Colbert's PAC Less Silly Than Real Ones

Stephen Colbert went to some lengths to create a SuperPAC parodying the nation’s campaign-finance laws. “But there was a flaw in his plan,” writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post: “The campaign-finance system already is a parody.” Indeed, as ridiculous as Colbert’s unlimited donations vehicle might sound, it “isn’t nearly as abusive as what’s already going on.” Heck, Colbert’s SuperPAC is so limited that experts said he didn’t really need FEC permission.

“Alas, when it comes to making a mockery of campaign-finance law, American Crossroads is way ahead of Colbert Nation,” Milbank laments. Whereas Colbert must disclose any donations over $200, Karl Rove’s outfit accepts millions in utterly anonymous largesse. The Supreme Court “has largely wiped out post-Watergate campaign finance reforms,” and even if you violate what’s left of them, the FEC is too paralyzed by partisanship to punish you. “That’s the trouble: The real campaign-finance abuses are more horrible than Colbert’s fiction.”