HONEST POLITICIANS DON'T FRET OVER FALSE CLAIMS

What exactly constitutes lying and misrepresentation in political advertising is often a matter of opinion fueled by allegiances to a particular candidate or political party.

So an effort to get a bill through the Missouri Legislature before it adjourns today that would bar knowingly unfounded claims in political ads is running into all kinds of snags. Example: Who will decide if a campaign ad is false?

Lawmakers who are either the target of campaign distortions or who bend the facts in their own ads are hard-pressed to legislate truth in political advertising.

The sad thing about this is that state representatives and senators even need to consider such a law in the first place. Whatever happened to integrity and core values among those who aspire to elected office?