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| Colbert: The comedian gets serious |
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During the only moment at which he “broke character” from his ultraconservative-commentator persona during a Congressional hearing on undocumented farm workers, comedian Stephen Colbert couldn’t have been more serious: “I like talking about people who don’t have any power.”
When a member of Congress asked Colbert why he had gotten involved with this issue, Colbert replied: “It seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work but don’t have any rights as a result. But yet we still invite them to come here and at the same time ask them to leave. Migrant workers suffer and have no rights.”
Some members of Congress, supposedly sent to Washington to be the voice of their constituents and of the weakest in society had complained that Colbert’s presence testifying at the hearing of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House of Representatives showed a “lack of respect” for the institution and made a “joke” of the process. Then again, these people manage to turn their jobs into a joke on a daily basis.
These comments came from characters like Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who has said that people can identify undocumented immigrants using a “sixth sense” or by using indicators like someone’s shoes, his clothing, his accent or his personal grooming. King has also called to put an electric fence on the Mexican border, “with an electric charge that wouldn’t kill anyone” but would be strong enough to deter potential crossers. “We do this with cattle all the time,” King said.
The irony is that King said that it was an insult to think that United States citizens wouldn’t want to do difficult jobs. But the “Take Our Jobs” campaign sponsored by the United Farm Workers, which has been trying to find American would-be farmhands willing to work in the fields, has succeeded in recruiting a mere seven people.
Nor did plenty of Republicans consider it a “farce” to unite to prevent discussion of a bill which might have included the DREAM Act, a measure to legalize undocumented young people, which many of them have supported or even sponsored in the past; or to accuse the party of power of “opportunism” for addressing the immigration issue weeks before the elections on November 2nd, when they’ve been exploiting the issue constantly to rally their base for months. You might call this a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
It’s true that some Democrats went on channels like Fox News to play the game and show how indignant they were over Colbert’s appearance. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said yesterday (Sept. 26) that “I think his testimony was not appropriate. I think it was an embarrassment for Mr. Colbert more than the House.”
The real embarrassment is that this House of Representatives has not taken up anything close to immigration reform. The embarrassment is that years go by and none of them even manage to legalize the menial labor that picks the fruits and vegetables that these so-called leaders consume so voraciously at parties and meetings.
The embarrassment is that the House Minority Leader, Republican John Boehner, said that instead of bringing a comedian to testify before Congress, Democrats should have been passing bills to create jobs—when the Republicans have no intention of supporting such bills.
The difference is that with his satire, Colbert speaks truth—and he understands. He brings attention to an issue—the legalization of farmworkers—whose failure to be resolved long before now is frankly immoral. Other people lie and throw insults, making themselves out to be the dignified ones, but they don’t even get the joke.
In a week in which political theatre continued to be the order of the day in Washington, to hear the comedian get serious was comforting indeed.
Maribel Hastings is an Executive Advisor and Analyst for America’s Voice.
© 2010 América’s Voice
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