Colbert PAC Releases First Ad

Stephen Colbert's SuperPAC has released its first advertisement, attempting to make some mischief with the Ames, Iowa, straw poll.

The ad points out that other "SuperPACS, which can spend unlimited funds on campaign ads thanks to the Citizens United decision, are flooding the airwaves asking folks to vote for Texas Gov. Rick Perry for president."

The Colbert PAC was launched earlier this summer as a way to comment on the Citizen's United decision's removal of restrictions on direct corporate and union treasury fund expenditure for electioneering ads -- advocating the election of a particular candidate.

Its ad calls out PACs it says are flooding the airwaves with Perry ads and asks its followers instead to write in the name of Rick Parry, with an A, "for America and for Iowa."

The Federal Election Commission approved Colbert's request to form the PAC back in June, saying he could accept contributions in unlimited amounts for independent expenditures (the Super PACS are actually called Independent Spending Only PACs, but in a speech last spring, FEC Chair Cynthia Bauerly said she expected SuperPAC to catch on after Colbert had used it). IT also ruled that Viacom expenditures in connection with the PAC would be covered by the press exemption and would not have to be reported to the FEC as in-kind contributions.

The ads are produced by Colbert show staffers using its production resources.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.