GOP congressman dresses up as pretend action hero in new ad for Georgia runoffs

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) has depicted himself in a bizarre new Georgia runoff ad as an action hero poised to save the world from Democrats, whom he suggests pose a dangerous threat to the country.

Crenshaw’s ad promotes a Dec. 21 GOP rally in Walton County, Georgia, where the GOP congressman will campaign alongside Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue ahead of the Georgia runoff election on Jan. 5.

In it, Crenshaw is pulled from an election rally by mysterious operatives, and prepares for war with “antifa” activists as he is briefed on the fake scenario on the ground.

“Far left activists are attempting to gain full and total control of the U.S. government,” an ominous voiceover tells Crenshaw as a montage of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and other prominent Democrats flickers across the screen. “Your mission will be to rally support across Georgia behind these American patriots, Sen. Perdue and Sen. Loeffler.”

Left-wing protesters are seen marching below, dressed in black clothing. Crenshaw skydives out of a plane, attacking his opponents on the ground below.

At one point, the ad shows what appear to be two “antifa” activists sitting in a car awaiting Crenshaw’s attack.

“I don’t even know why I’m so angry,” one says, before the other responds, “Oh, the media told us to be.”

Crenshaw then lands on top of the car from the sky, punching through the glass windshield to attack his “enemies.”

It’s not the first time Crenshaw has depicted himself as an action hero saving the world from the threat of Democrats. The ad is a sequel of sorts to a September ad Crenshaw released to promote five fellow Republicans running for seats in the House of Representatives.

In that, he also portrayed himself as a superhero, once again jumping out of a plane and recruiting the other GOP candidates to support his cause — an apparent allusion to the Marvel “Avengers” franchise.

The new ad comes amid an uptick in violent threats to election officials in both parties who have certified or acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden’s November victory.

Trump has cast his political opponents as the enemy as a tactical move for years. That strategy has escalated since Trump lost the November election, and even Georgia Republicans have blasted him for inciting violence against election officials.

“Someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get shot, someone’s going to get killed,” Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling said in a press conference on Dec. 1, addressing claims by Trump and his allies that the election had been stolen and their efforts to urge supporters to do something about it.

“Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence,” he added.

Trump’s allies, meanwhile, have continued to push that violence regardless.

Far-right conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones, who has been banned from Facebook, iTunes, and YouTube for spreading disinformation, threatened Biden in a speech at a Trump rally over the weekend, claiming baselessly, “I don’t know who’s going to the White House in 38 days but I sure know this, Joe Biden is a globalist and Joe Biden will be removed one way or another.”

Violent clashes between protesters and counterprotesters after that rally resulted in numerous injuries.

Many, including some conservative activists, have since slammed Jones for the apparent threats and pushed the FBI to investigate the matter.

Last week, tweets by the Arizona GOP also advocated for election-based violence, suggesting Republicans should be willing to die in a battle to overturn the election.

The group’s official account retweeted another user saying, “I am willing to give my life for this fight. Are you?”

“He is. Are you?” The Arizona GOP account added.

The account also tweeted a quote from the 2008 “Rambo” movie: “This is what we do, this is who we are. Live for nothing or die for something.”

After backlash, the tweets were removed. Former Arizona Republican Attorney General Grant Woods later condemned them.

“In Arizona, the GOP has embraced a lot of fringe players and their fringe theories. That’s one thing that just leads them to ultimately becoming a fringe party,” he said in a New Times interview. “This sort of behavior, encouraging violence, is unacceptable. We need all elected and formerly elected republicans to denounce it now.”

Even though that sort of extremist rhetoric is feeding violence, Crenshaw has since stood by his new ad.

“This video is driving the left absolutely mad,” he tweeted Monday. “Share it. Support.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.