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Things are getting so bad for Mitt Romney that Stephen Colbert outdrew him ten fold when they both held rallies in South Carolina.

Despite his claims of having momentum in the state, numerous media outlets are reporting that enthusiasm for Mitt Romney in South Carolina is so low that the campaign is having to bus out of state Mormon students in to attend his rallies.

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BuzzFeed reported, “But this wasn’t a grassroots youth movement rooted at the University of South Carolina. No, many of the students cheering on the candidate told BuzzFeed they were actually BYU students and young Mormons from D.C. and Virginia who traveled to the Palmetto State to give their coreligionist’s presidential effort a much-needed jolt of energy.” Romney’s campaign tried to deny that they bused the students in, but The Boston Globe also reported that the campaign bused in 70 students from a tiny Mormon college in Virginia to try to pump some life into the campaign.

While Mitt Romney was busing out of state crowds into his sparsely attended events, Stephen Colbert was doing this at the College of Charleston:

Stephen Colbert broke the rally attendance record at the College Of Charleston set by Barack Obama in 2008. Colbert was the hometown son at the rally, so he was going to be popular no matter what, but the contrast between the enthusiasm that Colbert generates compared to the candidate that many in the GOP want to put up against President Obama should be jarring to the Republican establishment.

Mitt Romney isn’t just killing voter enthusiasm. The prospect of voting for such an unappealing nominee may even be depressing Republicans who had to hold their noses and vote for John McCain in 2008. Colbert’s rally is being blamed in Republican circles for Mitt Romney’s poor turnout, and the fact that dozens showed up instead of the 2,000 that were expected at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

Even worse the SRLC leadership seems to be under the delusion that Stephen Colbert is a Republican. Ed McMullen, the board chairman of the SRLC event said, “We couldn’t control that Stephen Colbert and Herman Cain, some of the most popular guys in the Republican Party, are in the middle of this thing.” Unless Mr. McMullen was referring to Herman Cain, who was so “popular” that he had to drop out of the race before Iowa, it would appear that he thinks that a fictional character is a force within the Republican Party.

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart are late night television rock stars. It is not surprising that a comedian with millions loyal fans can draw a large crowd. What is surprising is that the Republican frontrunner can’t put butts in seats in a deeply red state like South Carolina.

Stephen Colbert’s rally took Mitt Romney’s bad week and turned it into a South Carolina nightmare.

Image: Around The Networks