Porn in the Closet? Mitt Romney's Secret Life as a Pornographer

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen12202007.html

By DAVID ROSEN

The summer scandal about Mitt Romney's role as a closet pornographer appears to be resurfacing as the Iowa Republican caucuses near. While never raised during the Republican debates, the rumor has been gaining momentum as local press and Christian groups continue to circulate the tale of Romney's complicity in the offering of pornographic programming while on the board of the Marriott hotel chain. It seems to be contributing to the steady erosion of Romney's electoral standing among evangelical Christian Republican voters.

"Mitt Romney regularly denounces the 'cesspool' of pornography on the campaign trail," wrote Ben Weyl in the "Iowa Independent." "But recently, those would be supporters have been grumbling that Romney did not do enough to shut down hardcore movie options in Marriott hotels while he was on the company's board for nearly a decade."

The story of Romney's link to porn programming broke in July by AP reporter Glen Johnson. Romney served on the Marriott board from 1992 to 2001 and was chairman of its audit committee. During Romney's tenure, Marriott contracted with On Command to provide in-room television services; in 2006, On Command was acquired by LodgeNet. When questioned by AP, Romney claimed that the issue of pornography never came up at board meetings and insisted that he did not know how much money porn generated for the hotel. Ignorance is bliss.

Romney received an annual fee of $25,000 and stock options while serving on the Marriott board. He also received a campaign contribution of $80,000 arranged by J.W. Marriot.

[DS1]

1. Fundies buy the most hotel smut

or so they say

[grasswire]

2. GWB was a financial backer of porn, too.

It was exposed, but didn't stop him from becoming POTUS.

[11 Bravo]

3. Damn, does this mean that Mitt's sacred garment has cum stains?

[krispos42]

6. Maybe that's his secret hair-care product...

:rofl:

[krispos42]

4. Pornography = big money

Therefore, it is more important than sexual morality because the morality of the free market trumps all.

Remember, it's One Market Under God, Amen...

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

5. Bwhahaha! OMG, Romney tied to hotel porn.That's hilarious!

I love how he was the audit committee chairman and had no idea how much money porn generated for Marriott. :rofl:

Why, my goodness gracious, he must have gotten the vapors at the mere mention of the "P" word. :rofl:

MKJ

[alfredo]

7. Marriott tried to dominate the janitorial services by underbidding

mom and pop organizations. No big fan of Marriott.

[undeterred]

8. Is "On Command" the name of a Christian Porn channel?

That would be too funny :rofl:

[seemslikeadream]

11. a little S & M?

:rofl:

[yellowcanine]

9. I am loathe to defend Mittens but I doubt that board members of a major hotel get into

the details of programming on the room TVs. This seems a tad silly, not that that will keep people - particularly fundies, they love this stuff - from talking about it.

[Ravy]

13. I am sure he stayed in Marriott hotels during his tenure on the board...

and it would be pretty hard to miss.

[yellowcanine]

21. It is a real stretch to get from there to "closet pornographer". I think there are

more relevant things to bash Mitt on - for example his pandering to the audience du jour, his confusing statements about religion and public office, his apparent willingness to say just about anything to get elected.

[AlCzervik]

10. Willard was named after J. Willard Marriott.

[BOSSHOG]

12. Religious programming is Pornography

Trick fucking little old ladies surviving on their social security widowers pensions to send money to some fucking zealot all eat up with conservative values so his wife can have a fancy wardrobe. This is the best thing I have ever heard about romney.

[Enrique]

14. was it Mormon porn?

:scared:

[Kolesar]

15. This is silly and it won't make a difference in the campaign

(counterpunch.com lets some stupid shtuff get published).

[seemslikeadream]

17. By DAVID ROSEN

Yea David is sooooooooooo stupid :sarcasm:

[Kolesar]

19. So? ... eom

[seemslikeadream]

22. So?

Oh I guess I misunderstood you I thought you were attacking Rosen, you must have your arrows pointed elsewhere

[seemslikeadream]

24. Have you ever met a CounterPunch article you did like?

[Kolesar]

26. When they bash the Likkud Party and their ilk

[Ilsa]

16. Unless Willard was saying, "Let's see those nipples," it won't matter. nt

[Occam Bandage]

18. This is a pretty weak attack.

"Romney was on the board of Marriot, and did not single-handedly shut down an incredibly profitable moneymaker that provides as an option pornography!"

Let's stick to the actual reasons not to like that slick empty-suit slumbitch.

[seemslikeadream]

20. Nice that you could show up also

[Occam Bandage]

23. Romney is a legit threat. If you want to take him down,

and I assume you do, you'll want to use attacks that have a chance in hell of convincing anyone. Frankly, the only people who might be remotely offended by this are the ultra-fundies--and they'll either rally around him or they won't based on whether they can reconcile themselves with his Mormonism, regardless of what we say about him.

[seemslikeadream]

25. I have no great passion to take down Mit he will be able to do that all on his own

[seemslikeadream]

27. David Rosen appeared on This is Hell last November

http://www.thisishell.net/archives_2007.html


David Rosen appeared on This is Hell last November to discuss the Congressman Mark Foley scandal. This week, he wrote the article. "Moral Hypocrisy on the Hill, Again." Last we heard, David was completing the manuscript for "Perversions: America's Secret Passion for Deviant Sexual Pleasures." He is author of, most recently, "Sex & the City of Orgies," and "NYCSEX: How New York City Transformed Sex in America" (New York Museum of Sex) for the periodical "Sexuality and Culture." David is convener and executive producer of Digital Independence, the forum on creativity, technology and democracy.

[onenote]

28. silly, and not a little dangerous

Look, if the fundies who don't like the fact that Marriott hotels offered adult movies want to get upset at romney for being on the Marriott board and not somehow preventing it, so be it. As others have pointed out, a lot of fundies are skeptical about romney because of his Mormon faith anyway. But playing this up as if its a real issue is both silly and dangerous imo. Is it an issue that is supposed to hold sway with non-fundie voters? If so, does it mean that Dennis Kucinich is in trouble because he's received campaign contributions from (and has been 'endorsed' by) Larry Flynt? Frankly, if its not a big deal that Flynt is supporting DK, then its not a big deal that Romney was on the Marriott board when they offered movies that a significant portion of the electorate doesn't much mind (again, except for some fundies who wouldn't support romney anyway).

[in_cog_ni_to]

29. I suppose he's responsible for the vibrating beds too?

:rofl:

They're all hypocrites! EVERY-LAST-ONE-OF-THEM!

[aikoaiko]

30. I'd need to see said movies before I good comment.

;)

[Initech]

31. You know what they say:

The one who goes on moral crusades against things they deem "evil" are the ones most likely to engage in it themselves.