With the Congressional balance of power in serious jeopardy, the Republican Party has reached into its same old bag of dirty tricks. In Tenessee, where former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. are in a close contest for the Senate seat, a new ad has emerged from the Republican Party that stinks with racism.

In the ad, a young white actress playing the stereotype of a “dumb blonde” talks about meeting Ford, a 36-year-old bachelor who is black, “at the Playboy party.” At the end of the ad, she winks and says to the camera, “Harold — call me.”

Of course, there is some truth to the ad. After all, Ford did appear at a playboy-sponsored event last year. Although the women were wearing bunny costumes rather than the lingerie that certain Republicans have referenced, the image certainly stands in contrast to the Ford-endorsed commercial filmed from a church pew.

Nevertheless, this latest tactic doesn’t merely point out Ford’s alleged moral contradictions. More importantly, it raises deeply rooted Southern (and American) anxieties about White women and Black male bodies.

Although Corker has denounced the ads, he still benefits from its effects. In fact, by demanding that the ad be taken off the air, he not only gets to reap racist rewards, but also assuage the guilt of liberal racists who are looking for an excuse not to elect Ford.

Hopefully, this “Southern Strategy” will backfire and push Ford past Corker. More likely, however, the tactics will work and Ford will lose for all the wrong reasons.