Tell Turn Right USA to Pull Ad Attacking L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn

It’s been called the “most offensive political ad of all time.”  That’s because it takes aim at Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn’s support of gang intervention programs by portraying her as a booty-shaking stripper performing for black thugs who demand (or rap, rather) that she “give us your cash, b---h!”

The ad reduces both women and African Americans to stereotypes. It’s been denounced by the likes of the National Organization for Women, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and some Republicans, even though the third-party political group which launched the ad - Turn Right USA - is backing Hahn’s Republican challenger for California’s 36^th Congressional District seat, Craig Huey.

Despite the outrage it has sparked, Turn Right USA has yet to pull the vile video, which is why officials in Councilwoman Hahn’s office have launched a Change.org petition targeting the group. It’s one thing to criticize a politician’s actions; it’s quite another to do so by superimposing her head on a half-naked woman’s body in a hip-hop themed video ad. To use such tactics to disparage a female politician is beyond the pale. Rather than own up to this and take the video down, director Ladd Ehlinger Jr. appears to be relishing the attention he’s getting from the controversy. He told the Los Angeles Times that the public outcry about the video was “playing right into his hands."

“When I do a viral ad, it’s not about making a crazy ad and sticking it out there,” he said. “It’s about sitting down and figuring out how everybody is going to react to it.”

So far, the video has garnered tens of thousands of hits on YouTube. Don’t give Turn Right USA any more attention by viewing it. Instead, send the group a message by signing the petition asking that the video be removed. The attack ad is a new low. Don’t let it set a precedent for future campaign ads.

Photo Credit: Casey West