I want to first say that I am a fan of Stephan Colbert however, my first reaction was not positive to his apperence on Capital Hill Friday morning.
He appeared, in character, before a Senate Committee to testify about the issue of migrant farm workers in the US. He based his "testimony" off his one experience in the fields. Truthfully, I had seldom considered the issue of migrant farm work or lack there of, previous to this headline. So is it appropriate? The answer is not clear. He has brought attention to the issue, but at what cost to the public perspective of Senate Hearings?
Although I am not a fan of the Speaker of the House, she summed it up well when asked if it was appropriate for Mr. Colbert to testify by simply stating; "Of course I think it's appropriate. He's an American, right?"
In the words of Mr. Colbert himself, "USA #1".
This is a class blog for the students of POLSCI 426: Congressional Politics at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
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2 comments:
This story has been all over the news today, and I still have not come to a conclusion about whether or not this was appropriate. Like you said, and like Colbert mentioned in his opening statement, his celebrity was used to bring to the forefront an issue that many of us have never considered. While this does seem like a worthwhile choice on Colbert's part and a worthwhile use of celebrity, his choice to remain "in character" during his testimony seemed like an act of disrespect.
I too am a fan of Colbert and i actually think this was appropriate. he used his humor to make a point.He believes that since company's ask these migrant workers to come into the states to work on farms that they should be put on a path toward citizen ship. He just made a point in a sarcastic and witty way and i appreciate him doing that for those who have no voice. He even said it himself when asked why he decided to take up this cause, he said and i am paraphrasing, he likes to talk about powerless people and to him the migrant workers are the ones with no power yet all the hardships.
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