Suing Your Way To An Election Win

State Rep. Matt Wright came up with a good way to get his opponent in next week’s election to stop running attack ads.

He threatened to sue.

Yes, that’s right. Wright, a Republican, saw an ad for opponent Chris King that featured footage of Wright on the floor of the state house, so he went and whined to John Perzel who got a Williamsport lawyer to threaten a lawsuit if the ad wasn’t removed. (That’s Wright in the photo from his official state senate page, which includes this complete personal history: “Married to Donna[.]“)

Footage from the floor of the state house, you see, is copyrighted by, uh, the state house. And so using footage for political campaigns is against the rules. We wouldn’t want our constituents learning what actually goes on there! (The state senate has similar rules, naturally.)

Perzel spokesman Al Bowman said the purpose of the restriction is to “protect the integrity of the proceeding[.]“

Ha! Let that one sink in. King, of course, will stop running the ads on Bucks County cable television. All hail the mighty lawsuit!

Attorney: King’s TV ad violates copyright law [Bucks County Courier Times]
Matt Wright [PA House]