A new welfare-to-work ad from the Republican governor features a young white man called "Brad" (pictured above) who "has turned relaxing into a full-time profession." He is shown playing video games and eating junk food to symbolize welfare dependency.
Speaking about this on American Family Radio (AFR), Auron MacIntyre of Blaze Media said the numbers about who uses welfare are "very clear," and young white men are not the key demographic.
"In fact, they're literally the least likely people to be on welfare," he said, adding that such individuals are more likely to be tax contributors than any other demographic.
He blasted the creative choice, arguing that it completely misrepresents data to avoid political backlash.
The new requirement mandates that able-bodied adults aged 19-64 enrolled in Arkansas Health and Opportunity for Me (ARHOME), the state's Medicaid expansion program, must complete at least 80 hours per month of work, job training, higher education, or volunteering.
"The message itself would be great," MacIntyre said. "What we should all be able to do here is praise a good policy, but unfortunately, they decided to use horrific messaging to send this out."
MacIntyre argued that instead of using accurate, real-world examples of benefit abuse that frequently go viral online, campaigns choose a safe target.
"Who's the one group you're allowed to safely make fun of, portray as a loser? Well, of course, young white men, because nobody cares about that demographic," he lamented.
In other words, no matter how inaccurate the portrayal is, it is the safest thing to do, and in MacIntyre's opinion, it ultimately displayed cowardice.
MacIntyre and AFR host Jenna Ellis agreed that the blunder highlights a deeper disconnect between political consultants and the actual concerns of grassroots voters, proving that the GOP still has plenty of work to do when it comes to sharp, effective communication.
