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OBSERVATIONS
September 24, 2020 |
 |
 Wingate Lassiter |
Local TV stations enjoying a windfall
in profits for untruthful political ads
As a former co-owner of a family's newspaper that refused to accept such stuff for publication, I'm disgusted that our region's television stations continue to air distorted and untruthful political advertising with no regard for the consequences.
It appears to be a callous example of putting profits above public service.
The stations boast about their "fact checkers" when it comes to political candidates, but I've yet to see a "fact check" done on a TV political ad.
Freedom of speech is a sacred right in the United States of America. And it's especially important when it comes to scrutiny of those who seek election to serve us. But fueling public distrust by perpetrating false narratives through manipulative advertising is ruining our democracy.
Making matters worse is that U.S. Supreme Court decision of 10 years ago that struck down prohibitions on corporations, labor unions, and non-profits from spending unlimited money on political campaigns. This so-called "dark money" is behind most of the misleading ads directed against particular candidates.
Here's one of the worst examples I've seen this year, and it hits close to home:
The Allen Wellons distortion --- ad nauseum
First it was a flurry of placards in our mailboxes, and more recently a deluge of commercials on our local TV outlets that have been aired more times than any other ad I've seen this season, paid for by one of those dark-money PACs (political action committees) that calls itself "Citizens for a Better N.C. Senate" without telling us who they are.
The ad's ominous message: "When disaster strikes, State Senator Allen Wellons looks out for himself --- not us."
It's based on 1996 newspaper articles suggesting that Mr. Wellons (who hadn't yet been elected to the Senate) used his political influence in the wake of Hurricane Fran to get electric generators installed by the National Guard at his farm --- to save his tobacco crop --- while nursing homes went without power.
The Smithfield Herald of September 17, 1996 reported that Republican State Representative Billy Creech along with Allen Mims, who was running against Mr. Wellons that fall, were the sources of the allegation.
Richard Moore, the state's Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety at the time, acknowledged that at least half a dozen Johnston County farmers did get to use National Guard generators for their curing barns, but not before all hospitals, nursing homes, and municipal water and sewer plants were back in operation.
Mr. Creech countered that he had been told a "different story" and suspected Secretary Moore was covering for his boss, Governor Jim Hunt, a Democrat, as is Mr. Wellons.
Candidate Wellons, meanwhile, told the Herald that the tobacco crop that was saved at his farm off Cleveland Road was harvested in partnership with relatives of Republican County Commissioner Cookie Pope.
The original Associated Press story about the allegation contained a quote from Representative Creech that put him in some hot water: "If there's human needs out there, you don't cure damn tobacco with it, not with the state's generators."
That "damn tobacco" comment didn't sit well with Johnston's tobacco farmers, prompting a follow-up story in the Herald of September 20 in which Mr. Creech declared that "there's no one that supports tobacco more than Billy Creech."
No matter. Both Mr. Creech and Mr. Wellons won election to the General Assembly that November.
But the episode left just enough doubt in some people's minds for the dark-money folks to come up with the advertising campaign against Mr. Wellons 24 years later, figuring many folks won't bother to seek out "the rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey used to say).
American voters, who tend to have short memories, are easy pickings for politicians and their benefactors looking for short-cuts to victory. What a shame.
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