Two Democratic-aligned super PACs are blitzing the airwaves with a controversial advertising campaign defending pornography access as they allege the GOP is trying to interfere with people’s personal lives.
The sexually suggestive video from Progress Action Fund and Defend the Vote is provocatively titled “Republicans Rubbing You The Wrong Way.” Sitting just under 30 seconds, the ad depicts a young man in bed watching pornography on his phone before an elderly “Republican congressman” comes into his room and makes him stop.
“Sorry, you can’t do that,” the congressman says as his youthful counterpart protests, “What the hell, man! How’d you get in here?”
The lawmaker replies, “I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, we’re banning porn nationwide.”
“You can’t tell me what to do! Get out of my bedroom, you creep!” the young man complains before the GOP congressman says, “I won the last election, so it’s my decision. I’m just going to watch and make sure you don’t finish illegally.”
The video is part of the two Democratic super PACs’ $2.5 million ad campaign attacking Republicans in battleground states, per the Hill.
Some conservative groups, such as the Heritage Foundation, have advocated outlawing pornography, a move that would hold significant repercussions for the industry.
The pornography industry generates massive revenue in the United States, with a 2015 NBC report showing it generates between $10 billion and $12 billion annually. Turning Point USA, a conservative activist organization, estimated this year that the industry could be generating as much as $14 billion annually. Meanwhile, roughly 11% of men in the U.S. are addicted to pornography, while 69% view pornography every year, according to the site AddictionHelp.com.
With former President Donald Trump making gains with young men through nontraditional media appearances on Generation Z platforms, Project Action Fund and Defend the Vote are trying to connect the Republican Party to efforts to ban pornography and win their support back.
The super PACs’ move comes as Democrats have openly worried that Trump’s efforts to reach young men could pull critical votes from Harris on Election Day. Even former President Barack Obama recently sparked a media firestorm after he expressed concern that young black men aren’t enthusiastic about a Harris presidency.
But the two Democratic groups are battling to keep the trend from developing.
“When Republicans go low, we go lower, because in politics, you have to put your opponent on defense & shape the narrative,” Project Action Fund states on its website.
The ad falls in line with recent messaging from the top of the Democratic ticket. Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) has often called on Trump and other Republicans to “mind your own damn business” as he alleges that the GOP is trying to interfere with “personal choices” about abortion and in vitro fertilization.
