Jon Stewart previews, quits, fake C-SPAN show to highlight Senate idiocy on sex trafficking bill

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

published 18 March 2015

Tuesday night's Daily Show was a shout-out to fans of C-SPAN. To critique the train wreck in the Senate over a human sex trafficking law both parties support, Jon Stewart previewed his imaginary post-Comedy Central show, Hatewatch, on C-SPAN 2. It's all there — the soothing narrator (a pitch-perfect Samantha Bee), the "unapologetically racist" caller (Jordan Klepper), the lingering shot of an empty podium, and the host trying to keep it blandly together.

Stewart, of course, can't keep it together, especially after "turtle man" Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, blames "left-wing special interest groups" for holding up the bill. If you watched Stewart's heartfelt announcement last month that he is leaving The Daily Show, the final part of this creative look at our legislative gridlock will look delightfully familiar. —Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.