Pennsylvania Democratic Party

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300 North Second Street, 8th Floor,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101

Phone: (717) 920-8470 - Fax: (717) 901-7829

Email: info@padems.com Website: www.padems.com

Jim Burn	Penny Gerber	Ann Bursis
State Chair	Vice-Chair	Treasurer

CONTACT: Jim Burn
PHONE: (412) 821-3810

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2010

Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn Letter Regarding Inaccuracy In U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Political Advertisement

HARRISBURG, Pa: The following letter by Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn was submitted to editorial boards across the Commonwealth on Monday, July 19, 2010. The letter addresses the inaccuracies recently found in a television advertisement sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that distorts the voting record of Congressman Joe Sestak. Two TV stations decided to pull down the advertisement based on an inaccuracy but have reversed their decision and resumed airing the ad despite the fallacy.

Chairman Burn is making this letter open to the public and calling on all television stations to not only remove the advertisement in question but to hold a higher standard when presenting such information to the voters of Pennsylvania.

To the Editor:

Last week, two television stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting found an "inaccuracy" in advertising produced and paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The ad is designed to distort the voting record of Congressman Joe Sestak in an attempt to wrongly influence the outcome of the U.S. Senate election.

Unfortunately, these two TV stations, WPGH and WPMY, have reversed their decisions. We are concerned with this reversal and are equally concerned with the fact that other stations have not pulled this inaccurate commercial, especially when confronted with the facts.

Truth in advertising is important when persuading consumers about commercial products, but advertising should be held to an even higher standard when dealing in the arena of presenting information to voters.

We certainly respect the rights of TV stations and other mediums to determine what is presented to their audiences, but to blatantly ignore the truth and allow for lies to be promulgated should be considered nothing but a disservice to the community that rely upon them to present honesty.

The First Amendment of our Constitution is one of our most sacred and should always be protected. But in protecting our freedom of speech, we must also protect against the dissemination of lies.

We are asking that other TV stations not only pull this false ad, but we strongly advise that when organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce present ads for airing in the future that stations incorporate a policy requiring them to include thorough documentation for the claims they make.

In a political debate we can't expect that everyone will agree with the Democratic Party on every issue, but we do demand that they present the truth and TV stations have a role to play in assuring that standard is met.

With that, TV stations must pull down the U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad. It is the honest thing to do.

Jim Burn, Chairman
The Pennsylvania Democratic Party

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