Photo by outtacontext

Whether or not it’s true, Washington seems to feel more partisan these days. The rise of the Tea Party on the right and Occupy Wall Street on the left seems to have pushed more and more legislators away from the middle, making compromise on big national issues more and more difficult. One new group wants to change that, and they’re bringing ads advocating bipartisanship to the Metro as part of the plan to do so.

The Chamomile Tea Party was launched in 2010 as a means to encourage Democrats and Republicans to find common ground on key issues. As part of that noble goal, graphic designer Jeff Gates has been producing posters that draw upon World War II-era propaganda images and add new message about looking past partisan differences. He’s designed 41 posters so far, and the group is paying to place them as ads in two Metro stations over the next two months.

The first poster appeared in the Gallery Place station at the start of September and will remain through the end of the month. It features an image of a man drowning while pointing his finger towards the viewer. A message on the ad reads, “I lost my job and my home and my health care and my retirement and my self-esteem while you played party politics.”

The second ad, which will appear at the start of October in Farragut West, features an image of a blood-stained knife bearing the message “Disunity” grinding two opposing gears to a halt; one gear says “Conservatives,” the other “Liberals.” The message is clear: partisan squabbles are stopping opposing factions from effectively working together.

Gates paid roughly $3,500 for the ads, and said that he’s “always dreamed of buying an TV ad during the Superbowl.” Of course, he admits it’ll be a tad more money than the Metro ads. “I won’t be able to fund that on my own but perhaps a Kickstarter campaign might do it,” he said.