Politicians seem to be in a contest for who can create the most xenophobic, inflammatory, anti-China campaign ad. These days, if you're running for office, the go-to strategy is to make your opponent look like China's best buddy.
The latest one comes from Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra, featuring some extra Oriental music and an Asian woman speaking in broken English against a vaguely Asian landscape. It's some serious racist bullshit:
More here: Super Bowl ads: Pete Hoekstra's hits a nerve.
Hoekstra's campaign dropped this little fear-mongering bomb on Michigan TV viewers during the Super Bowl -- he spent millions to have this seen by as many people as possible. And I'm sure like-minded voters will come running. Reasonable folks, I hope, will be appalled. And laugh at how awful it is.
Seriously, who is the girl in this ad? Just happy to have an acting gig, no doubt. And what is up with that godawful broken English? It looks like they just threw one of those funny hats on her, put her on a bike, and shot it in some field in California. I guess they figured it would look Chinese-y enough to Joe Michigan.
Make no mistake. This ad is designed to prey on the average Michigan voter's fears of China's growing economic and educational dominance. Hoekstra denies that it's "racial," but this has everything to do with putting a very specific face on the non-American "other" -- the enemy. The website is even worse. That's racist!
