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Persecution politics are what the GOP does best, from Sarah Palin to Ted Cruz making a fortune by shutting down the government while grifting from the easy marks known as the GOP base.

It’s very upsetting when things are reversed.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised money off of the offensive and sexist photo of Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Grimes, according to the Washington Examiner.

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The National Republican Senatorial Committee posted the image, in which Ms. Grimes’ head is pasted on to the body of the 2008 “Obama Girl”, on Twitter and circulated it around.

Some folks seem a bit confused as to why Democrats would be raising money off of a “sexist and offensive” photo, with the author of the Washington Examiner piece claiming “Grimes herself used the photo to paint McConnell as anti-woman.”

Allow me to clear this up. The use of the sexist photoshopped image is more than skin deep. It’s not a cheap shot or bad luck gaffe. Rather, their misogyny is a systemic, consistent problem for the Republican Party and it is not only evident in their words, but most disturbingly, in their policies. Thus, the Grimes/Obama Girl image reveals a truth about the modern day GOP and about Mitch McConnell, specifically.

It’s not as if Grimes or Democrats are manufacturing a sexist attacks on women by the GOP and McConnell.

In September, a NRSC Communications Director accused Grimes of being an “empty dress” who “babbles incoherently”. That this came from the party that ran Sarah Palin for VP was lost on no one.

Recently Mitch McConnell lied to women by claiming he voted against the Violence Against Women Act because it wasn’t strong enough. McConnell deceptively claimed he voted for a stronger version of the bill but the Republican version of the bill was a pro-violence against women bill by all rational accounts — finding new ways to make women vulnerable to predators.

McConnell even voted against the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994 so it’s not like this is new for him.

What does the VAWA have to do with not hating women? PolitiFact agrees that the “incidence of domestic abuse has dropped by more than 50 percent since the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994.”

Leo Weekly reported on McConnell’s awkward refusal to answer questions about his stance on women’s issues:

Arnold: Given the demographic difference between you and Ms. Grimes, in terms of her age versus yours, as well as the fact that she’s already highlighted that she’s a woman… brought up like the Violence Against Women Act… How will you counter that?

McConnell: Well as Ronald Reagan famously said once, I won’t use my opponent’s youth and inexperience as an issue in this campaign.

Arnold: What about women’s issues?

McConnell: (awkward silence).

McConnell also voted against the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act. How does a politician justify that in 2013?

If Republicans don’t like their misogyny being used against them to raise money, then they should try not being misogynistic.

And part of not being misogynistic is stopping the pretense that there is no war on women and that women are just overly sensitive to Republican policies meant to deny women freedom. No one needs to “paint” Mitch McConnell as anti-woman. He has a voting record that tells that story and he belongs to a party of legitimate rape shutting down blessings of pregnancies via rape.

It’s not Alison Grimes’ imagination or the Democratic Party pouncing on a mistake. Mitch McConnell has left women out in the cold time and time again – by voting against the VAWA he can be accused of increasing violence against women- the act is that important.

The problem for Mitch McConnell is precisely that there’s a fire under this smoke. And now Democrats are using McConnell’s misogyny against him.