Stephen Colbert, meet the heir to your crown as a comedic 'candidate'
(Read article summary)A faux Republican from California's nonexistent 54th District, Jack Kimble, is tweeting and blogging his way to becoming this season's leading candidate-for-fun. Stephen Colbert 'ran' for president in 2008.
Move over, Stephen Colbert.
While you’ve been out there entertaining US troops, the sneaky Jack Kimble is poaching on your turf. That would be the “faux” congressional candidate running for reelection in California’s 54th District – the Golden State actually has only 53 congressional districts. He is fast usurping the crown as the best candidate-for-fun in the 2010 election landscape (comedian Stephen Colbert ran for president in 2008). The unidentified prankster is having his fun beneath the big-screen radar, tweeting, blogging, and campaigning from a surprisingly well-appointed site.
The mock Republican has even fooled some mainstream political journalists. Just this week, a Washington Post blogger pounded out a fact-filled reply to a Kimble tweet that had asserted that former President Bush had fought two wars with no cost to the American public. He posted his red-faced correction on Tuesday with some humor noting he was fooled. This is, after all, a “candidate” who, among other things, is promoting corn dogs over funnel cakes as part of his political platform. In another, apparently straight-faced moment, a reporter for The Huffington Post cited "Rep. Jack Kimble (R-Calif.)" in an article about the 14th Amendment, noting the congressman’s opposition to it.
Much like Comedy Central’s Mr. Colbert, who rarely if ever breaks his persona as a blowhard conservative talk show host, “candidate” Kimble is all campaign business with no hint of the real face behind the charade. Some online sleuthing turns up precious little insight other than a possibly legitimate post from Nate Peele’s sister – the guy behind the blogsite, thatsrightnate.com – asserting that Nate Peele and Jack Kimble are one and the same. Maybe yes, maybe no.
