Nasty Political Advertising - Can't the media just say no?
Asked by
srmorgan (
6773)
October 30th, 2008
Here in NC we are in the midst of one of the nastiest political campaigns I have ever seen: Sen. Elizabeth Dole vs State Sen,.Kay Hagan, Dole started running ads yesterday accusing Hagan of accepting money from ONE “professional Atheist” which leads to Dole digging up the worst of every possible association with atheists or agnostics, basically saying is not a Christian. Hagan went to court today but there are just six days left.before the election. Are television stations legally obligated to accept anything relating to an election no matter how untrue or how just plain disgusting?
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9 Answers
It’s all about the money. They don’t really care, so long as their pockets are lined…
Whatever happened to good taste and bad taste?
@srmorgan: In politics, sadly, good taste died long ago. It really upsets me that they are allowed to lie. Distorting things is bad enough, but outright lies are even worse.
@augustian
I must just be getting too old too fast. I am out-of-touch with modern mores in politics.
It’s just plain nasty, We are inundated with this crap.
It’s 11:15 on the east coast, and i just saw a new ad for a local seat in the state legislature. Starts out with a devastated looking man holding a picture of his little girl. It says the child was raped
and murdered by some scumbag and they show the convict’s mug shot. Then in big r
ed letters: Mr Scumbag is still on death row, not executed.
Father comes into frame: I want justice for my little girl,
Picture of opponent in race shows in middle of screen: Senator xxxx voted against the death penalty for murderers of little children ,, opponents picture is them framed by picture of convict and picture of poor little girl.
This is a state Senate race. How can you juxtapose a politician – one vote – with a rapist and child murderer?
Have we lost of sense of proportion??
I don’t mind if anyone on Fluther tells me to shut up and get real. I have been hearing that from my wife for the last three weeks because I am screaming at TV ads, both Republicans and Democrats because they are all acting like scumbags.
SRM
Oh, that is just sick. Even if I believed that that candidate was the right one to vote for, I wouldn’t if I saw that!
Media is a business not a moral authority.
CNN made a point of stating: We did not show the Obama infomercial; as though it were some issue of journalistic integrity. They didn’t show it because Obama didn’t consider paying them to show it.
Voting is the only tool we have to modify behaviour of politicians; and it works best at the more local levels.
I saw Kay Hagan’s rebuttle on MSNBC last night. It was teriffic! Don’t you think that ad might backfire on Dole?
@srmorgan;
That’s exactly what worked in the Bush Sr Campaign when they put Dukakis’ picture up next to Willie Horton
If it worked before it might work again, no matter how tasteless.
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