Following the successful transfer of his super PAC to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert announced last Thursday his intention to run for President of the United States of South Carolina.
Comedian and host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," the inspired candidate decided to join the race after polls revealed he could potentially trump Huntsman in the South Carolina GOP Primary. To do so, however, he was first required to relinquish control of his super PAC, a Political Action Committee capable of raising unlimited amounts of money for advertising candidate ideals and values. As lawyer and former Federal Election Committee Chairman Trevor Potter explained, so long as Colbert does not "coordinate" with Stewart, the "Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC" may legitimately operate.
Under Stewart's leadership, the super PAC, also dubbed "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" ran ads attacking the negativity of other campaigns and endorsing a presidential candidate, one of which included a clip of Colbert slowly smiling to patriotic music over a period of twenty seconds. Through these ads, Stewart and Colbert effectively satirized other super PACs, which have contributed millions of dollars for GOP candidacies and sparked a controversy over their unlimited funding.
Unfortunately, as the state of South Carolina does not allow write-ins on the ballot nor accept candidates later than the November 1st deadline, the super PAC instead extended endorsements to Herman Cain, whose name shall appear on the ballot despite his earlier withdrawal from the race.
