Kucinich to Confront Dean Over False Advertising
The following is a press release from October 24, 2003, by the Kucinich campaign
***
Kucinich to Confront Dean Over False Advertising
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2003
Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Gov. Howard Dean are both scheduled to take part, along with other candidates, in a New Hampshire AFL-CIO Convention / Candidates Forum tomorrow morning. Kucinich plans to ask Dean to stop airing a television ad containing false and misleading statements. Kucinich has scheduled a press conference for:
9 a.m. Saturday, October 25, 2003
The Quinn Room
Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa
Mountain View Rd.
Whitefield, N.H.
The AFL-CIO forum begins at 10 a.m. at the same resort.
Today former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson commented:
"We forbid corporations' TV commercials if their copy is 'false and misleading.' When a candidate for public office falls below that standard, just because he can, it demeans not only the candidate but the entire political process. This is a time when a full half of the American electorate is so apathetic and angry about politics as usual -- from Democrats and Republicans alike -- that they'd rather stay home than go out and vote for President. It's a time when the FCC, FTC, and FEC need to do all they can, within their legislative and constitutional limitations, to encourage truthful and informative political as well as commercial advertising. It may be true that one person's 'my opponent's record' is another person's 'negative advertising.' But hopefully we can all agree that -- opinions aside -- there should be no place in American elections for the deliberate, knowing and manipulative misrepresentation of factually ascertainable information."
The Kucinich campaign will be writing to the FTC and the FCC. The attorney for the Kucinich Campaign, Donald J. McTigue, has sent a letter to all of the television stations broadcasting in New Hampshire asking that they "not air or immediately cease and desist from airing" an advertisement produced by Gov. Howard Dean's campaign, and requesting that they "provide Kucinich for President, Inc. air time equivalent to the time in which you have already aired the advertisement free of charge so that Congressman Kucinich may have an opportunity to correct the falsehoods contained in the advertisement." The letter can be read at: http://kucinich.us/Cease.pdf.
In the advertisement in question, Governor Dean speaks the following words: "A hundred and thirty thousand troops in Iraq, with no end in sight and a price tag that goes up daily and the best my opponents can do is ask questions today that they should have asked before they supported the war. I opposed the war from the start because I want a foreign policy consistent with American values and I want to reclaim our rights and our liberties that were taken away in the name of patriotism. I'm Howard Dean and I approved this message because only you have the power to restore the dignity and respect that our country deserves."
For more information: http://www.kucinich.us
For Rep. Kucinich's Schedule: http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.htm.
Contact: David Swanson 202-329-7847 swanson@kucinich.us.
Subscribe to this blog's feed