May 12, 2008

New anti-yacht, anti-GOP ad

A new TV ad by a left-leaning group aims to frame Republicans as the yacht tax loophole-loving party.

But the ad may be just as successful in making the GOP out to be the sex-crazed, bikini-bearing, champagne-pouring, strawberry-nibbling party of the young and beautiful.

The ad was created for the Courage Campaign, an online activist group, with the California Nurses Association paying for its production. Arianna Huffington, the liberal publisher of Huffingtonpost.com, pitched the group's online donors for donations to air the ad on Monday.

"Trust me, this is must-see TV," blared the e-mail subject line.

The ad is certainly off the charts for sex appeal, at least among political spots. One scene features a bare-chested man pouring champagne on a bikini-clad woman.

Huffington said the ad "strips naked the shocking nature of the California Republican Party's priorities" in support the "yacht tax loophole." Under current law, owners of large vehicles, such as yachts, can park their purchases out of state for 90 days to avoid paying California sales tax.

Watch the ad below:

Rick Jacobs, co-founder of the Courage Campaign, said the group had already recieved enough donations to begin airing the spot in Sacramento on Tuesday night. They have reserved air time on political programs on CNN and MSNBC, as well as Comedy Central's Colbert Report and Jon Stewart Show.

The ad is the second "Yacht Party" ad that Courage Campaign has created.

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on May 12, 2008 4:37 PM