How far will a politician go to get in your pants?
There are hundreds of punchlines like that, especially with the thought of Twitter pictures and stained blue dresses in the back of your mind. Instead, that's the question being asked in a mail flyer paid for by the Committee to Save the Erie County Republican Party, and it's hit the national spotlight in the last few days.
This anti-Mark Grisanti ad is being called the most anti-gay piece of political mail you'll receive this year, featuring two black and white pictures pulled from a gay pornography website. The pictures are only half of the controversy, though.
The mailer itself reads: "How far will a politician go to get in your pant$? For his gay marriage vote, Mark Grisanti received over $750,000. Sometimes they're political whore$." On the back: "Make sure your Son says, 'Thank you, Mark Grisanti.'"
At last, there is an answer to the question "how far is too far" in political attack ads.
There have been a lot of claims in the last two days about where it's coming from, and multiple people have linked it to Matthew Ricchiazzi, a Buffalo native and failed mayoral candidate. Supposedly, the committee is Ricchiazzi's one-man smear campaign, and this isn't the first time it's been after Grisanti.
It's a laughable attempt. Think about it: a not-so-subtle ad opposing marriage equality that claims those in favor of it are trying to legislate what happens in the bedroom. Straying away from the irony of it, though, if the point of the mailer was to humiliate Senator Grisanti on his decision to vote in favor of the N.Y. marriage bill last year, then it failed its goal.
Instead, you have an important social issue being reduced to sex. It reads like this: "You supported marriage equality for money, which means you're no better than people who have sex for money, like these two gay men right here! Oh and parents, don't forget your son is gay."
It's past the point of being politically predictable and has crossed the line into just plain insulting. Politicians are free game, of course, and there have certainly been a slew of questionable campaign ads this season. But pandering with irrelevant shock and slander is where you can draw the line.
If Ricchiazzi is the creator of the mailer, it's hard to exactly figure out why. Rumor has it the wannabe politician is openly bisexual and only developed harsh feelings toward the senator following his altercation at the Seneca Niagara Casino this past February (and - according to the blogosphere - possibly after Grisanti failed to give him a job).
It's all perfect timing for Grisanti, who is only a day away facing Republican challenger Kevin Stocker in Thursday's primary. Stocker, who has made his opposing stance on marriage equality quite clear, didn't need help from the ad to make his case, but he now has to worry about the negative effect that is bound to come from its national appearance.
If his campaign ends in victory, Mark Grisanti should make sure to remember to thank the committee.
Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
