New Majority Agenda - Urban Legends, Negative and Misleading Ads

Freedom of Speech includes the right to create Urban Legends. 


An Urban Legend is a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms.


In other words, Americans and corporations are free to speak lies in political action committee negative (PAC) ads - a right recently upheld by the US Supreme Court in the Citizens United ruling.  


New Majority Agenda is using Political Action Committee money to spread Urban Legends to Americans.  But who gives money to spread truth?


Moreover, this New Majority Agenda is a flashback to the President Nixon's concept of a silent majority - a conservative skewing of Urban Legends. http://www.crossroadsgps.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/GPSBrochure-NMA-FINAL.pdf


In other words, New Majority Agenda is digging up dead conservative ideas from the past.  Using slick production, the  negative political ads are topped off by a lovely woman's voice-over reminiscent of June Cleaver, the 1950s mom in the popular series "Leave it to Beaver".  Of course, the PAC's website is printed in red, white and blue print.  

Here are the Urban Legends in the New Majority Agenda website:

Lie:  "Redesign the tax code to help American business be competitive and productive, and make tax compliance easier and fairer for job creators and individuals alike."

Freedom of Untruthful Speech allows this lie to go unchecked.  A redesign of the tax code will be hugely complicated and costly to ordinary middle class tax payers.  Any "redesign" would likely include political skulduggery and more regulations than practically any sane person would want to understand.  

Lie: "Block President Obama’s effort to raise taxes on families, small businesses, and consumers."

Freedom of Untruthful Speech allows this lie to go unchecked:  President Obama has never proposed to raise taxes on families, small businesses and consumers.  This is the most outrageous lie in the website.  President Obama has consistently called on taxing the super rich.  There is no evidence whatsoever to support the Urban Legend on the New Majority Agenda website.

Most disturbing about this misuse of Freedom of Speech is the solicitation of money - people apparently give money to support Urban Legends embedded in PACs.  Americans abhor politicians who lie to them, but many appear willing to support hearing from corporations that spend money spreading Urban Legends.

I thought New Majority Agenda would be a right wing extremist group.  After checking the website (a hit counted on their stats but necessary for information)....this New Majority Agenda is a dangerous nostalgic flashback to the old Silent Majority that many thought went down with the demise of President Nixon's conservative era.  

Apparently, Urban Legends have more "lives" than re-makes of the tragic Titanic sinking. 

Thankfully, a counter to the New Majority Agenda is an ad narrated by President Obama who speaks about his unpopular decision to support America's automobile industry.  His economic decision proved to be the right choice.  Hearing our President defend his own decision is very powerful and effective communication. It's also costly.

Now we see why this 2012 Presidential campaign will cost close to a ridiculous $1 billion- to pay for political ads- one to counter another.  Negativity needs expensive truthful responses.

Every Urban Legend requires a truth counter point - because, unfortunately, many Americans find Urban Legends to be more compelling than truth.

A New American Agenda should include a reversal of the Supreme Court's Citizens United Ruling. We need an outpouring "viral" demand for disclosure of who pays for Urban Legends and those who create negative political discourse. 

A New American Agenda would support Freedom of Truthful Speech.