Should we ban or restrict campaign commercials? ...

[spin]

I realize that this is probably impossible because of the First Amendment.

It doesn't take me very long before I get frustrated with political spots during the election season that I can sum up as,



My opponent is a dishonest scumbag who lies, cheats on his taxes and his wife, accepts bribes for services and pays for prostitutes using state money.

I am an honest upstanding politician who only has your best interests in my heart.

Vote for me!!!

[arbusto_baboso]

1. How about instead we make campaign ads not present blatant lies?

Subject all pending campaign ads to a non-partisan fact-check.

yeah, yeah, that would probably not go over either.

[spanone]

2. i'm for that. it would shut down faux nooze. it's a 24/7 repub campaign ad.

[napi21]

3. I just mute them or turn them off. I do my own research on the candidtes,

and have made a recent decision that I will vote for the candidate who DOESN'T take the hugh corp. funds that the SCOTUS made legal. I apply that to both parties, but so far t appears that it's only been the Pubs who have gotten the BIG MONEY.

[SoCalDem]

4. "WE" can't do squat about it.. El Supremos have spoken.

In a perfect world, OUR airwaves woulds be used to create a Dem campaign channel, a republic-ist channel & an independent channel..

All viable candidates would get equal time every day/week/month for 6 months only..and it would be FREE airtime for them to use as they saw fit.

NO paid ad would be allowed on regular channels..EVER..

Any candidate caught taking money from corporations would be arrested:)

[KharmaTrain]

5. Should We Ban Stupid?

One problem with your premise is that damned first ammendment. If you have a candidate that lies it's up to the opponent to point it out...early and often. And one way to do it is through teevee commericials...so if you ban one you ban the other. Of course it's totally unconstitutionsl.

Next...how do you determine a lie? Not so simple when you break the words apart...and politicians almost always skirt the truth and make promises they know stands little chance of happening. Should they be arrested? We wouldn't have any politicians then.

What is needed are restrictions on the corporate media using our political system as a piggy bank. While I am against the restoration of the "Fairness Doctrine", one provision can help...forcing broadcasters to sell advertising at the lowest possible rate. No longer can they discriminate in favor of those who have the big bucks and thus their "speech" is louder than someone who can't afford. Remove the profit motive and we'll see how the media treats those who lie or misrepresent an issue.

[RKP5637]

6. Yeah, I get tired of them, very very tired of them. I always hit the mute button or

change the channel. The majority of them are so negative and often filled with outright lies. I can't believe anyone listens to them and makes a decision, but they do. It's really horrible.

I dread election time. No wonder this country is so F'ed. And now corps. can donate all they want. Between this and the outright bribery of politicians how can any think this country is ever moving forward. We are stuck in the backwash and political mudslinging 7x24, and the most propagandized nation on earth.

[obxhead]

7. I think there should be set mandatory blocks of time equally

distributed to every candidate on the major networks where the candidates can plead their case. It should be forced by the FCC and paid for the networks. It is just air time after all. Big brother is on 3 nights a week? I'm sure we could preempt one or two episodes.

The best way to get campaign finance reform to move forward is to bring the obscene costs of a campaign down.