aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Sunday, October 29, 2006

GOP Congress addicted to porn

As the Republicans took gay porn money story spreads - to counter the GOP Harold Ford took porn money claim - I’m reminded of a 2005 CREW report, Addicted to Porn: How Members of Congress Benefit from Pornography.

The congressional porn money habit is long-standing and widespread. The CREW press release from March 10, 2005:

Washington, DC,—Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a report Addicted to Porn: Members of Congress Accept Political Contributions from Porn Purveyors. The report details how 15 Members of Congress, including 11 Representatives and four Senators, all of whom revile pornography, have accepted campaign contributions from corporations and executives who derive substantial profits from selling pornography.

The report contains four sections: 1) how companies make money from pornography; 2) which companies have PACs that make campaign contributions; 3) which Members of Congress receive these contributions; and 4) the quotes of Members of Congress named in the report who have publicly condemned pornography. In addition, an appendix to the report details the contributions made from corporations and executives to Members of Congress.

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan stated “it is one thing to be silent on the issue and accept porn purveyor’s contributions. However, these Members of Congress attempt to slap pornographers with fines and legislative restrictions with one hand and turn around and accept porn profits with the other. Our report details the hypocrisy of this ‘skin caucus.’”

Some of the findings of the report: Kansas Senator Sam Brownback - who equates pornography with crack cocaine - accepted $17,000 from porn peddlers. [Right now he’s blocking a federal appellate court judge nomination because the nominee attended a commitment ceremony for a lesbian friend.]

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman [up by 8 in his race against Lamont] - who has long campaigned against the growing coarseness of our culture—along with renown gambling addict William Bennet, handed out “Silver Sewer” awards to those who made immoral videos, and who has criticized MTV for having porn stars on the air, accepted over $16,000.

Cong. Fred Upton [not on anyone’s list], who leads the charge against indecency, accepted over $56,000.
Arizona Senator John McCain [here remembered praising Jim Webb’s novel], who claimed to be the “anti-porn” presidential candidate in ads that ran prior to the South Carolina primary, pocketed $46,000 from corporations and executives who profit from porn.

Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director referred to Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) [down in the polls as of Wed, googlebombed to #8] as “the biggest hypocrite of all” for having written a letter to former Vice President Al Gore demanding that he return a contribution from an adult entertainment web site and for sanctimoniously ranting at Viacom executives that they cared more about profits than morality, despite accepting $47,000 in porn profits.

RELATED Porn in the Bush years: 2001 earnings, $9.8 billion. Today, more than $12 billion.