ALBANY, N.Y. -- Call it the attack of the political ads. Okay, so it's not the best title for a horror flick but after a while, the abundance of advertisements on the air could still make you cringe.
If it's not Obama and McCain, it's McGaughey and Jordan all telling you why they're the best person for the job. And while they're not in costume, with just a few weeks before Halloween, some of the candidates seem to be masking the truth.
Take 105th Assembly candidate Mark Blanchfield's radio spot for example.
“Here's what Assemblyman George Amedore said about the job we pay him to do,” the ad’s announcer said.
“I have building in my blood. That's my job. I don't look at the Assembly position as my job,” Amedore said in the ad.
With less than three weeks until Election Day, chances are you've seen a lot of political ads on TV. And in some cases those ads get downright nasty. So who determines if or when candidates cross the line? Our Ken Jubie reports.
But Amedore goes on to say that while he's a builder by trade, he considers his work at the Capitol community service. That part was slashed. And even though Blanchfield stands by the ad, it's getting him in trouble with the Business Review which owns the footage and never authorized its use.
It's also giving goose bumps to Fair Campaign Practices for the Capital Region.
“There is a distortion because the subsequent sentences were not used,” said Joan Elliott with Fair Campaign Practices.
The group is also criticizing 112th District candidate Ian McGaughey for violating the fair campaign pledge he signed by twisting the truth in a commercial saying he cut property taxes in the already tax-free Town of Wilton.
“For the average person, cutting taxes doesn't mean that you simply cut taxes that were zero to begin with,” said Elliott.
Despite their disappointment, there's not much Elliott's group can do. The TV and radio stations airing the ads are in the same shop of horrors.
“You can't censor them. So as a station, your hands are tied by the FCC. And of course, the people who made the rules are the politicians,” said Dow Smith with Siena College.
According to the New York State Broadcasters Association, stations are not allowed to censor or alter campaign spots. And while they have to air them, the ad's content can't get them in trouble with the Federal Communications Commission.
“It really annoyed me that we put commercials on the air that were wrong, unethical and not sound. But there was nothing we could do about it because of the FCC rules,” said Smith.
The former station general manager and news director said the only times stations can censor political commercials are when they're libelous or a cover for another issue like abortion. Otherwise, the hope is that people aren't haunted by the ads and can sift through the spin to make informed decisions on Election Day.