WASHINGTON, March 1 (UPI) -- A Virginia congressman is demanding the removal of a Metro ad he says "defames the president of the United States in a way that coarsens the public discourse."
The ad reads: "Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America's entire medical system. Go to hell, Barack." It promotes the film Sicker and Sicker, about Obama's healthcare reform law.
Virginia U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, a Democrat, said the ad goes too far.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority issued a statement Thursday saying the ad is protected by the First Amendment. "WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not reflect the position of the authority," said the statement.
"The specific language in the WMATA-approved ad that should be removed is not political, it's profane," Moran told WTOP, Washington.
"All Americans have the right to make their voice heard under the First Amendment. But when we are talking about an advertisement on taxpayer-funded facilities, as is the case with Metro [subway from the suburbs into Washington], it should meet the minimum standards of propriety. I repeat my call on WMATA to exercise appropriate judgment and remove this offensive ad," he added
