This is one of those things you can’t make up: Stephen Colbert, in character, testifying before Congress. He spoke about migrant workers before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security this morning, discussing his experience in partaking in UFW’s “Take Our Jobs” campaign, where in US citizens worked the farm jobs that migrant workers usually do. (Shockingly, or maybe not shockingly at all, only 16 Americans took part in the switch.) Once I looked past his character’s mannerisms and tone, I found his message to be surprisingly touching.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1T75jBYeCs 425×344]
It was interesting to see the reactions of the members of Congress. They ranged from apparent boredom (I noted a Congresswoman scrolling on her Blackberry) to irritation. Perhaps they don’t watch the Colbert Report. Maybe they just assumed he was wasting their time. Or, as plenty of people have accused Congress of since its inception, maybe they just weren’t listening.
Image via CSPAN