15 members of Congress stuff their pockets with porn money

[donsu]

http://www.freepress.net/news/7194

CREW releases report "Addicted to Porn"


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.

-snip-

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.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman – 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, who leads the charge against indecency, accepted over $56,000.
Arizona Senator John McCain, 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.
-snip-
----------------------------


Rep. Heather Wilson is “the biggest hypocrite of all” $47,000

[NYCGirl]

1. Clarification: These are not donations from adult entertainment companies

They are from hotels, cable companies, etc.

[radfringe]

25. Hey Congressman -- is that a roll of quarters in your pocket

or are you just happy to see me???

[Harksaw]

32. Look at this from another angle....

Isn't there a positive side from this? If they are accepting donations from porn companies, and still stick to their guns about being against obscenity,(not that I agree with obscenity law...) doesn't that mean they aren't being influenced by the contributions?

I would hate it if our elected officials had to support the people who give them money!

[Stephanie]

2. Did you look at the report?

They seem to define General Motors and AT&T as "porn purveyors."

http://www.citizensforethics.org/filelibrary/20050310_appendix_addicted.pdf

[CBGLuthier]

3. Such evil, evil corporations

Had to dig to the actual report to find the names of these major league sleaze merchants.

Holiday Inns
Marriott International
Comcast Corporation
Time Warner Cable
Cox Communications
Charter Communications
Adelphia Communications
Cablevision Systems Corporation
Echostar
General Motors (Owned DirecTV)

SO what exactly is the point of the hyperbolic report? Is it that congress should shut up about porn since it is a part of big business?

[Cocoa]

8. it's not about the corporations

it's about the members of Congress and the hypocrisy of their decency rhetoric.

Look at the individuals CREW chose to highlight, and the quotes that they provided of these people railing against indeceny.

The emphasis is on the hypocrisy.

[tx_dem41]

11. You missed the point of the poster's comment.

To equate Holiday Inn and AT&T with the "porn industry" as this report did borders on intellectual dishonesty.

[Cocoa]

15. it actually exposes the dishonesty of the "decency" people

remember Heather Wilson's ridiculous performance at the Janet Jackson hearings?

I think people that engage in this kind of phony demagogery have to be held to the fire.

And that's who's singled out in this report, the hypocrites.

[tx_dem41]

19. If you want to say that GM supports the "porn industry"

you better start looking at the good-guys' contributors before you start down this dead end of hypocrisy.

[tx_dem41]

4. If you do a little more digging into this story, as was done..

on DU over the weekend in GD, you find that the "porn industry" includes cable companies, hotels, etc. In other words, the definition of "porn industry" is being highly stretched on this issue.

[Goathead]

9. A hotel that shows porn channels

is supporting the porn industry. Just as if you drive to an Exxon station to buy gas, you are supporting Exxon. One might even argue that I am supporting Exxon by mentioning them three time in this post. It is free advertising after all.

[tx_dem41]

12. Yes, if you want to take a point to its extreme....by being on the...

...Internet you and I are supporting the "porn industry" this very second! Sounds pretty foolish, doesn't it?

[Goathead]

18. I don't see the logic in that

A hotel can make a choice to show porn channels or not show them. If they show them they are directly supporting the porn industry. If they choose not to show porn channels they are not supporting the porn industry. By merely using the same media by which porn is disseminated(pun intended:evilgrin:) via the INTERNET you are not actively supporting the porn industry. That would be like saying that you support drunk driving by buying an automobile.

[tx_dem41]

20. Feel free to start this war ....

better check our side before you start it. The real "porn industry" overwhelmingly supports Democrats.

[Goathead]

24. Don't want a war

You may have misintrepreted my debating of the semantics of the term "support" This is similar to the debate on what "support our tropps" means. To me, especially in our economic world support means financial support.

[tx_dem41]

26. Fine, then the argument will be made...

that the Democratic Party is supported by the real "porn industry". Feel free to travel down that road. I'm not going with you.

[DoYouEverWonder]

31. Besides, as long as what they are doing is legal

why should it matter? They should be able to support whomever they please, just like anyone else in this country. It is the hypocracy of the holier than thou type politicians, who take their money, that I have a problem with.

[tx_dem41]

35. I don't necessarily have a problem with anyone taking money...

from Holiday Inn or GM. If we are going to look at every little piece of business that a company does, woe for all politicians, the bad-guys and our good-guys.

[ClassWarrior]

14. I agree. This is about these people failing to hold corporations...

...accountable to the same responsibilities that they apply to individuals.

NGU.

[Goathead]

5. This is big with the Christians fundamentalists

They are shuffling their investment portfolios so that they don't do business with companies that support the pornography industry or abortion.

[tx_dem41]

6. Hey, if they don't want to do business with...

AT&T and GM and Holiday Inn, the companies that this report concludes are the "porn industry", I hope we Dems will take some of that leftover money.

[seriousstan]

7. Total and absolute bullshit...Holiday Inns? Time Warner? G.E?

Read the report, not just the headline.

http://www.citizensforethics.org/filelibrary/2005310_addicted_to_porn.pdf

According to this group, if you have a telecommunication company and supply a backbone to the internet you are Larry Flynt. I guess all the librarians and also addicted to porn, since they provide free internet to the masses....oh , my bad...I meant AL Gore.

All postal service workers, overland hauling operations and television manufacturers must also be guilty.

