A new GOP-sponsored ad, that was paid for by Americans for Shared Prosperity, features a young woman comparing President Obama‘s time in office to an abusive relationship.
“In 2008, I fell in love. His online profile made him seem so perfect. Smart, handsome, charming, articulate, all the right values — I trusted him,” says a smiling young woman at the start of the commercial that opens like your typical dating site ad. She continues, “But by 2012 our relationship was in trouble, but I stuck with him because he promised he’d be better. He’s great at promises.”
Republicans have decided to use the hot button issue of domestic violence to their advantage. Their party has an abysmal track record with female voters, and this ad is their attempt to lure some women to their side.
“He told me we’d be safe,” the woman in the ad says. “Have you looked in the news? He’s in my emails and text messages, spying on me, but ignoring real threats … He thinks the only thing I care about is free birth control, but he won’t even let me keep my own doctor.”
Americans for Shared Prosperity head, John Jordan, says he wanted to push back against the Democrats’ accusations of a “war on women” that started in the 2012 campaign cycle. “The goal here is to communicate with women voters in a way that outside groups and campaigns haven’t,” Jordan said. He added, “Women voters care as much about the economy, jobs, death, and spending as do other groups — but certainly on the Republican side there’s been no effort to reach that group.”
The Americans for Prosperity ad is slated to air nationally during major news shows and digitally for national print publications.