Anti Referendum 71 Ad Draws Fire, Jokes

Protect Marriage Washington, a PAC aimed primarily at stopping Referendum 71 from passing in the upcoming election, created a slick ad last week that was provocative enough to cause quite a bit of mocking derision from the left side of the internet.

The Huffington Post’s readers ranked the spot #2 on their list of “The Worst Anti-Gay Marriage Ads Ever Made.” The Stranger called the video “hilarious.” And, satirical political blog Wonkette.com summed up the message thusly: “Keep Filthy (Gays) Out Of Our Leaf Piles.”

This was most likely not the reaction Protect Marriage Washington was hoping for as the video has since been made private. However, the ad still exists in many places, including streaming on Protect Marriage Washington’s website and as a parody video on YouTube.

Larry Stickney, the campaign manager for Protect Marriage Washington, continued the call for votes against Referendum 71 Sunday with an op-ed in The Columbian. Stickney argued that "no nation in history that openly embraced homosexuality to this degree has ever survived." We hate to pile (leaves, ha) on, but this quote immediately made us think of ancient Rome.

Activists on both sides held rallies over the Columbus Day weekend, and the referendum looks likely to be a major issue on the ballot as national blogs and media take notice, in part due to Protect Marriage’s controversial advertising strategy.

UPDATE: Since this was posted, the video we embedded was taken down. We've replaced it with the Huffington Post's version.