Congressman Bashes Challenger Over 1999 Video Game Violence Vote

Congressman Bashes Challenger Over 1999 Video Game Violence Vote

October 21, 2006
It's the home stretch to November's mid-term elections, and candidates can't seem to churn out the negative ads fast enough.

The Associated Press reports on a new, 30-second TV spot in Indiana which exploits the video game violence issue to slam a former Congressman for a seven-year old vote.

There, Republican Mike Sodrel is clinging to his place in Congress in the wake of a challenge from Democrat Baron Hill. Hill is trying to win back the seat he lost to Stobel in 2004.

The Sodrel ad features a stark, black screen, as described by the AP:
"The text is white against a black screen. The sound is the electronic warbling of a video game. But in this political ad, the message is in the faceless voices of cheerful children engaged in mayhem."

"Hit the hooker with the tire iron!" "Steal the old lady's car." "Shoot her first!"

The ad, which broadly accuses Hill of voting against restrictions on video game violence, refers to a 1999 amendment to a juvenile crime bill which would have blocked the sale of violent and sexually explict games and movies to teens. The amendment, which 92 Republicans also voted against, failed over concerns about First Amendment issues.

Comments

Kajex,
Not only a bill that was unconstitutional under several ammendments, including the First Amendment.
Not only a bill that was voted against by a great many individuals.
And not only a bill that has no real factual scientific basis.

But a bill that violates Parental Rights.
And an ad that fails to point out that retailers ALREADY have policies setting age limits.
AND an ad that fails to point out that the FTC has been following up with studies on the success/failure of those policies and that the studies show a steady decline in the failure rate of those policies since 2000.

But let's face it, politicians who want video game legislation DON'T want to educate individuals because then the individuals could make up their OWN minds. This ad only shows that this politician wants NOTHING to do with educating individuals about the facts because there is a clear lack of The Truth, The WHOLE Truth, and Nothing But The Truth.

nightwng2000
NW2K Software
The way this ad is described, it sounds like it must be a joke. I can't believe there really is an ad like that. "Hit her with the tire iron!" You've got to be kidding me.
So wait. Hold on a sec. He's being bashed because he voted against an amendment that 92 other Republicans voted against, an amendment that was unconstitutional more than likely, in an issue where the subject matter is STILL debatable with no solid proof that games hurt anybody? Concerning games that children shouldn't have in the first place and was most likely bought by the ignorant parent who isn't paying attention to what their child is shouting out gleefully?
Yet again the media and politicans make more comparsions between child molesters and pedophiles with that of kids playing violent video games. Absolutly fucking sickening. I really think the ESA should be suing alot of people for this sort of crap now, If it's possible. Grow some balls ESA.
Don't go singing the praises of Baron Hill just yet. IIRC, even though he voted against this, he later became a co-sponsor of Joe Baca's Protect Children From Video Game Sex and Violence Act.
October 2006

Mike Sodrel produced a campaign ad saying that Baron Hill did not try to ban a violent video game which did not even exist.
I'd like to see someone at a townhall type meeting finally ask the question so many want answered. Are you for or against the First Ammendment as it is written by the Constitution of the United States; because your television ads show a woeful misunderstanding of the issue and a seeming adherance to a position that shows you would like to restrict a persons right to speak and to choose.
Baron Hill gets my vote. Well, he would if I wasn't 15 :)
what we don't get to see the ad?
Soooo...what was that about the Democrats being the party against video game legislation again?

@bayushian

I've seen how that sort of question gets answered. The general format goes something like this:

"Well, that's a very important issue, I think, and of course we all understand that free speech is a vital part of the constitution and of our way of life. At the same time, though, I think everyone understands that there are limits. We don't let people issue death threats against people for the color of their skin, or publish works involving the sexual exploitation of minors. So you have to understand that when speech becomes a matter of public safety that sometimes there are other concerns that have to be addressed..."

Games haven't come up here in Colorado's 4th district (Dem. Angie Paccione vs. Rep Marilyn Musgrave), probably because they're too busy accussing one another of cheating on taxes, dishonesty, killing puppies, stealing candy from babies, and so on. I have to decide between filing a spoilt ballot or supporting the reform party candidate. At the moment, I'm leaning towards the former.
The Congressman wants us to be outraged that these kids are apparently playing Grand Theft Auto. Myself, I wonder where the parents are. Is that such a foreign concept these days?
Nice to see a Democrat standing up for games for once. Too many, like Hillary, are simply trying to jump on the moralistic bandwagon to appeal to conservative voters.
Yeah, this is just a cheap ploy to get people pissed off at someone instead of giving them the facts that it was pretty much a law that went agaisnt the Constitution. Typical election year political ad, I'm sad to say, although probably a bit more tasteless than most other.
These are the same ads that I mentioned in the Hillary Clinton post. Self-promoting link: Here's my blog post with copies of the two ads ran against Hill that mentions videogames http://popularculturegaming.com/archives/000211.html
Voting against unconstitutional restrictions of freedom is a GOOD thing.

Any congressperson who votes for a law that is later overturned as unconstitutional should at a minimum be ejected from office as incompetent, and if forethought and foreknowledge of the unconstitutionality of the law can be proven, charges of treason should be levied.
I just got a political campaign call about this. When I asked why voting against the law was wrong she seemed confused why I would think that it might not be wrong to "protect the children." Then she said, "Maybe Hill is just out of touch with Hoosier values" and I asked if she was implying that there was something wrong with my values. Then she hung up.

GamePolitics ShoutBox

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ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
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Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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