"The Colbert Report," the late-night Comedy Central show and spinoff of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," has been seeking to create "a litany of fools" on Capitol Hill, drawing in seemingly unsuspecting congressmen and lampooning them on cable TV.
Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA), vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, became, at the behest of his Communications Director, 26-year-old David All, the first member of the House to appear on this show, . A "Georgia Republican and seemingly boring white guy who once lived in Ethiopia," Colbert drew Kingston into a "discussion of his African-American experience," among other satirical issues. Republican strategist Rich Galen "sees the youthful hand of hip Congressional aides at work," saying that "the younger staffs of these folks are convincing their bosses that if you really want to be president of the United States some day, you've got to get in with the crowd on Comedy Central."
The majority of legislators "don't seem to mind Colbert's non sequiturs, outrageous claims and preening for the camera," reported Roll Call magazine in an article about Colbert's show. "He's not just jabbing at Congressmen and politicians - he's jabbing at the media as well," said Representative Kingston.
After successfully convincing the 50-year-old Kingston to be Colbert's congressional "guinea pig," All contacted other House Republican aides and suggested that they urge their bosses to do the same; he even arranged for a showing of Mr. Kingston's Colbert clip at a recent Republican weekend retreat. "We're all about the new media," All said. "It's good that Republicans can be humorous."
The video of Representative Kingston's interview can be seen here, under "Better Know a District: Georgia's 1st."
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