Lying Ads – A Politician’s Legal Right by Patti Bankson (8/13/04)

The Land of the Free - A Conservative Politics Web Site

Books of Interest

It’s true! Politician’s do NOT have to tell the truth in their ads! Cereal makers, toy makers, toothpaste makers, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, and all others who are selling us things, have to tell the truth. If they don’t, because of “truth-in-advertising” laws, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) will step in and make the advertiser “do the right thing”.

I think we all understand what advertising is about, don’t we? It’s about the seller of something saying whatever he/she thinks will cause us to buy their product. Unfortunately, most people don’t recognize the fact that politicians and Madison Avenue are all about the very same things. Politicians want us to buy what they’re selling, and they will say whatever they think will cause us to buy their product, themselves. However, there is one significant difference between what Madison Avenue puts out and what politicians put out. The difference? Truth-in-advertising laws do not apply to politicians! If you’re asking why, the answer is the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, following, in-part::

Congress shall make no law respecting or abridging the freedom of speech, or ...

And, if you’re thinking that FTC rules would somehow keep politicians from running untruthful ads on TV, read the following:

Federal Communications Act
(US Code: Title 47, Sec. 315. - Candidates for public office)

(a) . . . If any licensee shall permit any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any public office to use a broadcasting station, he shall afford equal opportunities to all other such candidates for that office in the use of such broadcasting station: Provided, That such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast under the provisions of this section.

(Even if they accept another candidate’s ads, they can legally refuse ads from opponents, if they are “obscene”, or for technical reasons such as poor quality, or because it’s the wrong length for a standard commercial break.) But, stations cannot refuse a candidate’s ad because it’s false!

If you’re like me, you’ve found out the hard way that some advertising is untruthful and/or inaccurate, so you’ve ended up either throwing out a “small fortune’s” worth of unused/useless products, or with a cupboard full of the same. As disgusting and wasteful as that may be, it is nothing like what we suffer when we buy a politician’s untruths.

I don’t believe all politicians are dishonest. But I do believe we are the only ones who can decide whose “sales-pitch” is the truth. Our choices are clear - we can sit back and accept his/her words as “gospel”, or we can educate ourselves. Educating ourselves requires more effort on our part, but the way I see it, there’s no comparing the “pay-off” for that effort and the “pay-off” for doing nothing – a “cupboard” (community, country) full of politicians’ useless products.

Patti Bankson invites your comments at pbankson@intergate.com
© 2004 Patti Bankson

Return to Conservative Op/Ed and Discussio n