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Bruce Place went too far with his threat to sue the Beacon. Apparently, he has not been following the "Hillary: The Movie" controversy that has turned campaigning on its head at the national level. This is where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a negative movie about Hillary Clinton, then running for President, could be shown during the national campaign.

Let's look at the fundamentals: Mr. Place is expected to be a town moderator, a person bringing the people together to govern themselves. Council presidents should not take positions that shine a negative national spotlight on town affairs. Bruce Place is potentially doing just that.

We have just witnessed a true debacle in Iowa where a former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was the target of a barrage of negative television advertisements organized by former campaign staffers of a former Governor of Massachusetts. Before the Hillary decision (actually called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission) this blizzard of advertising would not have been possible. The strange thing is that the former Speaker of the House was an architect behind the Hillary decision. He became entangled in his own trap.

Here in Warwick things are on a much smaller scale. But the Car Tax Revolt has gained statewide attention in its efforts to reduce the size of government. There has been some national exposure. It is now out of the bag that Bruce Place threatened to sue the Beacon over a political advertisement for which he was the target. This has led the Rhode Island Press Association to seek federal court relief of the law that Mr. Place cited in his threat to sue the Warwick Beacon.

Considering how much the presidential candidates are taking advantage of the Hillary decision it is my guess that it won't be long before Bruce Place, the Warwick Beacon, and the Car Tax Revolt controversy reaches a wider audience. Keep your eye on the news.