Tyroch Campaign Stifles Free Speech

In the House District 55 race, Martha Tyroch’s campaign advisors demanded that YouTube pull a parody of her campaign ad, claiming a “copyright violation.” YouTube removed the piece this morning. The parody, created by the Empower Texans PAC, highlighted Tyroch’s record on budget issues and was clearly a “spoof” of her campaign ad (also on YouTube).

The treasurer of the Empower Texans PAC, Michael Quinn Sullivan, said such an action demonstrates the lengths Tyroch and her advisors will go to stifle an open discussion of her record in a very important election. Earlier this week, the PAC endorsed of her opponent, Ralph Sheffield.

“The First Amendment clearly was designed to protect political speech, and copyright laws were never intended to be used as a weapon to stifle discussions in a campaign season,” said Sullivan, a former newspaper reporter. “The action by Tyroch and her advisors demonstrates a contempt for free speech that is matched only by her unwillingness to talk about the 91-percent increase in general fund spending that occurred during her term on the Temple City Council.”

Sullivan said the video is still available for download on the organization’s website (9mb file), orcan be streamed from numerous other video-sharing websites on the Internet (see below).

“Martha is 0-3 when it comes to protecting taxpayers. She skipped a vote in 2001 where taxes were raised and voted to increase taxes two other times. The tax burden on Temple residents increased every year that Martha Tyroch was on the city council,” added Sullivan. “Now it appears not only do voters and taxpayers have to worry about the fiscal impact of her service, but also her plans to further erode First Amendment rights.”

When one goes to the YouTube link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxsPhIkCXZw) for the parody, a message reads, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Martha Tyroch for State Representative Campaign and Anthem Media, LLC.”

Concluded Sullivan: “Apparently Martha Tyroch doesn’t have a sense of humor when it comes to her record of increasing taxes and growing government.”