Meet Joni Ernst, one of several Republicans hoping to replace retiring Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin in the Senate. The current conservative state senator looks gentle enough, with her mom haircut and sensible vest-on-plaid ensemble, but don’t let that fool you: “I’m Joni Ernst,” she says at the beginning of a new campaign ad. “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so when I get to Washington, I’ll know how to cut pork.” That introduction is followed by Ernst promising to repeal Obamacare and reduce spending over shots of scared-looking pigs, because Joni Ernst, who doesn’t hesitate to remove the testicles of creatures far more innocent than D.C.’s profligate politicians, means business. Yee-haw!
