One Day Soon Political Ads Will Be Coming To You.

       Remember how much you hated those campaign ads? On the air nearly every ten minutes. And 90% of those ads were lies by one side or the other, remember? And remember how you wished you could make them go away? What do you think about the prospect of having to start listening to them again beginning next year?
       There was a time when we didn't have to listen to them. What finally made it possible for all those ads was the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that allowed Super-Pacs and tax exempt organizations to advertise with unlimited funds from individuals and corporations. And the constitution allows anyone to lie all they want with no fear of retribution.
       But there was another time when ads were more limited and equally distributed. Back thirty years or more ago, there was a rule that TV and radio had to follow, that required equal time for rebuttal by opposing view. Which meant that if you placed an ad on TV that called your opponent a drunk, he had the opportunity to come on the air and call you a bigger drunk.
       Then came Ronald Reagan to be president. He appointed people to the Federal Communications Commission. Then the FCC eliminated the equal time rule. That's about the time that FOX News came into being, and MSNBC and other overly biased networks.
       So everybody wants to somehow override the Supreme Court's decision. But the Constitution only offers one sure way to do that. It has to do with a change to the Constitution. But to do that is a big deal and one that two thirds of the states must ratify.
       But there is another way to skin that cat. If such an FCC rule were in place today, again, it would take away the advantage of the big money of mega rich individuals and Corporations. That's because every time the Koch brothers placed an ad against some lowly congressman or a presidential candidate, that congressman or candidate would get equal time. For Free.
       It would make it possible for even a poor man or woman to run for high office. And that would just kill the likes of Carl Rove. And it wouldn't require a change to our Constitution.