Back in 1996, Comedy Central launched a new genre of televised broadcasting. Taking elements from talk shows such as “The O’Reilly Factor “and adding a comedian’s insight into all of the day’s top stories, “The Daily Show” became a massive hit. It became so popular that a spin-off, “The Colbert Report”, was created to build from its success. But for TV hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, respectively, satirizing the news was not enough.They jumped into the political world.The most newsworthy plunge either star has made was Colbert’s recent testimony in Congress on farmers and migrant workers. After spending a day in the field working, Colbert was labeled an “expert” on migrant farming, forcing Congress to listen to Colbert’s sarcasm and wit. Many hoped that Colbert would abandon his character’s persona in the testimony to be taken more seriously by the representatives.Unfortunately for Congress, they got the comedian for most of the day.True, Colbert was serious for brief periods of time, but he knew that the story would not be popular unless he finally got the cracks Congress so rightfully deserved in both his and many Americans’ minds. Some say the jokes discredited his testimony, which they probably did.But here’s a question: Did you know that Congress was doing hearings on migrant farm workers before Colbert came along?True, spending a couple of hours picking beans and then turning the experience into a three minute bit does not make Colbert an expert on migrant farming. And yes, his antics did cause members of the House to ask him to leave. But there is an old expression, “There is no such thing as bad publicity,” and it did get a lot of attention. The testimony, despite being on CSPAN-3, was estimated to have received the best ratings for any C-SPAN broadcast since former president Bill Clinton’s impeachment. That is really amazing since many Point Park University students were only in elementary school at that time.Also, both Colbert and Stewart will hold dueling political rallies in Washington D.C. on the last Saturday of October. Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” and Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive,” are obvious parodies of Glenn Beck’s “Rally to Restore Honor,” have already created plenty of buzz from their viewers and politicians.Viewers have run with the idea, offering discounted or free bus service to the events to help boost attendance. However, politicians hate the idea of =a massive crowd of ill-informed Americans blindly following a generally hated leader while marching through the streets of the nation’s capital.In all fairness, they did have to endure Beck’s rally not too long ago. Once again, naysayers of the shows have said that such rallies should not be held. Whether or not Colbert’s testimony should have been allowed is a judgment call, but there is no question that they should be allowed to hold their rallies, even though the concept is ridiculous. In the Constitution’s First Amendment, the right to free speech and peaceful assembly is given. Amendments cannot be hand-picked and applied to different people in different situations. They were created to protect all citizens equally.True, the people in question may be celebrities and they may not be the most unbiased sources of news available to America; but they are two of the most-watched talk show hosts in television. Also, they are human beings, and that is something some people forget.In the end, their newfound political influence should be short lived, but as long as the two stay within the boundaries of the Constitution, there should be no controversy over whether or not Stewart and Colbert should be allowed to have that influence.