[Just Me]

10. While neoCONS are abusing their power, funnelling public blood and wealth

into war-profitteering plans,...we are distracted by something we can actually choose to turn on or off?

:eyes:

Our people have no choice about what the neoCONS are doing with our blood and treasure (the greedy, life-sucking, black-holes :grr:)

Meanwhile, we are being sucked into a "porn scandal" that does not personally touch any of us?

WTF?

[Cocoa]

17. how are the neocons getting away with it?

they're getting away with it because they're distracting people with "family values" hypocrisy.

A light has to be shined on the hypocrisy, and that's what this report is.

[Just Me]

21. The neoCONS "use" that propaganda to distract from themselves.

I'll be damned before I allow myself to be pulled into such "distractions" from what the neoCONS have done and are doing to our people: SPENDING BLOOD & TREASURE TO PROFIT AND EMPOWER THEMSELVES AT THE ABSOLUTE SACRIFICE OF THOSE THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO SERVE!!!!

[Cocoa]

22. this is not meant for you

this is meant for the people that believe the decency rhetoric of these phonies.

[wildmanj]

23. newcon

someone tell me what a new con is and don't tell me its a new conservative--the old conservatives were bad enough

[NYCGirl]

28. Neocon —

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/index.php/Neocon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism_%28United_States%29

[wildmanj]

30. NYCGirl

who is Leo Strauss

[NYCGirl]

33. Leo Strauss —

http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/index.php/Leo_Strauss

Wikipedia link also is in the page above.

[wildmanj]

34. NYCGirl

why thank u NYCGirl----so do these people think of themselves as being better, worse, or just your average joe/jane as compared to the rest of god's little creatures??

[NYCGirl]

36. Not better or worse, just right, I guess

I don't know any personally; the Republicans I know personally hadn't ever heard of the neo-cons.

[Just Me]

29. The "neoCONs" actually hold themselves out as having been "liberal".

Yep, they're "liberal" in terms of liberally spending public wealth for their power. They "liberally" wage violence and destruction. They "liberally" lie, betray, cheat and abuse their power. They "liberally" incite the most extreme and violent and divisive elements every place they touch (just for the hell of it).

Google "neo-conservatives". You'll find their "self-definitions" which will lead you to what they want: POWER.

They are the scum-dwelling predators which represent the absolute lowest demominator of humanity. Since they are servants unto themselves, and USE everyone to serve their self-interests, they advance nothing, whatsoever, towards advancing humanity. To the contrary, they drag human potential down, down, down.

[Cocoa]

13. Heather Wilson cried when telling about her poor son and Janet's boobie

Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) accepted $47,000 from corporations and executives who profit from pornography. Yet along with Rep. Cubin and 10 other Republican Congresswomen, Rep. Wilson signed a letter to Vice President Al Gore in 2000, calling on him to return contributions from an Internet adult entertainment trade association and a Chicago strip club owner.52 Rep. Wilson has also been a strong
proponent of broadcast decency, including proposing that decency be considered as a factor in license renewals. In 2004, after the Janet Jackson breast-baring incident during the Superbowl half-time show,
Rep. Wilson erupted at a Commerce subcommittee on indecency, argeting Viacom president Mel Karmazin, The Hill newspaper described the scene: “‘You knew what you were doing!’ said Wilson, who was so angry that her voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears. You knew that shock and indecency creates a buzz that moves market share and lines your pockets.”53

[KansDem]

27. I still vote Claude Raines "I'm shocked...shocked" scene as better...

"I'm shocked...shocked to discover gambling going on in here!"

"Your winnings, sir..."

"Oh, thank you..."
________
Casablanca


This was a very funny scene. Rep. Wilson will have to do much better to wrest the "Dramatic Hypocrite" award away from Raines...

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. Is porn illegal?

What? It's not?

Then WTF?

Let's pick issues where there is an issue.

[mongo]

37. Wow

I'm almost speechless. Thank you all who have made responses questioning this report.

Contrast this thread to the one on Friday about the same report. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3255505

This report is the essence of spin. It really does little to hurt repubs, while painting the pornography "industry" as supporting repubs. It is really a piece designed to divide and conqueer.

I'm glad that DU'ers are no longer buying into it. If we can keep from getting caught up in the spin, it only helps us pick and chose our battles wisely.

Thanks again - Friday night I was ready to give up on DU. All of you who have questioned the report in this post have made me feel like I actually do make a difference.

:yourock:

[tx_dem41]

38. Well, its about time you showed up on this thread.

Where the heck have you been? :)

[mongo]

39. running errands

Bank for change, haircut, getting lunch, I had just finished my lunch when I saw this thread...

The only other thing I have to say about this subject is that I've noticed that most of the people who have posted this report, are people that I've come to know as being anti-porn. It's been posted several times since Friday.

Thanks for your posts in my absence!

[ClassWarrior]

40. Who's read "The Constant Gardener" by John LeCarre?

It's his most recent "spy" novel - 'cept it's set in the new world order of multinationals and aid workers and bureaucrats. And a subtext of this story is how corporations become vile, evil entities because NOBODY ever has to be accountable for their actions. When does someone ultimately say ENOUGH'S ENOUGH?

If porn is the scourge that these people claim it to be, then why the hell don't they use their influence to change it, rather than using plausible deniability to defend it, while still raking in the bucks? Makes you wonder whether the whole scourge claim is a corporatist puppet show for the sake of the punters. And if that's the case, these hypocrites need to be exposed.

NGU.