KXAN Lands on the Colbert Report

KXAN.COM

Josh Hinkle

Updated: Apr 27, 2012 5:25 PM

I had just wrapped up work after an interesting evening at a Ron Paul rally at the University of Texas when my phone came alive with texts and Facebook alerts.

“Just saw you on Colbert LOL!!!” one text read.

A Facebook message read, “On the laptop, hear the voice and say, ‘I know that voice.’ Look up. ‘Hey! It’s Josh!’”

Oh no! I love the Colbert Report, but I also know how Stephen Colbert likes to playfully attack journalists from time to time. Please, not me! I can be a good sport but can also be a little sensitive. I’d just have to wait and see when it re-aired later that evening.

I laughed when I saw how harmless it was. As I had figured out by that time, it was referencing a story I’d recently done about a UT student who started his own Colbert Super PAC – Texans for a Better Tomorrow Tomorrow:

Colbert: “Recently a University of Texas student, Paul Benefiel, wrote me, asking for help starting his own Super PAC on his campus. Mr. Benefiel explained his motivation to KXAN, Texas’ News Leader.

Hinkle: “Armed with his own Super PAC to battle other Super PACs, Benefiel’s already setting his sights on Texans like Gov. Rick Perry and Congressman Lamar Smith.”

Benefiel: “There is no better place to start something like this than Austin, Texas.”

Hinkle: “This is the first of Stephen Colbert’s Super PACs to hit a college campus. Now, it’s at the University of Missouri and also Purdue, and it continues to spread to other college campuses nationwide.”

Colbert: “Yes, I’ve planted a seed in Austin, Texas, and I’m sure no one will take what I’m about to say out of context. I want to spread my seed around a lot of colleges.”

A clip of the story, including my standup. I got off easy, and the piece was hilarious. Needless to say, the messages kept coming in, and people seemed to enjoy it. Kind of cool, I guess.

Watch the entire episode. | View the segment. | See the original story below.

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