Alabama Candidate's Campaign Ad Goes Viral

(May 17) -- In just a matter of hours overnight, Dale Peterson became the world's most famous candidate for state agriculture commissioner, thanks to an ad that's the talk of the Internet.

The campaign commercial features the Alabama Republican riding a horse, wearing a white cowboy hat, carrying a gun -- and shooting from the lip. Peterson blasts the people in charge of his state's Agriculture Commission as "thugs and criminals" -- and accuses his opponents of taking illegal contributions and "stealing yard signs in the dark of night."

"We're Republicans," Peterson scolds as he lifts what looks like a Winchester lever-action rifle into the frame. "We should be better than that."

This ad comes a few weeks after another little-known candidate from Alabama made headlines with a provocative Web video. Republican Tim James, who's running for governor, defended his call for the state to give the driver's license test only in English by declaring, "This is Alabama; we speak English."

Peterson's new commercial "makes James look like a gay Commie terrorist. Dramatic music! Guns! Horses! Drawling! God Bless America," Gawker's Andrian Chen mockingly raved.

"I thought I was watching "Bonanza" there for a minute," said Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft, who wasn't kidding about his admiration for the man who would be agriculture commissioner. "Just when you thought all was lost for these United Socialist States of America, here comes a Gun-toting, Bible-thumping, Border-enforcing, Thug-busting, No-nonsense Republican."

" I LOVE THIS GUY!!! Oh, and for the city slickers: Peterson has the rifle because a lot of farming consists of shooting varmints that are eating your crops," explained Cynthia Yockey, whose blog is called A Conservative Lesbian and who hailed the video as "the best campaign ad of 2010!"

"It's not the greatest ad ever. If he had roped a calf or branded a steer or something, then it would have been the greatest ad ever," said Hot Air's Allahpundit. "I watched it twice before Googling around to see if it was some sort of stunt candidacy or 'Funny or Die' parody."

Politico's Ben Smith noted that Alabama has produced a lot of "strange and memorable" campaign ads lately. In addition to those from Peterson and James, a conservative group ran a commercial that accused Republican gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne of believing in evolution. Byrne responded with a statement asserting his support for teaching creationism and insisting that he's always believed "this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God."

One of the first bloggers to call attention to Peterson's ad, Stacy McCain, suggested that it's part of a Republican attention-getting strategy to enrage liberals such as MSNBC's Rachel Maddow so much that they talk about the ads on the air. That's exactly what happened with the "We speak English" commercial.

Peterson's ad is the work of film producer and radio host Ladd Ehlinger, praised in a Tweet by McCain as "Alabama's John Ford" -- apparently for his mastery of the Western genre.

Indeed, Ehlinger has helped put Alabama on the map when it comes to offbeat political ads. It's right up there now with California ("Demon Sheep" and Barbara Boxer's head inflating into a blimp) and Arizona ("My opponent believes Dracula is real"). Click here to see what that's all about.

Keep an eye on Vermont too. Len Britton, a Republican who's aiming to unseat Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, is running a video that parodies the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. Two men from the federal government roll up to a home and present a woman and her kids with balloons and -- instead of an oversize check -- a huge invoice for their share of the national debt. It's titled "Better Get a Paper Route, Billy."

Mediaite columnist Glynnis MacNicol predicted that "we are in for a long hot summer of campaign spots that may make you wonder whether The Onion has taken over the FCC." Remember, we're still in primary season. Just imagine what the viral video makers out there have planned for the fall.