The ‘gotcha’ ad that wasn’t

It’s the perfect “gotcha� campaign ad. Well, except for the gotcha part.

Credit the Virginia Republican Party for coming up with a creative idea. Discredit the Virginia Republican Party for doing a horrific job of research.

The party released ads on Wednesday raising the possibility that Virginia Democratic Reps. Rick Boucher and Tom Perriello might be secret gun-control proponents (despite evidence to the contrary).

So what’s the angle? Damning video footage of Congress members giving Mexican President Felipe Calderon a standing ovation last week when he called on the U.S. Congress to consider reinstating the assault weapons ban.

Ah, so Boucher and Perriello are seen in that footage wildly applauding Calderon? Well, no. But certainly the Virginia GOP must be on to something.

Otherwise, the commercial wouldn’t flash the congressmen’s phone numbers on the screen asking voters to find out for themselves.

“Voters in the 5th and 9th Districts need to know if Democrat Reps. Rick Boucher and Tom Perriello were among the hundreds of Democrats who leaped to their feet to applaud gun control while a leader from a foreign nation scolded the American people for upholding the rights secured to us by our Constitution,� said Pat Mullins, state party chairman, in announcing the new commercials.

Sensing a blockbuster investigative opportunity, the Ticket did its due diligence and called both offices (as requested by the commercials and the party chairman) to find out if they gave Calderon a standing O.

The suspense lasted for about 30 seconds: Nope.

“I did not attend the speech,� Boucher told the Ticket. “I oppose gun control. And my opposition to gun control has resulted in the National Rifle Assn. endorsing my reelection.�

Not only that, adds Boucher spokeswoman Courtney Lamie, he’s earned an A+ rating from the NRA.

Oh come on! Then something had to be up with that Perriello guy, right? He wasn’t there either, but surely he was doing something anti-2nd Amendment during the speech. Maybe he was participating in one of those turn-in-the-gun programs. The Virginia GOP could at least bat .500!

Perriello’s press secretary, Jessica Barba, laughed when we told her about the ad. Her boss, she said, was meeting with constituents during Calderon’s speech.

“Shockingly, the ad was not well-researched,� she told the Ticket. Barba included a letter to President Obama signed by Perriello stating his opposition to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.’s “plan to reinstate the assault weapon ban.�

“To even consider reinstating an ‘assault weapon’ ban is an affront to our Founding Fathers, who so clearly understood the importance of the ordinary citizens’ right to keep and bear arms,� reads the letter.

So since the question has been answered and the lawmakers weren’t even in attendance, does the party consider the ad to be a failure?

Not at all. They should have spoken out against the speech they didn’t attend, says J. Garren Shipley, communications director for the Virginia GOP.

“In that sort of situation, pro-gun Democrats must speak out. Reps. Boucher and Perriello didn’t,� he said.

The ads aren’t going away either. Shipley said they’ll remain up until the two representatives tell voters what they thought of the speech they didn’t hear.

“If Boucher and Perriello are truly against the assault weapons ban, they should have publicly condemned President Calderon’s speech long before now,� he said.

Palin’s cheeky fan

Benjamin Lepping has carried his admiration for Alaska and Sarah Palin to a new level — just below his belt. On the backside.

The 29-year-old Marine from Louisville, Ky., tells the Marine Times he’s gotten a tattoo on his left buttock in the likeness of the conservative political heroine and Republican former governor.

Independent confirmation of the politically incorrect left-leaning tattoo was not available.

The gunnery sergeant says he got the tattoo to commemorate the good times he had while on assignment in Alaska.

He says he got a tattoo of the night sky’s Southern Cross on his right buttock where the sun don’t shine to remember the fun he had in Australia. Great, lasting souvenirs all.

Of course, the Marine needs a mirror to remind himself of those northern and southern good times just below his own equator. And someday, perhaps he’ll have more good times explaining them all to a Mrs. Lepping.

Lepping is now serving in Afghanistan as an explosive ordnance disposal technician. He has 30 tattoos, the weekly newspaper reported. But the Palin tattoo, 5 inches by 4 inches, depicting the ex-governor in her characteristic bun hairdo, may be the most memorable on the Camp Pendleton Marine’s patriotic body.

“I’d say it’s pretty famous in the Southern California area,� Lepping added.

And now, well beyond.

Orr writes for The Times. Times staff writer Tony Perry contributed to this report.

Top of the Ticket, The Times’ blog on national politics (www.latimes.com/ticket), is a blend of commentary, analysis and news. These are selections from the last week.