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Khazei makes most of his celebrity appeal

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 13, 2009 01:53 PM

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Several things have been clear from the beginning on the endorsements in the US Senate race: Stephen Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, had the NBA locked up. Attorney General Martha Coakley secured most prominent women, and US Representative Michael Capuano decidedly had the Washington crowd, with most members of the congressional delegation.

Alan Khazei

But Alan Khazei clearly has the Hollywood buzz factor.

“There is an urgent alarm sounding right now; it’s a five-alarm fire,” JJ Abrams, creator of "Lost," says in a YouTube message. “It is that Alan Khazei must be elected to the Senate.”

Actress Elisabeth Shue, who got her start in "The Karate Kid," also recorded a tribute video.

“He is somebody who has such a big heart and an incredibly big brain,” Shue says of Khazei. “And I think that combination in the Senate would be so important.”

Hill Harper (“Sheldon Hawkes” to fans of "CSI: New York") did the same, saying, “Support someone who could actually bring great change to our Senate.”

Khazei has tried to use those connections to make a unique public call, asking that comedian Stephen Colbert come to Massachusetts and moderate a debate.

Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” plays a right-wing commentator on the show.

"Are you tough enough to come here to Massachusetts — the birthplace of freedom, the birthplace of our democracy — and moderate a debate up against four progressive Democrats?" Khazei asked Colbert in a video posted on his website. "I'll show up anytime, anywhere, any hour, any day."

“So Stephen, are you willing to come?” Khazei asks. “I’ll be there.”

Khazei appeared on Colbert’s show as a guest in January to promote a national day of service on Martin Luther King Day.

"I believe Martin Luther King also said, ‘Follow the money,’" Colbert said at one point. "‘I've got my mind on my money and my money on my mind,’ is one of the things I believe he said."

"I can assure you, Martin Luther King did not say that," Khazei responded.