It seems that Mike Hope, the retired-cop-turned-personal-trainer-slash-state-representative (R, Everett), has added another notch to his employment belt: aktor.

A few weeks ago, Hope scored his own IMDb page (and YOW, what a page!) for being cast as "Officer O'Connor" in the film Vampire Soul: Hidden in Plain Sight. The film's still in pre-production but Hope's abs are ready for their release. Here's one of the photos on his page:

Mike Hope, in the flesh.
  • Meneldor Photography
  • Mike Hope, in the flesh.

What's striking about this portrait—other than Hope's dazzling absence of body hair and the way his taut abs seem to sweat salted butter—is how comfortable this Republican lawmaker feels in publicly sexualizing himself, and how apparently confident he is that appearing greased up and topless won't damage his political career. (Or maybe he's counting on Vampire Soul to catapult him out of politics and into the Hollywood hills?)

To be clear, I'm not censuring Hope, here. Do what you love, Mike!

But imagine what would happen a female politician released photographs of herself lubed up and posing in front of "No Trespassing" signs. I mean, we get frothed up enough about political women's hair and shoe choice (when we all know what's really important is their purses). Just imagine how the public—and especially that woman's Republican peers—would use the photographs as an excuse to belittle and dismiss her.