Boston Herald

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Stephen Colbert’s Congress visit called ‘sad commentary’
Boston Herald

Goofball TV comic Stephen Colbert took his off-the-wall Comedy Central shtick to Congress yesterday – making a mockery of a House hearing while “testifying” before lawmakers on immigration reform. Colbert, who addressed the immigration subcommittee in his satirical news character, said he spent a day picking beans and packing corn in the “unforgiving sun” with illegal immigrants.

Boston University professor Tobe Berkovitz said it’s a “sad commentary on our political system when the Congress feels compelled to stoop to the lowest common denominator on important public issues.”

“That the Congress feels that having an entertainer come in as an expert witness on a serious policy issue shows just how dramatically out of touch the Congress is with any sense of propriety,” Berkovitz said.

At the start, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers praised Colbert for drawing a crowd then asked him to depart and leave the job of testifying to expert witnesses. “You run your show, we run the committee,” Conyers said.