Here's GOProud's ad against several Democrats, including Barney Frank. They call him "catty" and a "housewife." Makes me think of those kids who'd join in with the gay bashing extra-hard at school because they were afraid that their sexualities would socially ostracize them.
They also get misogyny points for taking on Barbara Boxer's preference for being called "Senator" instead of "ma'am." Doesn't she, like that other arrogant politician Barack Obama, know her place?
Barney Frank's opponent is apparently going to launch an attack ad that shows him dancing disco (to show how he "dances around the issues," because that's an attack they would have launched against a straight politician, of course):
Although in this case, Mr. Frank was actually a dance instructor named Kira who was dressed in a makeshift fat suit, with a suit and tie on over that, pretending to be the Massachusetts Democrat and powerful committee chairman as she sweated and shimmied her way across a green screen in a Boston-area production studio.
Kira (who did not want her last name used because she teaches local dance classes and did not want to be associated with a particular candidate) had gathered with Ladd Ehlinger Jr., a director, producer and writer who started making political ads this election cycle. They were making a campaign spot for Sean Bielat, 35, the Republican who is running against Mr. Frank in Massachusetts's Fourth District.
The premise of the spot was simple enough -- Mr. Frank "is dancing around the issues all the time, so you take the political cliché of he's dancing around the issues, and you literally have him dancing around the issues," Mr. Ehlinger explained -- but it took a trip to J. C. Penney (to find an outfit befitting a politician), a stop at a nearby costume shop (for a mask that would later be spray-painted green) and finding a local dancer ("can do contemporary moves and 1970s disco moves," read the Twitter message seeking applicants) before they were ready to go.
After the video was shot, Mr. Ehlinger planned to use computer-generated imagery to superimpose Mr. Frank's head on Kira's body.
"This is the Barney Funk," Mr. Ehlinger said, as loud bouncy music began blaring from the other room. He was referring to the two-and-a-half minute song he had made especially for the ad, a loop of Mr. Frank's sayings about the foreclosure crisis set to a funky beat.
First up was the candidate himself. The plan was to get Mr. Bielat in and out as quickly as possible.
Mr. Bielat's line, to appear at the end of the ad, was supposed to go something like: "I don't need to dance around the issues. I'm a Marine." But Mr. Bielat said he did not feel comfortable linking his military service to a political ad in a way that felt "like a non sequitur," so he improvised.
"Unlike Barney," he said with a chuckle, looking over his shoulder to where Mr. Frank's image would be, "I don't need to dance around the issues. I'm Sean Bielat, I'm running for Congress, and I approve this message."
When Kira had finished her first dance-through, Mr. Bielat walked into the studio.
"I think it was great," he said. "You were awesome. The only thing I want to ask is, don't do the feminine stuff, you know what I mean? You know where I'm going with this, but I don't want anyone to say, 'Oh, they're homophobic.' "
Now, perhaps Bielat is clueless enough to think that there's no homophobic content in that ad and that saying "Don't do the feminine stuff" in front of a journalist will make it all better. He's a Republican, so who knows.
Clearly whoever thought of the ad was going for a fag joke. "I'm a Marine" isn't a non sequitur at all if it's just meant to show how heterosexual and traditionally masculine Bielat is, which is the only purpose it could serve there. The juxtaposition isn't "evasive vs. candid," because Barney Frank is plenty candid (to the point where a lot of people, especially LGBT people, want him to learn to shut up); the intended comparison was "Disco queen vs. Marine."
But calling Bielat homophobic would be unthinkable, since that's just so impolite. He assured the journalist he didn't want this to be interpreted as a fag joke, so there's nothing to see here.
In related news, here's the completely not homophobic Sean Bielat, supported by GOProud, talking about how not homophobic he is:
Republican House candidate Sean Bielat has portrayed himself as a ramrod-straight voice of reason beside Democrat Barney Frank's bluster. But last week in a meeting with Boston Herald reporters and editor, the Marine twisted himself in knots as he argued that gays don't have a right to serve in the military - just like short people.
"There's no absolute right to serve. Men under the height of 5 feet, 2 inches can't serve -- I don't see anybody protesting. Where are the people standing in front of the White House, the short guys standing in front of the White House? You don't see it," Bielat said. "We understand that there's no absolute right to serve in all these other areas."
Anyone care to make the argument that GOProud is pushing for change within the Republican Party?