Republicans Are Trying to Prove That They're Human and It's Backfiring

Do you agree with Republican policies? If not, would you if you knew some Republicans have tattoos and beards?

That's the gist of a new Republican social media campaign, with a (very strange) strategy to prove that "Republicans Are People Too." This effort comes in the form of a campaign video, Twitter account and Facebook page that highlight unorthodox Republicans like art teachers, environmentalists and, apparently, moms.

Take a look:

The reaction was about what you'd expect. The campaign and its #ImARepublican hashtag made for easy pickings for mocking liberals.

To its credit, the @RepsArePeople Twitter account has retweeted some of the lighter critiques and jokes. But the parodies seemed to far outweigh the earnest responses.

"Republicans Are People Too" is a product of GOP strategist Vinny Manchillo, who made ads for Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign, according to Vocativ.

"People, I'm afraid, think that Republicans spend their days huddling over a boiling cauldron throwing in locks of Ronald Reagan's hair," Manchillo said in an interview with the New Republic. "We thought, 'Let's get out there and show who Republicans really are: regular folks interested in making the world a better place.'"

Republican-commissioned studies have shown that the party does have an image problem, especially among young and minority voters. This is an attempt to shift the focus away from the party's leaders and instead focus on the (supposedly) diverse rank-and-file voters. Or maybe they can just convince John Boehner to grow a beard and get some tattoos.

But when it comes to political campaigns, having to defend yourself on an issue often means you're losing. When that issue is whether or not you're human, you might have problems that a new hashtag can't solve.

h/t Vocativ