On the plus side, Santorum just lost the Maxim reader vote. (H/T to Business Insider and Salon.com.)
n an undated position paper posted on his campaign website, Santorum states that “America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography.” He promises to “vigorously” enforce federal obscenity laws, and accuses the Obama administration of being soft on porn distributors.
“The Obama Administration has turned a blind eye to those who wish to preserve our culture from the scourge of pornography and has refused to enforce obscenity laws,” the paper says. “While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration.”
Santorum doubled down on his statement on the Sunday talk shows this weekend, telling CNN’s State of the Union that “the proof is in the prosecution.”
“Under the Bush administration, pornographers were prosecuted much more rigorously than they are under existing law, than they under the Obama administration,” Santorum said. “They [the Obama administration] has not put a priority on prosecuting these cases. And in doing so they are exposing children to a tremendous amount of harm.”
Tracy Clark-Flory put it well in her response in Salon.com.
Let’s be clear here: The Obama administration continues to prosecute child pornography just as the Bush administration did. The real change is inobscenity prosecutions involving consenting adults: As I’ve written about before, the Obama administration hasn’t put a priority on these cases. Three holdover cases from the Bush years have been prosecuted, and to pathetic ends: a plea bargain with no prison time, a dismissal and, most recently, a mistrial. It’s hard to see how those cases – the very best the Department of Justice could find – were a good use of taxpayers’ dollars.
Adding my own two cents.
First off, let me say that I am all for prosecuting Child Pornographers and Human Traffickers. And any materials made with underaged children and/or adults under coersion should be destroyed.
But that ain’t what Santorum is talking about.
He’s talking about a group of consenting adults getting together with a video camera and filming themselves doing the old pelvic two-step for fun and profit. That I’m calling shenanigans on!
Number one: 1’st Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Number two: Speaking as a middle aged man who enjoys his porn watching, I have to ask this question. Where would Santorum draw the line?
I mean, once he got rid of hard core porn. Would he stop there or would he go after other stuff. American Apparel and Victoria’s Secret ads? The soft core works of Radley Metzger? The “Red Shoes Diaries”.
Guys. If Santorum has his way. We could be entering a new Dark Ages for whacking material. We could wind up stuck with Lingerie ads in Sears Catalogs and the odd exhibitionist co-ed who like to shower with the curtains open.
Now is the time to act! If you haven’t registered to vote, do so now!
PORN TODAY! PORN TOMORROW! PORN FOREVER!!!!
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