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Norton to Colbert: Is It All Over Between Us?

April 10, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who has appeared on the Colbert Report so often that host Stephen Colbert called her his “nemesis,” made the following statement following the announcement today that Colbert will replace David Letterman on the Late Show.

“Congratulations, Stephen Colbert on your new late-night, major network gig! Colbert has been a gift he had no intention of giving to the District of Columbia. Of course, the Colbert Report has been a gift at our expense, which we accepted for a reason. The greatest frustration of our citizens has been that most Americans assume that D.C. residents have the same rights as other Americans. No Super PAC funds the message that D.C. residents do not have equal rights. In using – and abusing – the District, Colbert found in me a willing and defenseless foil. The public laughed, so Colbert had me return for more laughs – trying his best to keep the joke on me. In the process, Colbert did what we ourselves could not do – helped ‘taxation without representation’ go national. Once Colbert got a hold of me, he was having too much fun to let go of the member of Congress who has ‘less power than a student body president,’ not to mention his many other zingers. Sometimes I wonder if Colbert had me on all those times because – as his audience may not know – he was actually born in the District of Columbia. When I recall how he enjoyed kicking me around, though, it is hard to believe Colbert ever had a soft spot for D.C., let alone for me. I still bear the scars, but Colbert made good use of the District on the Colbert Report. Let’s see if he has the nerve to do the same on the Late Show.”

Published: April 10, 2014