Philly Inquirer Editorial: Change Laws to End Hateful Political Attack Ads

The Philadelphia Inquirer is calling for changes in campaign finance laws to put a stop to "hate-infused ads" created to confuse and anger voters so they "no longer feel good about the candidate they favored."

"Think of it as a form of high-priced voter intimidation financed by interests who want to control the national agenda by using incessant advertising to badger voters into accepting their candidates," The Inquirer's editorial board wrote in Friday's editions.

"What's worse, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, is that 26 percent of the money being spent on federal election campaigns comes from fake charities that aren't required to disclose their donors. That means voters don't know who's trying to trip them up."

But any changes to laws which could stop such ads the newspaper says there may be hope for change, "must have overwhelmingly bipartisan support," according to The Inquirer.

"That's where voters come in: They must be relentless in letting the people they elect know that they don't want to see another election hijacked by special interests with deep pockets to pay for offensive TV ads."

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