Schauer and Snyder in the Battle of the Awful Ads

The gubernatorial race has shifted into a new phase: the Battle of the Awful Ads.

Rick Snyder and some of his fellow Republican governors are getting lambasted in the media over a new GOP commercial that Time magazine has already labeled "the most sexist Republican ad of the year." The spot features a young bride-to-be trying on two wedding dresses -- one called the Rick Snyder, the other called the Mark Schauer. Ugh.

Meanwhile, the Snyder campaign is calling on Michigan TV stations to stop showing a Democratic Governor's Association ad (to boost the Schauer campaign) that falsely claims the governor cut education funding by $1 billion.

The school funding assertion by the Democrats has been thoroughly debunked by several fact-checkers and was bluntly described by the Detroit Free Press "the big and persistent lie." Yet, the Dems keep selling this snake oil.
As for the "most sexist" ad of the year by Snyder et. al., perhaps "most stupid" also applies. This is a truly low-brow, low-quality waste of 60 seconds of ad time. 

It's apparently an attempt at satire -- inspired by the reality show "Say Yes to the Dress" -- but it could be mistaken for a Saturday Night Live skit. One camera shot of the bride's mother clapping wildly as the Schauer dress is awkwardly equated with higher taxes and double-digit unemployment is certainly worth a big eye roll. 

According to Eclectablog, in addition to Michigan, a version of the Republican ad is airing in Florida, Pennsylvania,Illinois, Colorado, and Arkansas.

Beyond the silly concept and the cheezy production, commentators from from Time, Elle, NY Magazine, MSNBC and Politico point out that the spot implies that women can only figure out who to vote for if the choices are akin to picking out a lovely wedding gown. 
The GOP certainly "stepped in it," as Rick Perry might say, by giving fresh credence to claims that the party doesn't understand women at all.
The oddest aspect of all this is that an ad that demonstrates a "Mad Men" mentality was not the product of gray-haired geezers gathered at the country club, it was created by the College Republican National Committee. 
See, ladies, over at the GOP, they start 'em early.