FREE SPEECH.

Maybe this blog post today will inspire the event coordinator at Palm Beach State College in suburban Lake Worth to invite speaker Al Tompkins back to give another presentation. Who is Al Tompkins? Please continue reading to find out.

It is worth noting political FREE SPEECH does not require truth but truth can certainly help make one’s case to the voters. Many of you will recall the TV ad by President Barack Obama’s campaign organization back in 2012.

That one ad ensured the re-election of President Obama who would remain the 44th President of the United States.

Don’t recall that ad? Learn more below.

Because this blog is mostly about the City of Lake Worth and nearby municipalities and suburban areas too it is of interest how unusual the situation in Lake Worth this year: this year is the rare “slow play” election. Think of a one-mile track race. Sometimes runners take off fast from the start. Other times it’s slow and jockeying for position for the final sprint, the ‘slow play’. Only time will tell who had the best strategy and maybe a late-February surprise. See one of those surprises a little later. One that ended up in mailboxes all over the City.

However, briefly on LOCAL politics and political FREE SPEECH the City of Lake Worth has nonpartisan elections as per the City Charter. And most candidates follow this rule, successfully avoiding the dysfunctional politics on the state and Federal level. There is no real penalty for breaking this rule. Except having to face the voters on Election Day.

Now back to FREE SPEECH and politics.

The only thing required on a TV ad or a mailer by any candidate for political office is a disclaimer. Period. Everything else is FREE SPEECH.

For example, what about the inflammatory and mythical ‘sanctuary city’? In politics that is fair game and FREE SPEECH.

The ‘G’ word? That is FREE SPEECH too.

But FREE SPEECH goes both ways and using loaded language can end up damaging a campaign beyond repair. Because of the required disclaimer the voters will be informed who that FREE SPEECH actually came from and vote accordingly.

An example of a required disclaimer is later in this blog post.

Back in August 2016 Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute was invited to Palm Beach State College to give a presentation about the press and news media. This was just a few months prior to the November General Election.

Mr. Tompkins was never invited back.

But maybe he will be invited back to Palm Beach County some time prior to the Primary and General Election in 2020.

One of Tompkins’ major points was,


The public needs to sort out what’s accurate and what’s true. And voters need to be responsible in understanding how they are being persuaded.


What Tompkins used as an example was the most effective political TV ad in modern American history, the ad by President Obama’s campaign aimed at Mitt Romney on healthcare. Romney never recovered. He tried to fight back. But it was over.

Out of all the hundreds of thousands of political TV ads that year only a tiny handful stood out.

The same is true for political yard signs. And door hangers. And also true for political mailers.

Earlier that same year, leading into the March 2016 elections in the City of Lake Worth, a political mailer was sent out ending any hope that Mr. Ryan Maier would ever get elected.

Why was that particular mailer so effective? You decide.

Click on mailer to enlarge.

And note the required disclaimer at the bottom.

The Hartman campaign tried to fight back but it was a lost cause. The ad’s content was not of dispute. Maxwell won in a landslide.

When you get that next mailer examine it carefully. Make sure it has a disclaimer. Always look for the disclaimer on political FREE SPEECH.

Examine the content. Try to understand how you are being persuaded. 

And then make your voice heard on March 12th.