I think it’s fair to say that Stephen Colbert’s appearance before a House Judiciary subcommittee this morning went about as badly as it could have for the Democrats. (Video should be up on the C-SPAN site soon.)
Painfully awkward and pointless, it made the committee’s majority members look ridiculous. Colbert can be very funny, but his kind of sarcasm only works in some contexts, and a House committee hearing room does not appear to be one of them. John Conyers (chairman of the full Judiciary Committee) actually asked Colbert to leave and submit his testimony in writing before he began, but subcommittee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (who had invited Colbert) stepped in and asked him to proceed and testify. Conyers had it right. It’s hard to see how Democrats can expect anyone to take them seriously when they treat a serious subject this way. What was Lofgren thinking?