Colbert (Briefly) Breaks Character in Testimony

'I like to talk about people who don't have any power'
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 24, 2010 12:45 PM CDT

Stephen Colbert mostly yucked it up during his congressional testimony today, but towards the end, Democrat Judy Chu actually got him to break his faux-pundit facade. After relating the story of a worker overcome by heat stroke, but unable to find medical help, she asked Colbert why he had chosen to tackle the migrant worker topic. Colbert took a moment to collect himself, and then, with a stammer he said, “I… I like talking about people who don’t have any power.” (See video from CNN.)

“This seems like one of the least powerful groups of people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work and don’t have any rights as a result.” Then the comedian actually quoted the Bible non-ironically saying, “You know, whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers—and these seem like the least of our brothers right now. … Migrant workers suffer and have no rights.” (More Stephen Colbert stories.)

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