Over-The-Top Political Ad Riles California

[vienna]

It seems California is now taking the forefront in despicable political trashiness. A political video ad has been placed on the Net attacking a Congressional candidate in a manner so over the top it is now being shunned like the plague by both sides of the political spectrum. There have been some real doozies but this one is a real topper:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=91137

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=13855048

http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/06/huey_hahn_attack_ad.html

The candidate on whose behalf this ad was created is learning a valuable lesson: Be careful of who you let "support" you; as they say, "lay down with dogs, wake up with fleas". In a way, I do feel sorry for him. I don't know that much about him (it's not my district), but he may be a nice guy. Now he has to deal with the fallout of something in which he may have had no involvement.

[Ducimus]

:haha::har:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ3B8WvVjL4

[tater]

OK, the ad is dumb. Still, the guy at SFGate (I watched his explanatory video) is also over the top. It shows the ridiculous deconstruction to make things "racist."

He says that it is racist because it is playing on the hatred of interracial relationships. What? It didn't show the gang guys pushing a baby stroller with the woman, or picking out an apartment. That would be a "relationship." They were yelling at a STRIPPER (you don't have to be an expert on strippers to know that the chances of a customer getting into a relationship with one is near zero statistically). It puts the stripper in a position below the gang guys. The stripper is white because... presumably "Hahn" is a white woman. Note that I did not even watch the ad other than the clips shown to attack it.

Given that it was rap, having the rapper guys be black is pretty unremarkable. What % of rappers are hispanic?

We can all agree the ad is stupid, bad taxctics, whatever, but it is certainly not racist for the reasons cited by the reply video shown on that sfgate article.

[GoldenRivet]

whether or not it's racist?

i dunno... i've seen way worse on MTV and heard WAY WAY worse blasting out of car stereos and nobody seems to care about those

tasteless as for a political ad?

yeah

but i dont think it so much supports any particular candidate or party by name.

Independent videos are all over the place.

some tasteful, some tasteless

personally... this one is pretty nasty

[tater]

Assuming you decided that the idea for the video was good (as a candidate), the choice of the gangbangers as black makes tactical sense, even if the "payoff" idea to gangs was originally aimed at hispanic gangs. Why? The black vote is monolithic. It is pathologically mono-party. Given the PC racism industry in the US, there would have been identical "outrage" had they made the rappers hispanic. The difference is that hispanics actually vote for more than one party. Better to generate false outrage in a community that will virtually never vote for you.

Not saying that would be my choice, but it's a valid choice.

[mookiemookie]

This is serious? Not a parody? That's incredibly offensive. How could someone put that out and think it would help their side?

[tater]

This is serious? Not a parody? That's incredibly offensive. How could someone put that out and think it would help their side?

It's real, but by some random 3d party group unaffiliated with the candidate.

Hahn’s opponent Craig Huey has denounced the ad and denied involvement with Turn Right USA. “Along with many other residents of the South Bay, I am outraged over this racist and sexist ad,” Huey said in a statement. “I unequivocally denounce it … The ad was not authorized and not affiliated with my campaign.”

[tater]

As an aside, I wonder when we'll see ads like this done as ops by the other side... Ie; you make up a 3d party group, then do an ad to make the party it supposedly helps look like crap. Wouldn't surprise me.

[Sailor Steve]

Tasteless? Yeah. Racist? Maybe. Stupid? Only if you believe in understatement.

That ad is an insult to gang members. The 'boyz' look like some fourth-rate casting director's idea of a gangsta, or maybe a Wayans parody. The 'rap' makes even bad rap look good.

The guy who made this is either an idiot or is secretly working for Hahn, as this makes her opponents look worse than it makes her look.

:rotfl2: :dead: