This election, Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) faces a challenge from Bob Gibbs, a Republican who favors special tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas, and has called himself an unabashed “free trader.” As a ThinkProgress investigation revealed, Gibbs is even aided by campaign ads from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a right-wing corporate front that is bankrolling the ads from a general account funded in part by foreign corporations, including Indian firms that specialize in outsourcing. However, in attempting to highlight his opponent’s support for unfettered free trade deals, Space appears to have severely misfired. A recent ad sponsored by Space depicts a scene the narrator calls “China.” In fact, the scene from the ad appears to be a shot of Asian Americans celebrating in the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco (00:23 in the video):
NARRATOR: We’ve lost 91,000 jobs to China through unfair trade deals like NAFTA — the kind of deals Gibbs wants more of.
GIBBS: I’m a free trader.
NARRATOR: 91,000 jobs. As they say in China, xie xie Mr. Gibbs!
Watch it:
While the narrator says “[a]s they say in China,” the screen pans over a shot of people celebrating next to a Chinese dragon dance. Using Google Street View, it is clear that the video used for the ad is of Asian Americans celebrating next to the Maxferd Jewelry and H&M; stores on Sutter Street in San Francisco, CA — not China:
(HT:@victorzapanta)