So Much for Not 'Looking Backwards' ... RNC Remixes 1964 'Daisy' Ad for Gitmo

Posted by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post at 11:03 AM on May 22, 2009.

Hey kids! Am I mistaken, or did some "titular" head of the Republican National Committee recently stand in front of teevee cameras and say all this junk?

Today we are declaring an end to the era of Republicans looking backwards. We have just endured two successful elections where we were soundly defeated. As a result, many of us, me included, have done some soul searching. We have looked closely at the places we went wrong. We have talked openly and publicly about our mistakes and our deficiencies. If you don't learn from the past, you're doomed to repeat it. This has indeed been a difficult, yet I think healthy and necessary task for the party.

Yes! 'Twas Michael Steele, who went on to admonish "navel gazing" and reiterate that "the time to fix or focus on the past had ended," and that new Republican ideas would hitherto come free with any medium or large pizza, at Pie-Tanza.

And so, with that in mind, the reinvigorated RNC, focused on the future, spurred on by hip-hop beats, strode out of the hall and -- immediately cut an ad that referenced a 1964 ad from Lyndon Johnson?

That's right! Behold the RNC's new remix of "Daisy," the sixties-era bit of LBJ fearmongering that remains one of the most well-known campaign ads of all time. FROM THE PAST. In it, the RNC builds a powerful case that closing Gitmo will result in the ghost of Nikita Khrushchev blowing up the past with hydrogen bombs so that Oceanic Flight 815 never crashes or something.

Oh, and watch carefully! In the middle or so, you'll hear Press Secretary Robert Gibbs clipped in such a way that it appears he is saying that closing GITMO was a "hasty decision" the Obama administration made. Actually, Gibbs was referring to the poor decision-making of the previous administration. Another future-minded thing the RNC might want to focus on is not including such easily debunked content in their issue ads.

So, here's the RNC, crapping on the grave of Barry Goldwater, forever and ever, for the FUTURE.

[WATCH.]

Tagged as: video, campaign ads, gitmo, guantanamo bay, michael steele, guantanamo closure, guantanamo detainees

Jason Linkins is an associate editor at the Huffington Post, based in Washington, DC.