The ad by Peter Hoekstra was just brought to my attention. An Asian woman, speaking in broken English, thanks Debby Stebenow for sending American jobs to China. This is being criticized as racist and the ad has now been replaced.
Would it have been less racist if the woman had spoken perfect English, been dressed in a business suit and spoke in front of a sweatshop? What was the racist bit - that she didn't speak in perfect English or that she was riding her bike through a rice paddy?
In other words, I don't think it was racist, and I'm curious as to why people thought it was. I mean.... are our jobs being sent over to China, or arent they?
Nevertheless, in today's politically hyper-correct climate, how could anyone at a politician's level look at that and not think it might be considered racist. Why not have an ad of out of work Americans - of all races - bemoaning the fact that their jobs have been overseas? That would have been a more obvious commercial, to me!
Who had the worst week in Washington? Former congressman Pete Hoekstra.
Running a campaign ad that draws condemnation from across the aisle is one thing. Getting slammed by the actress appearing in your ad is something else entirely.
Ever since his Asian-themed TV spot targeting Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) ran during the Super Bowl two weeks ago, Republican Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, a former congressman now running for Senate, has come under a torrent of criticism.
Democrats have charged that the spot — which shows a young woman riding a bicycle through a rice paddy and thanking Stabenow in broken English for sending American jobs to China — plays on racial stereotypes. “His racist thoughts are not welcome in the United States Senate,” Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)said of Hoekstra.
Then Clark Durant, Hoekstra’s little-known GOP primary rival, called the ad “demeaning” and ran his own TV spot accusing Hoekstra of hypocrisy.
But the final straw came on Wednesday, when Lisa Chan, the California woman who starred in the spot, wrote a message on her Facebook page apologizing for her part in the ad.
“I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities,” Chan wrote. “As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven.”
Ouch.
Polls show that Hoekstra is still the favorite to win the GOP nomination in August. But the ad, which is available on YouTube and has been viewed almost 1.2 million times, has been replaced on the Michigan airwaves. And Hoekstra’s DebbieSpendItNow.com site — which played on the Asian theme of the ad — now redirects to his main campaign site.
Pete Hoekstra, for turning a Super Bowl ad buy into a major campaign fumble, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.
No comments:
Post a Comment