We’ve seen a lot of creepy political commercials come and go. A lot of the creepiest ones have involved racial dog-whistles as part of the nefarious Republican Southern Strategy: the Willie Horton ad, the “white hands” ad, the ridiculously over-the-top attack ad accusing Janice Hahn of hiring “gang members” and so many others. Last year we cringed at a series of ads featuring politicians brandishing firearms; there’s one in which Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) literally shot the cap-and-trade bill and another video showing a Missouri state representative shooting a gun control bill. I’m old enough to remember the inexplicable 2008 Mike Gravel ad in which he stared blankly and silently into a camera then hurled a rock into a pond. Suffice to say, there’s a long history of creepiness.
But Charles and David Koch have topped them all with what could be the most bizarre, tasteless and ultimately hypocritical ad in the history of American politics.
The ad, produced by the Koch-funded Generation Opportunity, is aimed at convincing young women to opt out of buying medical coverage via the forthcoming Obamacare health insurance marketplace. (The president of Generation Opportunity is a former Ron Paul aide, by the way.)
The commercial begins with a woman being led by a nurse through a medical center and into an examination room. The nurse incredulously says to the women, “Oh. I see you’ve signed up for Obamacare.” Here’s the first red flag. There isn’t any “Obamacare” coverage — just an array of private insurers to choose from. Realistically, the nurse should have mentioned the name of an insurance company, not “Obamacare.” But here’s me: foolishly expecting realism from a Koch Brothers attack ad.
It gets much, much worse… [CONTINUE READING]