It’s Valentine’s Day weekend. Where is the love? Ted Cruz’ campaign just pulled a political ad that had a porn actress, Amy Lindsay, as a member of the cast. The ad is called “Conservatives Anonymous” and you can view it here at the NY Post. The ad itself is very tame, but I guess the campaign thought having Lindsay in the ad didn’t project the right image. Here is Amy talking about the ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SL6ztHdvmg&feature=youtu.be

I’m not sure where my opinion will shake out with VG readers, but I for one would have advised Ted Cruz to run the ad! It wasn’t like the ad itself was pornography!

Extremely disappointed the #TedCruz campaign pulled the national television spot I had a role in… @CNN @Foxnews #moretocome #myvotecounts

— Amy Lindsay (@amylindsayLA) February 12, 2016

I see nothing wrong with showing a political ad with paid actors who are not criminals, like actual drug dealers, illegal immigrants, or terrorists. That would be the only vetting I would care about in producing a scripted piece of political persuasion (or also sabotage). The lady got the job fair and square, and her ability to do the job was clearly not affected by anything else she had done. Some people might say politics is the dirtiest job there is – there might be more honesty in the porn industry than there is in Washington! If it’s one thing we relearn every election season it’s how none of us are without sin.

Keeping the ad would have given Ted Cruz a fabulous opportunity to welcome nonconventional conservatives into the fold, like Lindsay who has acted in non-pornographic films as well.

Lindsay, who told Buzzfeed she identifies as a Christian conservative and Republican, said she’s currently choosing whether to support Cruz or his opponent Donald Trump.

Cruz could show a nonjudgmental approach counteracting one of the biggest criticisms of him. By proving that he includes diverse backgrounds in those who work to support him, he could have won big with those voters who might be put off by the evangelical focus. This proves the point:

The actress told Buzzfeed that she thought it was “cool” that someone who previously appeared in soft-core porn flicks could also star in a Cruz ad.

Campaigning is about offering different versions of yourself to appeal to various audiences. Cruz could have opened up a whole new swath of voters that may have never considered him before. And he could have reminded everyone that as a law clerk in the Supreme Court he had experience with porn – as part of his job! What a great chance to get people interested in his campaign!

Finally, this could have been an excellent bludgeon with which to pummel the liberals when they try to cast dispersion on Cruz, and by extension Amy Lindsay. The progressives are constantly talking about female empowerment and champion slut walks.

If they tried to disparage this woman, Ted could have knocked them out. If they tried to call him some kind of hypocrite, he could have said providing legitimate employment for someone willing to work is what conservatism is all about.

Maybe Cruz’ decision to pull the ad is the right decision for South Carolina (Christian Conservatives under siege) but I hope he keeps it in his bag of tricks for later use. I’d love to see Hillary try to criticize him for that.