{"id":4955,"date":"2013-11-17T18:06:26","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T01:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peterlance.com\/?p=4955"},"modified":"2014-11-30T20:06:48","modified_gmt":"2014-12-01T03:06:48","slug":"lompoc-record-compares-lois-capps-deceptive-mitchum-ad-to-yelling-fire-in-a-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/?p=4955","title":{"rendered":"Lompoc Record calls Lois Capps&#8217; Mitchum ad &#8220;a glaring example&#8221; of &#8220;distortion of the truth.&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Lompoc%20Record%20calls%20Lois%20Capps%27%20Mitchum%20ad%20%22a%20glaring%20example%22%20of%20%22distortion%20of%20the%20truth.%22\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p><strong>Lompoc Record Editorial November 17th, 2014.<\/strong> We\u2019ve had considerable feedback concerning the 24th Congressional District race, in which Lois Capps was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.Specifically, readers are complaining about pre-election advertising on Capps\u2019 behalf. One video contained misleading wording attributed to Capps\u2019 opponent, Chris Mitchum, a Santa Barbara Republican: \u201cI do not intend to go to Washington to represent the 24th District.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-17-at-5.03.47-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-4957\" title=\"Screen Shot 2014-11-17 at 5.03.47 PM\" src=\"http:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-17-at-5.03.47-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"389\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-17-at-5.03.47-PM.png 555w, https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Screen-Shot-2014-11-17-at-5.03.47-PM-300x216.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/lompocrecord.com\/santamaria\/news\/opinion\/editorial\/you-can-t-yell-fire-unless-there-is-one\/article_14cd6730-7ad9-52d9-919b-156f7f5f7360.html\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A viewer seeing that ad might reasonably draw the conclusion that Mitchum showed disrespect for Central Coast voters \u2014 precisely what creators of the pro-Capps campaign ad wanted.<\/p>\n<p>Except, it was a lie. Well, not a complete lie, but a selectively edited version of the truth.<\/p>\n<p>What Mitchum actually said was: \u201cI do not intend to go to Washington to represent the 24th District to bring back baseball fields.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our interpretation of the full quote tells us Mitchum was going to give his all on behalf of constituents of the 24th District \u2014 not the flippant attitude alleged in the Capps ad.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no way to know if that misrepresentation of a candidate\u2019s statement led to Mitchum\u2019s defeat at the polls, but it could not have helped his cause, which is exactly what those behind the Capps campaign intended.<\/p>\n<p>This is just one small example of what\u2019s wrong with modern American politics. Because we are a nation in which free speech is not only allowed, but encouraged, political operatives have decided blatant lies are an accepted part of the campaign process.<\/p>\n<p>Which may help explain why so few Americans are interested in politics \u2014 at least interested enough to bother to vote. Here are some discouraging facts:<\/p>\n<p>In the nation\u2019s three largest states \u2014 California, Texas and New York \u2014 less than a third of the population eligible to vote actually cast a ballot. In 43 states, less than half the eligible citizens bothered to vote.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the turnout nationwide was a distressing 36.3 percent, the lowest in any U.S. election in nearly three-quarters of a century.<\/p>\n<p>In the ranking of all 50 states by voter turnout, California finished a dismal 40th, with a turnout of 31.8 percent., finishing in a tie with Nevada and West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Political analysts are having a field day with such numbers, especially those with ties to the Republican Party. They say the poor turnout is a direct result of a lackluster performance by President Obama and his administration. In fact, GOP candidates nationwide seemed to have a single-issue focus \u2014 Obama\u2019s falling favor with Americans.<\/p>\n<p>So, there was little surprise in the GOP taking over the Senate majority, and padding its lead in the House. In a gush of hubris, the Republican sweep is being referred to as a mandate for a more conservative government.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s possible, but highly unlikely, based solely on the numbers. How can there be a mandate when the winners were chosen with, in some cases, as little as 15 percent of the potential vote?<\/p>\n<p>We believe the real cause of voter apathy is the hatefulness that permeates political campaigning in recent years. Voters and potential voters have come to understand that the bulk of campaign advertising is not to be trusted \u2014 the Capps ad distortion of the truth being a glaring example.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a safe path for our form of democracy, when paid-for advertising can lie with impunity by editing a candidate\u2019s remarks to suit an opponent\u2019s purposes.<\/p>\n<p>There are limits to free speech. The Supreme Court has ruled you can\u2019t yell \u201cfire!\u201d in a crowded theater, unless there is one. That concept needs to be applied to politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Lompoc%20Record%20calls%20Lois%20Capps%27%20Mitchum%20ad%20%22a%20glaring%20example%22%20of%20%22distortion%20of%20the%20truth.%22\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div><p>Lompoc Record Editorial November 17th, 2014. We\u2019ve had considerable feedback concerning the 24th Congressional District race, in which Lois Capps was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.Specifically, readers are complaining about pre-election advertising on Capps\u2019 behalf. One video contained misleading wording attributed to Capps\u2019 opponent, Chris Mitchum, a Santa Barbara Republican: \u201cI do not [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[499,555,554,563,584,620,549,526,609,1211,531,546,193,548,619,527,529,579,189,540,511,556,518,513,519,553,551,533,517,550,541,201,192,542,582,583,508,618,547,522,561,580,578,534,523,585,610,510,532,538,539,535,560,126,558,559,528,509,536,520,512,525,1221,516,524,552,515,521,530,537,557,514],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4955"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4955"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5042,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4955\/revisions\/5042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peterlance.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}