"I'm not a fan of the government doing anything," Colbert testified. "But I've got to ask, Why isn't the government doing anything?"
The host of the Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" gave testimony in character, making several jokes about the one day he spent working in the fields, but tinged with an apparent hint of his own "truthiness."
"In July of 2010, in the midst of Arizona's immigration firestorm, I welcomed Arturo Rodriguez, president of United Farm Workers of America, as a guest on my television show to discuss the impact on harvests in California's Central Valley. During our interview and subsequent conversation, I learned of his "Take Our Jobs" campaign, offering unemployed Americans farm work, providing necessary training and addressing the chronic and endemic shortage of agriculture laborers across the country. While an enthusiastic endeavor, the project recruited a mere three participants. As a comedian and satirist, the temptation of subjecting my character to manual labor proved impossible to resist. I offered to be the fourth. Joined by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, longtime advocate for farm workers' rights, I traveled to upstate New York, where I spent 10 hours picking beans, packing corn and learning about the stark reality facing American farms and farmers," Colbert testified.
Not all lawmakers were amused however. Some felt his "in character" comments were unnecessary and trivialized the hearing.
"This is America. I don't want a tomato picked by a Mexican. I want it picked by an American, then sliced by a Guatemalan and served by a Venezuelan in a spa where a Chilean gives me a Brazilian," Colbert quipped.
You can expect to see Colbert in the national spotlight again soon. Colbert and his daily show counterpart, Jon Stewart, have opposing rallies scheduled on October 30, 2010, titled "March to Keep Fear Alive" and "Rally to Restore Sanity."
What do you think? Was Colbert's testimony a distraction or did it bring "truthiness" to the issue?
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