This may be lost on Boston.com readers, who are being inundated this morning with an onslaught of articles on the New England Patriots, but U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) and his presumed Democratic opponent in November, Elizabeth Warren, signed a pledge to “deter” third parties from advertising during their face-off.
“This is a great victory for the people of Massachusetts, and a bold statement that puts Super PACs and other third parties on notice that their interference in this race will not be tolerated,” Brown said in a statement announcing the agreement. “This historic agreement means the candidates will be in control of their own campaigns and accountable for what is said.”
Unsurprisingly, in their respective releases, Warren pointed the finger at Crossroads GPS for their attack ads against her, and Brown pointed the finger at the Rethink PAC for their attack ads against him.
Warren, in her press release this morning, included a proposed letter to station managers, asking for their help in refusing to let third party ads onto the air.
In essence, it boils down to an attempt by both sides to control the narrative, a cause for concern whether a candidate is a Democrat, Republican or other.
As Wendy Kaminer put it in the Atlantic last week:
Shame on any media outlet that offers “help” for efforts to repress independent advocacy. Candidates naturally want to monopolize electoral speech; they want to “control the narrative.” They’re entitled to desire control, obviously, but they’re not entitled to exercise it, and they should surely know better than to ask media outlets to act as enforcers for their campaigns. The presumptuousness of the proposed Brown/Warren agreement is jaw-dropping.
And it’s only January.
