Colbert super PAC funds going to Sandy relief

Stephen Colbert's super PAC "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" is no more, so the comedian is distributing the group's funds -- $773,704.83, to be exact -- to Sandy relief groups and campaign finance reform organizations.

On last night's Colbert Report, Colbert announced that the Ham Rove Memorial Fund, named for the "chief strategist and principal lunch meat" for the super PAC, had received an anonymous donation of $773,704.83, the exact total remaining in the Colbert super PAC's coffers.

"I can't tell you how much Ham meant to me," Colbert said of the "diseased" lunch meat that satirized GOP strategist Karl Rove.

"Well, technically I could, but it's a super PAC, so legally I don't have to."

Colbert said that as a board member of the memorial fund he had hoped the remaining funds would go to UNICEF.

"Unfortunately, the rest of the board found out that UNICEF is the name of my yacht," he said.

Colbert announced three groups working on Sandy relief efforts -- DonorsChoose Sandy relief fund, Team Rubicon's Sandy outreach and Habitat for Humanity -- would each receive $125,000. The Yellow Ribbon Fund, which assists injured servicemembers, would also receive $125,000, he said.

The balance of the funds, Colbert said, would go to the Center for Responsive Politics and The Campaign Legal Center, groups that focus on campaign finance reform efforts that target the growth of super PACS.

But there was a catch. Per Ham Rove's request, The Center for Responsive Politics, he said, must name its conference room the "Colbert Super PAC Memorial Conference Room," while The Campaign Legal Center was instructed to rename its conference room in honor of the Colbert super PAC's late strategist.

David Vance, communications and research director for The Campaign Legal Center, said of Colbert's announcement that the group was "thrilled and honored in the confidence he's shown in our work." Vance praised Colbert for the "incredibly entertaining" way in which the comedian had highlighted the issue of hidden money from super PACs.

And as for "Ham Rove's" final wishes? Vance said staff had already begun referring to the conference room as the "Ham Rove Memorial Conference Room."

"We look forward to the arrival of the plaque, so we can officially rename it."