So if celebrities want to harness their fame for good, and if lawmakers want to get in on the act, that’s fine. I have no problem if Lady Gaga and Harry Reid — on the issue of don’t ask, don’t tell — are Twitter pals.

But Colbert’s testimony was not history repeating itself as farce — it was history starting as farce. That’s to be expected when lawmakers appear, at their own risk, on “The Colbert Report.” But there is a difference between lawmakers electing to be a prop in Colbert’s show and letting Colbert turn their show into his prop…

Lofgren, when I spoke with her Tuesday, expressed no regrets. “Outside the Beltway, people are thinking a point was made, and I think the understanding of farm-worker issues has increased dramatically as a result,” she said.