THE COLBERT RETORT...

(Nov. 2007) Stephen Colbert’s satirical run for the presidency has run into its first roadblock — his bid to be on the ballot in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary was rejected on Thursday.

The party’s executive council voted 13-3 to refuse Colbert’s application for a spot on the ballot. “The general sense of the council was that he wasn’t a serious candidate and that was why he wasn’t selected to be on the ballot,” said Joe Werner, the party’s director.

“There was discussion — I wouldn’t call it a heated debate — but there was discussion about it.”

There is no appeal process, Werner said, adding that the party will certify its ballot as final later Thursday with the South Carolina State Election Commission. The Democrats had to decide whether they considered Colbert to be a bona fide Democrat who is nationally viable and has spent time campaigning in the state. A South Carolina-based lawyer who was working to get Colbert’s name on the Democratic ballot could not immediately be reached for comment, nor could members of the executive council that made the decision.

Colbert could still run as an independent in the general election, though he’d have to collect 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, said Chris Whitmire, a spokesman for the State Election Commission. Colbert’s candidacy posed a tricky question for the Democratic Party executive council, which has to approve all candidates for the party’s ballot.

If it allowed Colbert to appear as a presidential candidate on their ballot, it would generate attention that might swell the party’s ranks and coffers by attracting previously unaffiliated voters.

But it likely would also attract allegations it was helping Colbert, the host of the popular faux-news program “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, make a mockery of the election system. On the flip side, by rejecting Colbert, the council might satisfy purists but be scorned as killjoys by others.Members of the executive council expressed a range of similar sentiments before the vote, according to a CNN story.

It quoted council member Waring Howe Jr. saying Colbert would appear on the party’s ballot “over my dead body.” Many members of the executive council likely voted against giving Colbert a spot on the ballot because they have allegiances to specific candidates, said former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat who knows many council members. “There are various candidates who don’t get the joke in the Democratic Party and who, for whatever reasons, want to keep him off the ballot,” said Hodges, who signed a petition supporting Colbert’s candidacy. “I personally think he doesn’t hurt any of them.

He brings a sense of levity to politics that’s needed, and the people in South Carolina would enjoy it. We probably would have some people participate who otherwise would not do so.”

Hodges, who served from 1999 until 2003, met Colbert at a recent party and said, “I even offered myself up as a vice president. I told him that he could think of me as Dick Cheney but as a better shot,” presumably making a crack about Cheney’s infamous hunting incident.

Less than one hour before a noon deadline, Colbert filed to get on the ballot. He submitted a $2,500 filing fee — paid with a personal check from Colbert — and a letter explaining to the committee why he wanted to run, said Werner. “It is a very, very nice letter.

If you’re from South Carolina, this is going to play a role in the decision, I’m sure,” Werner said before the meeting. Another issue the council may have considered: The state Democratic Party has to pay the state a $20,000 fee for each name it places on the ballot. The council did grant a spot on the party’s ballot to former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, whose presidential campaign barely registers in most polls and who the Democratic National Committee has barred from participating in official debates.

Also getting approval at Thursday’s meeting: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico.

Colbert brought his “campaign” to South Carolina last week, speaking at events Saturday and Sunday, attracting a college crowd of about 1,000 people at the latter. On his show last month, Colbert announced he would run on both the Democratic and Republican primary ballots in his native state of South Carolina.

But the fee to apply to get on the Republican ballot was $35,000, while Democrats asked for only a $2,500 fee or the signatures of 3,000 registered South Carolina voters on a petition. Colbert had posted a downloadable copy of the Democratic Party’s petition on a bare-bones campaign website, www.colbert08.org. Though Colbert submitted petitions, Werner said they were unnecessary because he paid the filing fee. He added that he did not think Colbert had collected 3,000 valid signatures. “There are some names on the petition that are interesting names,” Werner said, including Hodges'.

Ironically, even though he likely won’t be on the Democratic ballot, his effort brought him at least halfway to being considered a real candidate under federal election laws. The laws impose strict rules on anyone who raises or spends more than $5,000 to promote a candidacy. If Colbert hits that threshold, whether his campaign was intended as a joke or not, he’d have 15 days to form a campaign committee and file a statement of candidacy with the FEC.