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Re: Primary aftermath



--- Sean Smyth <ssmyth@suscom.net> wrote:
>What exactly are stations' standards for this sort
> of stuff in current
> times?

I can't see a slander claim being sustained.  It is
apparent that the caller was not literally suggesting
Romney is a killer of babies but was offering an
opinion on his policies.  If someone says "I know for
a fact that Candidate X has killed several children,"
that would be a factual statement that could be
slander if untrue.  Calling a candidate a "baby
killer" in this context is not intended as a factual
statement but as an opinion on the candidate's
psoitions.  Such statements may be offensive, but are
protected by the First Amendment.

-- Dan Billings, Bowdoinham, Maine

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