DC Transit Authority Refuses to Pull 'Go to Hell Barack' Metro Ad, Says it's 'Protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution'

In a move its creator says was "designed to express the magnitude of anger over our move toward socialized medicine," Independent filmmaker Logan Darrow Clements is standing by his decision to use the phrase, "Go to hell Barack" in a DC Metro advertisement for his movie Sick & Sicker. Not only that, but the DC-area transit agency is standing by the ad as well.

"I'm extremely upset the government is going to take over health care. I'm not mildly upset. I'm extremely upset," Clements said.

An advertisement for Clements' movie in the Clarendon Metro station states: "Barack Obama wants politicians and bureaucrats to control America's entire medical system."

It adds: "Go to hell Barack."

Despite calls by Virginia Democrat Rep. Jim Moran on the Metro board to remove the ad, a Metro spokesman, citing case law, said the transit authority could not pull an ad based on its political content.

"WMATA advertising has been ruled by the courts as a public forum protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution, and we may not decline ads based on their political content," the agency said in a written statement that was provided to The Hill.

"WMATA does not endorse the advertising on our system, and ads do not reflect the position of the authority," the Metro statement added.

Clarendon Patch adds:

So far, the advertisement is only running in the Washington metro area -- and just in the Clarendon Metro station. The ad went up Feb. 13 and will run through March 11.

Clements said he picked the Clarendon station to display his ad because it was "affordable." The advertisement cost about $800, according to the Washington Post.

"I'm an independent, struggling filmmaker. I can't afford to spend a ton of money like Michael Moore," Clements said. "In fact, I basically positioned my movie as the antidote to Michael Moore's movie 'Sicko.' "

Clements supports Texas Congressman Ron Paul's presidential bid, and considers himself an objectivist -- a follower of Ayn Rand's philosophy -- rather than a conservative or libertarian.

"My position is that I'm pretty outraged that the government wants to get between me and my doctor -- to basically hold my life in their hands," Clements said.

"When it's all said and done… we'll be in a system likes Canada's. Some bureaucrat is going to have my life in his hands. That's outrageous. That's where we're headed. Medical decisions in America are going to be made by politicians and bureaucrats, not doctors and patients."

Below is a trailer for the movie: