Well if it isn't... yes, it's none other than Bill Clinton--you may have heard of him, he served as President of the United States from 1993-2001?--explaining to Jon Stewart on the Daily Show why the current campaign funding system does not work. It has to do with endless fundraising, and also naps:


Clinton lays out all the reasons we need a change to a system of publicly financed campaigns for Congress, which is embodied, of course, in the Durbin-Specter Fair Elections Now Act. You can't go wrong watching the clip, but here's a few snippets of the relevant stuff:

My colleague Barb Burt says last night's Daily Show piece on electronic voting was "the MOST PERSUASIVE argument against voting machines that I have every seen."   Watch it here.

And, I hope you saw last night's HBO documentary Hacking Democracy.  It will be repeated, so look for it. 

The "paper trail" movement has been a remarkable, truly spontaneous grassroots effort -- and hitting the Daily Show 5 days before the election is another mark of progress into mainstream consciousness.  Tell your friends about the Daily Show clip and Hacking Democracy - spread the word and we'll pass legislation to fix this problem before 2008!

Last night, Daily Show host Jon Sterwart and frequent contributor John Hodgman gave a simple, albeit satirical analysis of the Net Neutrality issue.  This is the second time in as many weeks that the popular television show has chosen Net Neutrality as the subject matter for a piece, suggesting that perhaps it is not the technocratic issue that some claim it to be.

During their discussion, Hodgman (the resident `expert' on the Daily Show) makes a very funny reference to his work in the Mac Vs. PC commercials--and succeeds in explaining how `packets' are distributed through the internet, and how granting certain firms greater bandwidth would affect smaller organizations... like F%#$timewarner.org.  

You can watch the Daily Show clip Here

Check out Senator Stevens' definition of the Internet, as seen on The Daily Show.

Should this guy really be making telecommunications policy?

Watch Comedy Central tonight at 8pm ET, check your local listing for other time zones, to see a repeat of last night's Daily Show. Chellie is interviewed by Ed Helms on the plight of politicians in Washington trying not to be reelected.

It's a great segment, and you can find out more in a previous blog entry.

You will also be able to see it on our website very soon; we hope to have it available by tonight. For now, you can go to Comedy Central to see it. It's the one with Ed Helms in a leather mask - he's not wearing it when he talks to Chellie, luckily.

Enjoy.

REMINDER: The Daily Show appearance is tonight, Wednesday.

Wednesday night is the broadcast of our interview with Ed Helms of The Daily Show, which was taped nearly three weeks ago.  I always have mixed feelings when I know that I am going to be on TV -- on the one hand I want to be sure a lot of people know and watch, so they can hear more about the work we are doing at Common Cause and the issues that I am discussing, but on the other hand, there is always the chance that it will be embarrassing, and I would rather no one was looking!  

And, this is The Daily Show...and the interview is with the very funny Ed Helms!!  He does a really good job of poking fun at whoever they interview, so why should this be any different?  This is a segment about how easy it is for Members of Congress to win reelection (their 98% reelection rate, and how they use redistricting and fundraising laws to hold on to their comfortable seats) and the fact that Congress is holding its shortest session this year in a half-century.  I figured out early in the interview that it was more fun to play along - as Ed started showing great sympathy with the "poor trapped Members of Congress, who couldn't get out of their seats if they tried."  However, I was quickly reminded that I was there to be serious...oops! -- No more giggling or "smart-ass" remarks from me!

Well, watch and let me know what you think -- as they say in politics, as long as they spell your name right, the rest doesn't matter; or in this case, as long as people learn something about Common Cause and the battles we take on -- it is all good.  And, let's face it, for all the nights we are on NBC Nightly News or the Lehrer News Hour, it is telling people that you are going to be on The Daily Show that makes them say, "Wow!"

Chellie

For those who missed it, The Colbert Report did several segments on money in politics a couple nights ago. You can find the video here:

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml

(See the clips titled "Florida Politics" and "Money & Politics: The Machine that Ain't Broke")

And, just because I think it's one of the greatest political/comedic performances of all time, I thought I'd offer up a link to Jon Stewart's October 2004 appearance on CNN's Crossfire. The show was cancelled a few months later, with CNN executives and cohost Tucker Carlson quoted in various news articles as basically agreeing with Stewart's criticism.

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2652831?htv=12

UPDATE: We've just received word from a Daily Show producer that Chellie's segment has been pushed back a night, so tune in Wednesday at 11:00 pm EST to see her talk with Ed Helms.

Common Cause President Chellie Pingree will make her Daily Show debut tomorrow night on Comedy Central at 11:00pm EST.  

A couple of weeks ago, Chellie sat down with correspondent Ed Helms to discuss a wide range of issues relating to Congress.  The Common Cause community is nervous with anticipation over what the final product will look like on Tuesday.  The interview was hours long, and went very well, but you never really know what the footage will look like by the time it gets on the show.  

So let all your friends know, and tune in tomorrow night at 11:00 to watch Chellie - The Daily Show is one of her favorite shows, and she had a great time filming the segment.  Afterward, let us know what you thought of her appearance in our comments section.