Photo courtesy www.terryforpresident.com.
Oklahomans who watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials are in for a rude awakening this Sunday. Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, a Dallas-based anti-abortion organization, and a Democractic candidate for president, is running a graphic commercial featuring images of aborted fetuses before and during the Super Bowl.
The 30-second advertisement, which you can watch here, features images of aborted fetuses at varying stages of gestation, one placed next to a dime and another beside a crucifix to show scale and tug at Christian heartstrings. Terry narrates: “Warning: Graphic images follow. Abortion is murder. The innocent blood of 50 million babies cries out to God from our sewers and landfills. We must make it a crime to murder them, or Heaven will judge America. Christians who vote for Obama, knowing he promotes murder, have blood on their hands. We must use our vote to protect our babies. I’m Randall Terry, Democrat candidate for president, and I approve this message.”
During the pre-game show, the ads will be aired in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, as well as Kansas City, Kansas/Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. During the game, viewers in Ada, Oklahoma; Grand Junction, Colorado; Joplin, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; and Springfield, Missouri will see the ad.
Mother Jones reported Monday:
…Terry, a long-time foe of abortion rights, has launched a write-in primary challenge against President Obama in order to get his graphic ads on the air. According to Federal Communications Commission regulations, TV stations must give federal candidates unrestricted access to the airwaves in the weeks before an election. And Terry is exploiting that rule to the max by snatching up Super Bowl spots in as many states with February or March primaries as he can.
Without that golden rule, Terry’s ads could be banned from airwaves for their graphic imagery. “Although networks and their local affiliates have the authority—and a legal imperative, in some cases—to block ‘indecent’ material from the airwaves, there’s an exception when it comes to political spots, so long as they’re within 45 days of a primary or caucus,” Tim Murphy wrote last month.
Chicago’s NBC affiliate has attempted to intercept the ad, doubtful Terry is a “bona fide” presidential candidate. The station is “in the process of evaluating the materials supplied by the candidate,” it stated in a press release.
“Basically, Terry must do enough old-school campaigning—making speeches, distributing literature, issuing press releases, etc.—to prove that his candidacy is not a stunt,” Maya Dusenbery wrote for Mother Jones. “Terry claims he has done so; NBC Chicago isn’t so sure.”
Terry has filed a complaint with the FCC and threatened legal action if the station doesn’t air his commercial. “The babies murdered under Obama’s policies deserve a voice in the Illinois primary, and we will provide it for them,” he wrote in a statement released last week.
—Holly Wall, News Editor
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Karin
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Chris
