Larry Flynt vs. the People

In one of Oliver Stone's most tortured productions of revisionist history - and that's saying something - smut peddler Larry Flynt is portrayed as one of the great pioneers of American free speech. A particularly tasteful marketing poster for "The People vs. Larry Flynt" featured Woody Harrelson as Flynt, stretched across the lower torso of a half naked woman in a mock crucifiction. Harrelson is also carrying the prop that all self-righteous first ammendment martyrs have used since Lenny Bruce first suffered for his art, the duct tape mouth gag. Needless to say, the film generated much unwarranted praise for the dubious pornographer.

On the heels of his respectability makeover, Flynt decided that he would use his new A-list celebrity to stick it to some of his enemies. Apparently displeased that investigations into Bill Clinton's perjury and sexual misconduct were ongoing, Flynt decided to pursue the hypocrisy angle to see if he could catch any Republicans operating outside the marriage. In an attempt to portay himself as a modern-day "muckraker", Flynt used "Hustler Magazine" to put up a bounty of $1 million on the head of any Republican caught having an extramarital affair. Anyone with information leading to the exposure of a Republican as a "hypocrite" would be entitled to a cash prize. Under Flynt's logic, Republicans were to be the primary targets for his investigation because they were most often the politicians running for office as "family values" candidates with the support of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and other conservative Christians. Flynt had always been symbolic of the moral decay in modern American Society, as seen by those in the so-called "Religious Right". He had to have seen this as an ideal opportunity for revenge and for him to be able to proudly say to his detractors, "see, you're no better than I am". The biggest fish caught in Flynt's net was Bob Livingston, at the time Speaker-Elect of the House of Representatives. Livingston had been one of the more high-profile officials seeking the impeachment of Bill Clinton for perjury, and Livingston's subsequent resignation was seen as a feather in Flynt's cap. This also served as a justification for the Democrats who continued to support the embattled Clinton by, among other things, falsely portraying the perjury charges lodged against Clinton as petty intrusions into his sexual privacy.

Fast forward to 2007 and yet another sex scandal is brewing. Deborah Jeane Palfrey, head of Pamela Martin & Associates, is facing charges that her company is a front for a prostitution ring. Palfrey, nicknamed the D.C. Madam, has been slugging it out with prosecutors as she claims her business is entirely legal. Palfrey has a book filled with phone numbers of clients who have used her company's services, and has been threatening to make the book public. Palfrey alleges that several high profile people, including some Washington, D.C. politicians, have been clients over the years. Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has already admitted to being on the list, and some have suggested that he resign. In the meantime, Flynt has stated his intention to parse through the Madam's phone book to see if he can catch some more Republicans in the act. Of course, if any Democrats get caught in the net, Flynt's henchman are likely to throw them back in the ocean...because according to Flynt, Democrats are not hypocrites on the issue of sex.

To me, the hypocrisy comes from Flynt and his buddies on the left. How is it that a Republican like Mark Foley can be removed from office for sending inappropriate text messages to underaged pages, but Democrat Gerry Studds can have sex with an underaged male page and keep his Congressional seat? How is it that a partisan attorney like Ronnie Earle can get Tom DeLay to step down from Congress by bringing bogus corruption charges against him, yet William Jefferson gets to stay in Congress while legitimate fraud charges are lodged against him? How is it that Dick Cheney can be harassed for allegedly steering government contracts to a company he no longer works for, while the press completely ignores the fact that Dianne Feinstein personally awarded $1 billion in government defense contracts to her husband's company? With regard to demands for David Vitter to step down, let's get something straight. The minute a drooling, slackjawed pimp like Larry Flynt can dictate who is permitted to hold office and who is not is the minute we stick him back in the cesspool where he belongs. David Vitter may be a flawed individual, but I'm not about to accept imminent tax increases and immediate amnesty for illegal aliens because Flynt's porn machine opens the door for Kathleen "Katrina Disaster" Blanco to choose Vitter's successor. Vitter may fall short of Republican standards on a personal ethics level, but I encourage him to stay strong and fight for his place. The alternative would be indecent.