Transphobic Republican ad stirs controversy
February 6, 2018by Tim Gibson
An ad from Republican State Representative Jeanne Ives has gone viral for its blatant transphobia and anti-feminist message. Ives is running against Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner in the Republican primary later this year.
The includes an offensive portrayal of a transgender woman saying “Thank you for signing legislation that lets me use the girls’ bathroom.” Followed by a woman wearing the iconic ‘pussy hat’ thanking Rauner “for making Illinois families pay for my abortions.”
The ad has quickly stirred controversy, including from the Republican Party itself. Illinois Republic Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement: “There is no place in the Illinois Republican Party for rhetoric that attacks our fellow Illinoisans based on their race, gender or humanity. Representative Ives’ campaign ad does no reflect who we are as the Party of Lincoln and as proud residents of our great and diverse state. She should pull down the ad and immediately apologize to the Illinoisans who were negatively portrayed in a cowardly attempt to stoke political division.”
Former Republican chairman Pat Brady called it “racist, bigoted, homophobic.” While Erika Hodler, the state’s Attorney General, said “This ad denigrates, mocks and marginalises groups of Illinoisans and cannot represent our Republican Party. I call on the Ives campaign to immediately take it off the air. The Republican Party must be about fight for the ideals and values that have made our country the envy of the world and promoting the dignity and value of every Illinoisan.”
Ives, however, is defending her campaign: “The commercial does not attack people, it tackles issues by truthfully illustrating the constituencies Rauner has chosen to serve to the exclusion of others. As Christians, we believe every person is made in God’s image and deserving of dignity. I respect people are who different than me. I respect people who have views than me.”
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