The Washington state Democratic Party says it will change a video ad that pictures Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi accompanied by the theme song from "The Sopranos," after a Seattle group said the ad was offensive to Italian-Americans.
The Italian Club of Seattle sent a letter Wednesday to Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, calling for removal of the video and asking for state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz to step down.
The video played the theme song from the hit series about Italian-American mobsters, while criticizing Rossi's ties to the Building Industry Association of Washington, a powerful lobby group in the state. A black-and-white photo of Rossi, who is of Italian descent, is on-screen the entire time.
Here's the ad:
In a year where Democrats see racist appeals everywhere, it's stunning that they would introduce an ad that plays on ethnic stereotypes in such an obvious way. Can you imagine the reaction if Republicans produced an anti-Obama ad with rap music playing in the background?
Polls show incumbent Christine Gregoire (D) with a narrow lead).
