It's legal to lie in campaign ads!

When your calling in life is to find and expose the truth, few things are as frustrating as politicians who lie.

They do it in plain sight, they do. If The Media was actually fair, these fibs wouldn't be nearly as effective. But the dominant media ideology dictates that the lies are usually never exposed, so the candidates get away with it.

If you're a candidate, you can get a TV or radio station to yank an opponent's commercial if the ad lies about you. But that's about all you can do. There's no other protections against campaign ads that lie. There's not even a guarantee that the station will pull the ad even if you can prove that it lies.

The Federal Trade Commission doesn't allow ads for consumer products to lie. That's called false advertising. For instance, the FTC fined several diet pill makers millions of dollars in 2007 because they made false claims about their awful wares. The FTC has also gone after Miss Cleo's promoters for deceptive advertising.

But these safeguards are out the window when an ad for a candidate or political issue lies. I'm not talking about statements of opinion. I'm talking about claims that are objectively and demonstrably untrue. Kind of like George W. Bush's swiftboat commercials against John Kerry. Or when George H.W. Bush blamed Michael Dukakis for William Horton abusing a prison furlough - even though the furlough program was enacted by a Republican and ended by Dukakis.

Election officials act like they're doing something righteous and principled by allowing campaign ads full of lies. But to most people, it's just stupid. Is there any other democracy in the world that allows lies in campaign ads? In 1984, the state of Washington passed a law against campaign ads that "make a false statement of material fact." Violations could result in election outcomes being annulled. But that law was overturned. Last I heard, Ohio has a law against dishonest campaign ads, but election officials have generally refused to drop the hammer.

Free speech should enjoy the broadest protections possible. But commercials for consumer products can't lie. So why should ads for political candidates be allowed to lie? I don't think it's gallant to use the First Amendment to defend false advertising. The First Amendment clearly covers editorial, journalistic, and artistic works as well as student expression - but I dare you to ask the FTC if it covers false advertising. That's a good way to get your face laughed in.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Election Commission should hold political ads to the same standards as ads for consumer products. I don't just mean lies about opposing candidates, but also other lies about relevant facts. That would apply to the Tea Party erecting its signs that lied about the library tax referendum. If you want folks to vote your way, either tell the truth or STFU. If your stance can't be backed up with facts, tough toilets.