Shilling for Democrat candidates and left-wing causes is standard operating procedure in Hollywood. As defined in Webster’s Dictionary, “to shill” means to act as a spokesperson or promoter. Another source, Wikipedia.com, further states that the “shill gives the impression of being unrelated to the group in question, and gives the impression that he or she finds merit in the ideological claims of the political party.”
With his testimony – strike that – performance at the House judiciary subcommittee on Friday, Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report,” raised shilling to an artform.
Colbert was invited to testify Friday at House Judiciary Sub-committee hearing on legalizing undocumented farm workers by Democrat Rep. Zoey Lofgren. The duo had worked side-by-side as bean pickers for a day to promote the United Farm Workers’ Take Our Jobs Campaign, which is designed to show Americans that undocumented agriculture workers do jobs that they wouldn’t and therefore deserve to be granted U.S. citizenship.
Instead of testifying on the issue, Colbert performed a comedic bit “in character” using the U.S. Capitol hearings as a TV backdrop. It’s great production value if you can get it, especially if it is at taxpayer expense. (It quickly appeared on Colbert’s cable show.)
For the next fifteen minutes, Colbert performed this shtick before the TV cameras, assorted AP news photographers and irritated members of Congress. Since then, he has been lambasted by pundits and politicians alike as plain “not funny,” “inappropriate,”” “embarrassing” and “disrespectful” of the American people and the valid concerns surrounding the illegal immigration debate in general. Did Lofgren and Pelosi know Colbert would be testifying to Congress as his TV show character? Does Colbert & Co. really care about the criticism? Probably not. He and his political friends got significant mileage from it.
Entertainment stooges serve a number of important strategic shilling purposes for the left-wing of the Democrat party. Here are some characteristics of a left-wing Hollywood shill to be on the lookout for:
#1: Willingness to use the entertainment medium to create hateful stereotypes.
On his cable series, Colbert adopts the staid liberal stereotype of a bigoted right-leaning news pundit and his testimony to the congressional subcommittee was true to form. “But 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,” said Colbert, again attempting to equate racism with those that oppose illegal immigration.
Unfortunately for Colbert, Carol Swain, the African American Vice President of Vanderbilt University and staunch advocate against legalizing undocumented workers had, by virtue of her testimony, given him the intellectual equivalent of a sucker punch. It must have been hard for Colbert to continue his conservative racist-clod persona when a smart African American woman who disagrees substantively with you on the illegal immigration issue is just a few seats away.
#2: Propensity for fact-skipping on national television.
Where Colbert’s testimony was pure venom-filled propaganda, Swain actually offered facts. “I speak today on behalf of millions of Americans who would like to see immigration laws vigorously enforced. I contend that America does not have a shortage of agricultural workers. Instead we have a manufactured crisis by some who would like to ensure a steady supply of cheap labor,” said Swain.
Citing labor economist Philip Martin’s studies, Swain made the case that the high rate of turn-over in agricultural jobs leads undocumented workers to enter the market in other areas. She argued that these workers directly compete with native and legal low-skilled workers for a decreasing number of jobs in an economy of 9.6% unemployment. It is devastating when liberal entertainers are confronted with actual facts.
In fact, the only thing a Hollywood shill can do in response is follow their script – which is what Colbert did. He attempted to offer his colonoscopy into the Congressional Record as evidence. He went on to state that, in his one day experience, that farm work is “really, really hard.” Farm work may be considered hard work, especially by the Hollywood elite standards, but newsflash to Mr. Colbert: Most Americans work difficult and unsavory jobs every single day. They would rather have a tough job than lose their home or their future. It’s not about race. It’s not about hate. It’s about fairness, the rule of law, and what that rule of law is supposed to represent.
# 3: Stands to make considerable gains through political shilling activities.
Colbert’s stunt netted him national media. Every TV network news outlet and every daily newspaper covered his performance – equivalent to millions of dollars in free media. Left-wing politicians also got what they wanted. They got their distorted spin on the illegal immigration story out before the election: Poor undocumented farm workers – they work hard for America, don’t they?
Hollywood protects and promotes political mascots like Colbert, ensuring their longevity far beyond their normal entertainment shelf life. Tina Fey is case in point. During the 2008 general election, Fey’s mocking portrayal of Sarah Palin on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, gave her political mascot status and the gratitude of the Hollywood Left, earning her an untold number of Emmys and other awards.
#4 Suffers from a delusional sense of his/her importance in the political process. (Or sorry, you’re not Glenn Beck).
The lines between entertainment and news have now blurred to nothing. Today, Americans are more likely to get their news from fake news correspondents like Colbert and Jon Stewart than they are from network news correspondents. On the political stage, liberal politicians accord entertainers with a heightened status surpassing a congressman or senator. The result? A skewed perspective of where these comedians and entertainers fit into the political discussion. The entertainers themselves seem to suffer the delusion as well.
To wit, Colbert and Stewart are now hosting dueling rallies on October 30th at the Washington Monument. Theirs is a reaction to conservative TV commentator Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally on September 28, the force of which shocked the mainstream media and entertainment industry. The success of the Restoring Honor Rally has helped unravel the perception that conservatism is a fringe philosophy repugnant to the group, which is why Colbert and Stewart have been called on to counter it.
Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis, describes this phenomenon perfectly. Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions due to group pressures. Celebrity share and perpetuate stereotypes publicly, using their entertainment platform, to guide decisions. They exhibit other negative outcomes that Irving defined: They attempt to exercise direct pressure on others when they fail to conform. They fail to seek expert opinions and are selective in their information gathering process. This mentality explains why conservatives are demonized by Hollywood and why Fox News and the Tea Party movement are the bogeymen of liberal progressivism this election cycle and every election cycle. They are Americans who have failed to conform to the group.
In short, Colbert and Stewart’s shilling game hasn’t work on everyone. Let’s hope that it never will.
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