Better Know "Better Know a District"
"Politicians Relish Comic's Needling" [excerpt]
By Christina Bellantoni
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 3, 2006
No matter how hard members of Congress who appear on the "Better Know a District" comedy segment try to beat the system, Stephen Colbert makes them end up looking silly. But several lawmakers said doing the spoof spot on "The Colbert Report" on TV's Comedy Central actually has raised their profiles back home, particularly among young folks.
"You have to have the right attitude," said Rep. Phil Gingrey, Georgia Republican, whose 11th District was featured on the cable show in April.
"It's a comedy show; he's a comedian, and you're not," he said. "Even though I tried to be funny, all my funny stuff ended up on the cutting-room floor. I just had to leave hoping that when they slice and dice and put it all back together again, I wouldn't look too stupid."
Indeed, any publicity is good publicity.
Mr. Gingrey, whose thick mustache was admired by Mr. Colbert, who asked to stroke it, said there was an unexpected byproduct of doing the show -- attention from young constituents and House staffers.
But Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, regrets his appearance and called Mr. Colbert a "third-rate" comedian.
"It was a stupid waste of time, and he is two stooges short of a good routine," Mr. Frank said.
Still, the segment is among the more popular on "The Colbert Report," a spin-off of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," with more than 1 million viewers.
Mr. Colbert so far has targeted 25 members in the 435-member House, splicing and dicing sometimes two-hour-long camera sessions into five-minute clips.
Mr. Blumenauer said his appearance was fun, even though the two argued about global warming and Mr. Colbert called him "an America-hating terrorist-lover hiding behind a stupid bow tie."
"We tend to take ourselves too seriously in this business," Mr. Blumenauer said.
Several lawmakers said that although their staffers prepped them with clips of past segments, they were not prepared for Mr. Colbert's creative editing.
Mr. Colbert recently hazed Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Georgia's 8th District, for not writing a single piece of legislation during his nearly two years in Congress.
However, Mr. Westmoreland co-sponsored a bill that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in the Capitol.
When asked, the lawmaker was able to name just three of the Commandments. "I can't name them all," he said.
Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman did the show with gusto, even filming a spoof pornographic movie with Mr. Colbert because his 27th District in California is home to many pornographers.
The segment has an educational element, with Mr. Colbert outlining the district's demographics, history and oddball trivia. He also gives each district the adjective "fightin'," as in the "Fightin' Fifth" in Oregon. He talked to that district's Rep. Darlene Hooley about the state's medicinal-marijuana laws. The Democrat laughed heartily when she was asked: "Are you high right now?"
Mr. Colbert has featured five Republicans and 18 Democrats, and also did a mock "retiring" of Texas' 22nd District when Republican Rep. Tom DeLay announced his retirement, putting together press clips for a fake interview with the former majority leader.
By Christina Bellantoni
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 3, 2006
No matter how hard members of Congress who appear on the "Better Know a District" comedy segment try to beat the system, Stephen Colbert makes them end up looking silly. But several lawmakers said doing the spoof spot on "The Colbert Report" on TV's Comedy Central actually has raised their profiles back home, particularly among young folks.
"You have to have the right attitude," said Rep. Phil Gingrey, Georgia Republican, whose 11th District was featured on the cable show in April.
"It's a comedy show; he's a comedian, and you're not," he said. "Even though I tried to be funny, all my funny stuff ended up on the cutting-room floor. I just had to leave hoping that when they slice and dice and put it all back together again, I wouldn't look too stupid."
Indeed, any publicity is good publicity.
Mr. Gingrey, whose thick mustache was admired by Mr. Colbert, who asked to stroke it, said there was an unexpected byproduct of doing the show -- attention from young constituents and House staffers.
But Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, regrets his appearance and called Mr. Colbert a "third-rate" comedian.
"It was a stupid waste of time, and he is two stooges short of a good routine," Mr. Frank said.
Still, the segment is among the more popular on "The Colbert Report," a spin-off of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," with more than 1 million viewers.
Mr. Colbert so far has targeted 25 members in the 435-member House, splicing and dicing sometimes two-hour-long camera sessions into five-minute clips.
Mr. Blumenauer said his appearance was fun, even though the two argued about global warming and Mr. Colbert called him "an America-hating terrorist-lover hiding behind a stupid bow tie."
"We tend to take ourselves too seriously in this business," Mr. Blumenauer said.
Several lawmakers said that although their staffers prepped them with clips of past segments, they were not prepared for Mr. Colbert's creative editing.
Mr. Colbert recently hazed Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican from Georgia's 8th District, for not writing a single piece of legislation during his nearly two years in Congress.
However, Mr. Westmoreland co-sponsored a bill that would require the Ten Commandments be displayed in the Capitol.
When asked, the lawmaker was able to name just three of the Commandments. "I can't name them all," he said.
Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman did the show with gusto, even filming a spoof pornographic movie with Mr. Colbert because his 27th District in California is home to many pornographers.
The segment has an educational element, with Mr. Colbert outlining the district's demographics, history and oddball trivia. He also gives each district the adjective "fightin'," as in the "Fightin' Fifth" in Oregon. He talked to that district's Rep. Darlene Hooley about the state's medicinal-marijuana laws. The Democrat laughed heartily when she was asked: "Are you high right now?"
Mr. Colbert has featured five Republicans and 18 Democrats, and also did a mock "retiring" of Texas' 22nd District when Republican Rep. Tom DeLay announced his retirement, putting together press clips for a fake interview with the former majority leader.
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