I have written this opinion piece for Politico.  It begins:

When it comes to critiquing modern American politics, Stephen Colbert has been less a comedian and more a performance artist. He didn’t just joke about Super PACs — he created one (“Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow”), then raised a million bucks for it. He illustrated the absurdity of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and Federal Election Commission’s coordination rules by briefly becoming a presidential candidate, transferring his Super PAC’s control to Jon Stewart and then “not coordinating” with him.

Early in the primary process, he urged voters to attend the Ames, Iowa, straw poll and cast a vote for Rick Parry—not Perry. The Republican Party would not reveal how many “Parry” votes came in.

But Colbert’s biggest piece of political performance art may be yet to come. It could end up putting him in a position to influence the presidential election. It’s no joke.

Consider Americans Elect. Backed by hedge fund managers and we don’t know who else (they won’t reveal their donors), the group has spent millions to secure ballot access in all 50 states for a presidential candidate to be chosen in a national Internet competition. (Also no joke.) The group’s aim appears to be to secure a centrist ticket to run as an alternative to President Barack Obama and his eventual Republican rival. It has attracted some early support — including New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. I and others have criticized the Americans Elect board for reserving to itself the power to overrule the results of the Internet plebiscite, and in response the board has indeed made it harder to overturn the popular results.

Getting a third party or independent candidate on the ballot nationally is a steep climb — since states have different qualifying rules. So Americans Elect presents a rare opportunity for such a candidate to gain immediate credibility — as well as an ability to focus on the race itself and not the battles over ballot access.

This offers an opportunity that Colbert may find too tempting to pass up.