Here’s an ad that four-term incumbent Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., is running against his Democratic challenger, former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes:

Love the hat on the dancing guy. The ad might as well say “LOOK OUT! TEH GAYS LOVE BARNES!!!”

Missouri’s 6th Congressional District spans the state’s northwestern corner, from Kansas City’s northern reaches up to the Iowa border and halfway eastward across the state. The seat has been held by Democrat Willam Raleigh Hull Jr. from 1955 to 1973; Democrat Jerry Litton from 1973 to 1976; Republican Earl Coleman from 1976 to 1993; Democrat Pat Danner from 1993 to 2001; and Graves since then. Bush beat Kerry there in 2004, 57 percent to 42 percent. Current voter registration statistics aren’t available online, and I haven’t heard back from the Secretary of State’s office yet.

As someone who spent plenty of time in Missouri (Go Tigers!) and has an abiding fondness for Kansas City, I wonder how the 6th District’s voters are reacting to this blatant xenophobia. Wherever they stand on abortion, gay marriage and immigration, I’d hope they’re put off by such over-the-top, mean-spirited pandering.