Cosmopolitan magazine has officially endorsed Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen for Senate in New Hampshire after bragging that her Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, posed nude for the publication in 1982.
According to a September 20 post, Brown won the magazine’s “America’s Sexiest Man” title in 1982 and posed for a spread in that year’s June issue when he was a 22-year-old Boston College law student.
Cosmopolitan’s Ashley Womble chooses to focus solely on Brown’s physical qualities in the post, degrading his political experience by implying that his “abs” are Brown’s only valuable quality.
“The senator’s running for re-election, but unfortunately, we don’t think his abs will come into play on the campaign trail,” reads the post.
“Compared to some men in the GOP, this politician looks pretty damn good for his age — and we bet he still has an amazing body underneath his suit and tie,” Womble continues. “There have been plenty of pics of our president running around without his shirt, so now that a precedent has been set, we’re hoping to see Scott shirtless again.”
Then, the writer suggests some appropriate “campaign slogans,” such as “Scott Brown: A Name You Can Trust, Abs You Can Believe In” and “Vote for Brown. He Has One Hell of a Stimulus Package.”
One can only imagine the reaction if the magazine took a similar approach to denying endorsement to a female candidate.
Now, Cosmo has officially endorsed Shaheen, Brown’s opponent, who the editorial board describes as “a fierce advocate for women’s rights.”
“Scott Brown may have been Cosmopolitan’s ‘sexiest man’ in 1982, but in 2014, we’re picking brains over brawn — and that’s Jeanne Shaheen,” concludes the endorsement.
Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of Shaheen’s “abs” or potential degrading campaign slogans about her appearance.
Cosmo’s political voice is quite new. The magazine announced a few weeks ago that it would be endorsing political candidates from now until the midterm elections in November.
