‘Go to hell Barack’- Row over Washington Metro ad
This goes beyond the pale, says Democratic
congressman Jim Moran:
US: In the heat of a US presidential election year, with Americans
immune to the polarized and bitter nature of political discourse, it
takes a lot to shock them, especially in Washington.
But one ad at a DC Metro station -- which starts off criticizing
Obama's health care reforms and ends up telling the president to “go to
hell” -- goes beyond the pale, says Jim Moran, a Democratic congressman
from Virginia.
The advertisement is for “Sick and Sicker: When the Government
Becomes Your Doctor,” a documentary that interviews Canadian doctors and
patients in the hope of showing how dangerous “Obamacare” is for the
American people.
“Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America's
entire medical system. Go to hell Barack,” the ad says. Moran wrote a
letter to Metro general manager Richard Sarles calling for the removal
of the advertisement.“The ad is deeply disrespectful of the President of
the United States and does not belong in the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMATA) network,” he wrote. It turns out that
such language is within the accepted limits of American law and such
advertisements are protected under the First Amendment of the US
constitution, guaranteeing free speech.
“WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum
protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not
decline ads based on their political content,” the Metro authority said
in a written statement.
“WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not
reflect the position of the Authority.”
Democrats have accused Republicans of lowering the tone of the
political discourse in the United States during this election season, in
particular with highly personal attacks on the president.Arizona
Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, was widely condemned recently by
Democrats for poking her finger at the president during an angry
exchange on the tarmac after she greeted his arrival in Phoenix. AFP |