State v 119 Vote No! Committee :: 135 Wn2d 618
Category: First Amendment
We evaluated the Justices based on their decision regarding the constitutional issues of this case. The vote was unanimous that the Vote No! Committee had not violated RCW 42.17.530(1)(a), but they divided their opinion on whether the Legislature could write a statute that made political lies illegal. The wording of the statute is: “It is a violation of this chapter for a person to sponsor with actual malice: (a) Political advertising that contains a false statement of material fact;.” The majority held that the statute, on its face, violated the Constitution. We agree.
I am surprised by all the controversy among conservative circles about the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the 1984 statute which made lying in campaign literature illegal. The fact of the matter is that the majority upheld the substance of our First Amendment. As conservatives, we should not be alarmed, we should be thankful the justices understood the state must not control political speech.
One of the foundational cornerstones of true conservatism is truth. In a perfect world, we would want all deceit to be unlawful. However, two other cornerstones are personal responsibility and limited civil government. If our political candidates lie, they should be accountable to the electorate and this should become a liability at the polls. If the people vote for liars, they deserve the government they elect.
On the other hand, if we choose to have the state control political speech and determine what truth is, then truth will become an instrument of the state--truth will be what the state decides. With the political leadership we have now, it would not be far fetched to imagine a candidate who spoke of abortion as murder or another who would reveal the fallacy of our “balanced budget” would find himself facing criminal charges.
Bear in mind, the court did not remove any liability for libel and slander. These are civil matters and should be treated as such when the situation arises. Ultimate control of truth belongs to God--and we will all stand before Him. Until then, truth in the political arena will be accepted or rejected by the people, and they will reap the reward of their choices.
Rating the Usual Suspects:
| pass | Alexander, Gerry | |
| pass | Dolliver, James | |
| pass | Kane, Christopher | |
| pass | Madsen, Barbara | |
| pass | Sanders, Richard | |
| pass | Smith, Charles | |
| pass | Stobaugh, David | |
| fail | Casey, Paula | |
| fail | Durham, Barbara | |
| fail | Gregoire, Christine | |
| fail | Guy, Richard | |
| fail | Holcomb Jr, Thomas | |
| fail | Johnson, Charles | |
| fail | Talmadge, Phil |