A follow-up to Jazz’s post last night about the outrageous outrage du jour. According to Dave Weigel, Hoekstra’s set to surf the backlash:

Here we go again. We dared to take on Debbie Stabenow and China, and the liberals are doing what they always do—crying racism.

Yesterday we launched our new ad, “Debbie Spenditnow.” The ad is only insensitive to Debbie Stabenow and her spending.

The Left and the media think you’re not supposed to say that Debbie Stabenow’s reckless spending has strengthened China and weakened America… The Democrats will stop at nothing to change the subject from Debbie’s big spending, job killing record. That’s why she’s got her people doing what liberals always do when things get tough—calling me a racist.

This is, as TPM notes, a growing genre, but the “Chinese professor” ad from 2010 is the cream of the crop. Watch it back to back with Hoekstra’s spot to see how superior it is. You don’t need pidgin English or gongs on the soundtrack to make your point; if anything, precisely because they’re so archaically familiar, the lazy stereotypes anesthetize viewers to the economic and military threats posed by China. If you want to make people worry about outsourcing, show them Chinese factories being built. If you want to make people worry about debt, show them the PLA in action, replete with graphics noting how much of its budget is covered by American taxpayers’ interest payments. This spot isn’t remotely equal to a serious task.