Opposition to Perry's "Strong" Ad Goes Viral

Rick Perry's new ad railing against the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and proclaiming he'd end "Obama's war on religion" has created some viral backlash. Quickly.

First, here's the original video, released on Wednesday, called "Strong."

One day later, The Huffington Post is reporting that the video has created a rift within the Perry campaign. According to the report:

But not everyone was comfortable with the script. When the ad was being crafted several weeks ago, Perry's top pollster, Tony Fabrizio, called it "nuts," according to an email sent from Fabrizio to the ad's main creator, longtime GOP operative Nelson Warfield. In a separate email to The Huffington Post, Warfield confirmed that the ad was made over Fabrizio's objections.

And perhaps he had good reason to question the video. Did the campaign anticipate Perry's photo would be placed next to the late Heath Ledger's with the headline "Rick Perry Goes All Brokeback Mountain On America?" Um, probably not.

Facebook and Tumblr feeds are blowing up with videos, animated GIFs and photos mocking Perry. For instance, check out the chart below showing the video's "likes" versus the "dislikes." In the caption, ilovecharts writes, "Well played, Internet." (And for the record, the numbers have increased.)

Someone has even started a Tumblr page for "Rick Perry's Unpopular Opinions," using the same image for captions submitted by readers.

And on YouTube, this video response is now circulating. Wearing a jacket similar to Perry's, the actor says, "You know there's something wrong in this country when politicians think it's okay to hate on gays and non-believers in ads, as if their magic spirit guide or whatever blessed them with special a-hole privileges."

See anything else out there? Share below. We get the feeling this is just the beginning.