Stephen Colbert announced the creation of a political Super PAC last year, turning political and pundit heads in an unprecedented move by a comedian to draw attention, via satire, to some perceived injustice. In this case it was the Supreme Court’s nonsensical Citizens United decision, allow the unfettered accumulation of hundreds of millions of dollars to throw at political candidates and campaigns (subsequently granting them unfettered access to these politicians when they enter office). Colbert’s most recent move, however, has got some of the political insiders fuming. Stephen Colbert has formed an exploratory committee for a Presidential run, handing control of his Super PAC over to fellow Comedy Central fake news host, Jon Stewart. Though no one knows just how far the comedian will take this ruse, he’s taken it far enough to ruffle some feathers, as NBC political correspondent Chuck Todd made clearly known at a Winthrop University forum.

“He is making a mockery of the system," Todd told the moderator, “he's doing it in a way that feels like he's trying to influence it with his own agenda and that may be anti-Republican.” He questioned Colbert’s agenda, saying that Colbert was attempting “to marginalize the Republican Party, which has been the premise of his Comedy Central show, the Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert plays a blowhard conservative talk-show host that, through his criticisms and belligerent proclamations, satirizes the ideology and current platforms of many conservatives. It was in that character that he sat before Congress and testified on the subject of immigration, an incident that Todd said he was “very offended” by. Todd further cautioned the media to not grant too much credence to Colbert’s activities, and that they should be reported as “schtick”.

Although Todd’s concerns come from a good place, they lack validity in the current political landscape. He worries that Colbert’s activities serving to make the American public "more cynical" about our political system, a system which he claims to “idolize”. Really? Can Americans become more cynical when the congressional approval rating dropped to single digits, and voter apathy seems to be at an all-time high? He lauded Colbert’s initial stunt with creating his Super PAC as “educating Americans about campaign finance”. However, Colbert’s goal hasn’t been to just educate people about how it works, but to criticize how it works and convince Americans that it needs to change. No doubt he’s furthering this social criticism in possibly running for President, and by painting the system in such ludicrous colors, he’s educating the country in why it needs to change. Chuck Todd rails at Colbert because he satirizes the very industry (yes, it’s an industry) that Todd’s livelihood and relevance depend on. He’s defensive. Colbert? Colbert’s doing exactly what he needs to…making those people defensive, and everyone else offended.