The competition would be stiff for this sort of award, but we may have a contender in the form of a new television ad airing in Ohio from the group Progress Action fund. They are opposed to State Issue 1 which will be on the ballot in August. The measure would require any amendments to the state constitution to receive the support of at least 60% of eligible voters. But because opponents of the proposal see it as a “back door” way to prevent the legalization of abortion, the group created what The Wrap describes as possibly being “the sexiest political ad ever.” A young couple are shown in bed (in their underwear) presumably preparing for a sexual encounter. But when the man reaches for a condom, they are interrupted by an intruder who is as much of a stereotype of a stodgy old Republican politician as you could possibly imagine.
In what might be the subjectively sexiest political ad ever, Democratic lobby group Progress Action Fund debuted a steamy sex scene takedown of the GOP this week.
Airing Wednesday, the political ad urges Ohioans to vote no on the controversial State Issue 1 on Aug. 1, which asks if Ohio should, “require that any proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio receive the approval of at least 60% of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment.” State Issue 1 has been widely criticized as a conservative ploy to restrict voters from making abortion legal in the state come November. As such, the PAF ad urges voters to “keep Republicans out of your bedroom” by showing a typical scene of… what goes on in the bedroom.
Here’s the advertisement, courtesy of YouTube. The official title is “Ohio Republicans in Your Bedroom.” Judge for yourself.
To be fair, this advertisement will probably draw some eyeballs. It features an attractive young woman in her underwear making out with a similarly handsome young man. Quite a few people will likely pause when this shows up on their screen. But the phrase “heavy-handed” doesn’t begin to describe the level of stereotyping going on here. The “intruder” is an elderly, white, and presumably straight male. He’s in a typical business suit with a red tie, similar to the vast majority of men you see at CPAC. And just in case that’s not subtle enough for you, he goes out of his way to say, “I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, we’re banning birth control.” (This is after he snatches the young man’s last condom out of his dresser drawer.)
The entire concept of the advertisement is not just misleading but patently false, of course. I did a brief search to see if there were any serious GOP officials in Ohio (or anywhere for that matter) who wanted to ban the sale of condoms or other forms of birth control, aside from Plan B, which isn’t really birth control. I found none, of course. Do you really believe that Republicans want a bunch of progressives procreating and creating more liberals? Most would probably favor absolutely free condoms and birth control pills for anyone presenting a voter registration form with the “D” selected.
The proposed change to the constitution isn’t particularly radical, though it would put Ohio a bit outside the norm compared to most states. All states have methods in place to amend their constitutions, and nearly all of them (with Delaware being the exception) require a referendum to go before the voters at some stage. Most of the states require only a simple majority to move the amendment forward, though there are exceptions. Colorado requires a 55% supermajority of the voters to approve. Florida already requires 60% support, as the Ohio proposal would demand. New Hampshire sets the bar even steeper, demanding a 2/3 supermajority to pass an amendment.
So what’s being attempted in Ohio might be considered “unusual” but it’s not unheard of. And it’s not specific to abortion or any other issue. If the measure is approved, it will require a bit more consensus among the state’s voters before future changes to the constitution can be put in place. If Ohio Republicans were focusing entirely on the abortion issue, they could have crafted an amendment specifically declaring the procedure unconstitutional under whichever conditions they set, but they’re not doing that. Abortion in Ohio is currently legal through roughly 22 weeks of pregnancy.
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