Randall Terry and Political Advertising: A New Low

Randall Terry

Tonight, WCVB Channel 5, based out of Boston, MA, was the latest of several stations to air a political advertisement by Randall Terry. After airing the advertisement, the satin was inundated with complaints on the WCVB Facebook page (Read their response here). The ads, which I have purposely not included here, depict aborted fetuses, decapitated people, and worse. Randall Terry is trying to raise enough money to run these advertisements during the Super Bowl.

Randall Terry announced he is seeking the Democratic nomination for President, running against President Obama, last week. He has political ads running in several states.

The crazy thing about all of this is that the FCC requires Broadcast Stations to air advertisements for any candidate for Federal office. That't right, the same FCC that flips out over a rogue "F" bomb or a surprise nipple during the Super Bowl halftime show, requires Broadcast Stations to air all political advertisements for candidates for Federal office.

It is unclear if those in charge of advertising during the Super Bowl will be running any political advertisements. My knowledge of FCC rules and regulations is a bit rudimentary, but if my recollection is correct, because of the requirement of equal time being allotted to each candidate, if they run one political spot, they would have to accept an advertisement from each candidate. Even if that isn't true for every program on television, the argument could be made that since the Super Bowl is the most viewed program on television year after year, those equal time rules would apply.

Could this actually be the year that political advertising goes too far? Will we see legitimate candidates respond to these advertisements? Will there be a 30 second spot featuring decapitation and abortion during the Super Bowl? Only time will tell, I suppose.

You can view Randall Terry's website to see for yourself, but please be warned, the videos on his website are horrific.