Occupy Seattle Follows Stephen Colbert's Lead With Citizens United Protest
After relinquishing control of his super PAC to his pal Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert is officially running for president...of South Carolina. The candidate must be busy, ahem, coordinating his campaign, because he ignored Occupy Seattle's request to appear at their demonstrations this weekend. But despite the cold shoulder from Colbert, the protest organizers say they are still following his lead and making a mockery of Citizens United.
If you've missed out on the Daily Show and Colbert Report lately, you've missed out on some cuttingly brilliant satire. Colbert's campaign is an utter farce (much like Rick Perry's was), but it pokes fun at the absurdity of federal election laws.
He and Stewart are now using their PAC cash (but not coordinating with each other) to air attack ads that compare Mitt Romney to a serial killer (of corporations, because "corporations are people, my friend"), and encouraging voters to cast their ballots for long lost Herman Cain.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Colbert Super PAC Ad - Attack in B Minor for Strings | ||||
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Unlike some of the more confrontational Occupy actions, "Occupy the Courts" is being billed as family-friendly entertainment, permitted by the city of Seattle. Starting at noon tomorrow, Westlake Center will host skits, musical performances, and more.
"You're not going to get pepper sprayed if you come out to this event," says
Maureen Van Hollebeke, an organizer of the event. "That's what we want people to know."
Naturally, there will also be speeches assailing the two-year-old Supreme Court ruling, and Craig Salins, another organizer of the demonstrations, says the events will kickoff a drive to gather petitions calling for "a Constitutional amendment which includes language making it clear that corporations are not people, that they do not have the same rights as individual U. S. citizens, and that money does not equal free speech."
Sadly, Stephen Colbert will not be the keynote speaker (that will be Jim McDermott). Van Hollebeke says she half-jokingly sent Colbert an invitation but never received a response. Nevertheless, she and her comrades still appreciate his work.
"We hope he's able to get Cain a bunch of votes," Van Hollebeke says. "That would be hilarious."
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