How a notorious Klansman is responsible for the awful political ads you see on TV (Whitmire/al.com)
Updated May 31, 2017
Posted May 31, 2017
By Kyle Whitmire | AL.com
With a special election for United States Senate upon us, Alabama is about to be carpet bombed with the sort of ads that make everybody hate politics.
Already, we’ve seen Luther Strange take credit for everything from Mike Hubbard going to jail to Robert Bentley leaving office (none of which is true), and we’re bound to see a lot worse before it’s over.
But this week, I stumbled upon an answer to a question I’d never thought to ask before.
Why do politicians get to lie in their ads when everyone else can’t?
The Federal Trade Commission requires just about everyone who advertises to tell the truth, or at least protect themselves from the truth with fudge language and fine print.
Those car ads you see jumping SUVs like they’re on the Dukes of Hazzard have to warn you, “Professional driver on a closed course. Do not attempt.”
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The answer, it turns out, goes back to a wretched bastard of a man named J. B. Stoner.
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more: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/05/how_a_notorious_klansman_is_re.html
(Title is a bit of hyperbole. It's the First Amendment. Stoner was just the trigger for the explicit ruling.)
