Proposal would outlaw ‘SNL’ political skits, Ted Cruz warns

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wants you to know that campaign finance reform could have a major, unintended consequence: It could outlaw political skits, such as those that have become legendary on “Saturday Night Live.”

The bill would add a constitutional amendment to allow Congress to reverse a 2010 Supreme Court decision and restore limits on campaign spending by corporations. Cruz says that would give Congress the “constitutional authority to prohibit” corporations “from engaging in political speech.”

By connecting the dots, those political skits, involving cast members impersonating John Boehner, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and others, would be political speech. And because NBC is a corporation, that would be against the law.

“Lorne Michaels could be put in jail under this amendment for making fun of any politician. That is extremely dangerous,” Cruz argued on Tuesday, while even doing a Dana Carvey impression.

Cruz apparently is a fan of the skits, even when it hits his own party.

“Who can forget, in 2008, Saturday Night Live’s wickedly funny characterization of the Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin?” he said. “Wickedly funny — and also had a profound effect of people’s assessment of Sarah Palin — who is a friend of mine.”

Even if the warnings from Cruz become reality, it still wouldn’t stop people from making Vines of him doing a wicked Winston Churchill impersonation.

h/t: Deadline