For the moment, let's ignore that Alabama Republican Rick Barber somehow managed to get George Washington, Samuel Adams, and Benjamin Franklin into his basement so he could regale them with his interpretation the past two centuries of US history. And let's ignore the whole implied theme of wanting to violently overthrow the US government: Those flintlock pistols are no match for the Capitol Police.
The real problem with this ad is this: If your gripe is taxation without representation, then what's the point of trying to become a US representative?
Washington Post columnist David Weigel noted that, as president, George Washington approved the first tax levied by the federal government, the 1791 whiskey tax. In response, Mr. Barber aired a rebuttal that features Abraham Lincoln, more flintlock pistols, photographs from Auschwitz, and a man singing the fourth verse – and only the fourth verse – of "The Star Spangled Banner."
Barber lost to Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby, who somehow managed to win the GOP primary without a single powdered wig.
