There's been so much negative buzz following comedian Stephen Colbert's in-character testimony before a congressional subcommittee on immigration that one might think it was a huge mistake on the part of the congresswoman who invited him. But mocking American institutions, wasting taxpayer money and placing a higher value on entertainment than information fits right in with the voters Democrats in general and subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-California) in particular are trying to reach.

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As the tidal wave of anti-Democrat sentiment rushes toward Washington DC, President Barack Obama and his congressional cronies are facing huge losses in the mid-term elections and have virtually no hope of turning the tide. They have failed to keep their base energized through a series of failed policies and broken promises and are desperate enough to try last minute stunts that might at least get the youngest, least experienced and least informed to pay attention again.

Those who get the majority of their "news" from comedy programs like The Colbert Report and those who regularly applaud mocking American institutions and wasting tax dollars (and yes, there's a lot of overlap between those two groups) were the target of Representative Lofgren's ploy. It's not unreasonable for her to believe that the portion of the electorate who excitedly ran to the polls two years ago to cast their sacred ballots for a completely unqualified presidential candidate might also be motivated to vote for a party that turns congressional subcommittee hearings on one of the most important challenges facing the nation into a joke (and not even a very funny one).

There's virtually no chance that this stunt will have any actual effect on the upcoming elections. Those who were going to vote against Democrats will not be swayed by the performance and those who share the Democrats' ideology will not be motivated by it to rush out and vote.

But Representative Lofgren, and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Michigan) who approved Mr. Colbert's appearance, did succeed on two fronts. They put on a show that fans of ridicule and sarcasm enjoyed thereby maintaining their standing as the party of the immature and they distracted the media and most of the voters from the important testimony heard by the subcommittee; that of a political science professor who said illegal immigrants were competing with black and Hispanic citizens for jobs. (source)