leave.

"I'm so happy that you've helped us fill the room," Conyers said to Colbert. "I haven't seen this many cameras since -- when?"

"Maybe since impeachment," said Lofgren, to pained laughter among the lawmakers.

At that point, Conyers thanked Colbert for showing up and asked him to leave the room. Colbert seemed confused. Was Conyers asking him not to speak? No, Conyers said, he was asking him to leave altogether.

"You run your show," Conyers said. "We run the committee."

Colbert said he was there at the invitation of Lofgren and would do whatever she asked. Seeking a moment to think, Lofgren asked Republican Rep. Dan Lungren to speak for a few moments while she decided what to do.

Colbert stayed in place as the other witnesses made opening statements. When Colbert's turn came, Conyers briefly interrupted to say that he was withdrawing his request for Colbert to leave.

Then Colbert began his testimony, which was an in-character schtick based on a one-day visit to an upstate New York farm. "This is America," Colbert said. "I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican."  As the hearing went on, Colbert said things like, "I was a cornpacker…cornpacker is a derogatory term for a gay Iowan."

At the end, Lofgren proclaimed the hearing "helpful." She thanked the witnesses, who she called "volunteers to help make a better country." But the presence of her star witness, Colbert, had cause a number of strange and awkward moments, ones that could come back to some of the Democrats on the panel in the campaign ahead.

http://www.washingtonexaminer......quest-103712949.html

What was the point in inviting this boob to testify before Congress?     Were they all caght up with
the important issues like say jobs and the economy ... and just needed some comic relief*?


* my apologies to real comedians who are actually funny unlike Mr. Colbert who is not

Well they asked for it!!! Like they didn't know there would have been some kind of controversy? The Colbert's and Jon Stewart's of this world have their place in political satire. Were these dumbed down government leaders expecting anything different??? How stupid are these elected officials???

They're pretty stupid, when you don't read legislation that you vote for when if effects 16% of our GDP it's not a very intelligent move.

I don't have much use for any of the incumbents in Congress -- Democrat or Republican.