Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Disrespectful to the President?



I just received this in an e-mail. It argues that the Fox network turned down a political ad as disrespectful to the president:

Today, Brian Ellner, a former School Board President and candidate for Manhattan Borough President, responded to Fox network's decision to ban his campaign commercial.

Although Fox refuses to submit a formal defense of its censorship, network representatives have informed the Ellner campaign that the ad was rejected because Fox views it as disrespectful to the president. All other networks have accepted the ad.

"Fox claims that this ad is disrespectful to the President. What is truly disrespectful to Manhattan voters is to deny them the chance to hear a serious message from a candidate for public office," Ellner said. "This is censorship and it's un-American."

The commercial can be viewed at www.BrianEllner.com. Manhattan voters will still have the opportunity to see it on other networks as well as many cable channels. Ellner's media buy of nearly $300,000 is by far the largest in the race for Borough President.

The ad received national praise when it was released last week as the first political television spot in America in which a gay candidate appears with his or her partner. In the 48 hours following its release, the Ellner campaign received a flood of contributions from across the nation.

Ellner, a former President of the District 2 School Board in Manhattan, has dedicated his career as an attorney to standing up for equal rights and civil rights. As Borough President, he will be Manhattan's most forceful advocate for progressive values like affordable housing, neighborhood preservation and real education reform. He will also fight for marriage equality, stem cell research and to protect a woman's fundamental right to choose.

The Heretik has a picture which certainly would qualify as disrespectful:





To Marie Antoinette at least.