These Republican "Voters" Are Stock Photos

The Republican Party has been pulling out all the stops in an attempt to make itself marketable to the voting blocs it typically excludes: women, African-Americans, and Prius owners. This week, it was the cringe-inducing "Say Yes to the Candidate" ads. Still, we can't forget about last week's "Republicans Are People Too" video, which taught us Republicans also like building particle-board furniture and reading The New York Times in — gasp! — public. Here's the twist: all these furniture-building GOP voters in the "Republicans Are People Too" video are stock photos.

The Daily Banter was the first website to point out that the ad's token African-American Republican is actually a stock-image model who has led a very fascinating online life. She's apparently a Georgia attorney, a virtual office assistant, an engineer and a Christian counselor. Sometimes, she even gives testimonies on her time in rehab or her experiences using a payday loan. All the while, she's confident, happy, and may or may not vote for Republican candidates.

According to The Daily Banter, the "Republicans Are African-American" photo was taken from iStock, a royalty-free stock-image database. She's in the "happy portraits" category with the simple description, "positive woman."

Here's a screenshot of her from the GOP video...

And here's she is as an attorney...

She also likes getting coupons for practical yet stylish glasses...

This is hardly the only stock image the "Republicans Are People Too" ad used. As Talking Points Memo found, three other ordinarily male Republicans who drive hybrid cars and rock tattoos are just lowly stock photos.

Like this guy...

This guy...

And this guy...

Bustle found that this service member and his dog are also a stock image, appropriately titled, "Military Man Hugs Dog"...

So, do Republicans really shop at Trader Joe's? Do they like cooking gourmet food? Are they even people, or paid stock photos there for your website's enjoyment? What is a Republican, even?

To be fair, the video's mission is clear and understandable. The "Republicans Are People Too" website states that "Republican" has become "a dirty word," a sentiment that is also frequently applied to feminists and feminism. After all, that's part of the reason behind Ms. magazine's iconic "This Is What A Feminist Looks Like" campaign. Difference is, feminists tend to use photos of real people in their campaigns.

Images: screenshots/Republicans Are People Too, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys