It wasn’t that long ago that I was commenting in an editorial for TheAdultWebmaster.com that any politically-motivated legal assault against the adult industry could potentially backfire on the architects of said attack.It wasn’t that long ago that I was commenting in an editorial for TheAdultWebmaster.com that any politically-motivated legal assault against the adult industry could potentially backfire on the architects of said attack. The most likely instigator of any morality assault on porn in an election year is the most powerful conservative in public office, who this year happens to be the President of the United States, so my previous comments were, at the time, directed mostly in his direction. Yet there are countless conservative politicians all over the country looking to solidify their conservative voting base before the next significant round of elections in November, and any of them could decide that waging a war against adult entertainment would provide useful blurbs for their political resume at a time when press attention matters most.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the “morality” issue is a wildcard, and putting it into play can have unpredictable results. Politicians desperate for attention while facing an uphill battle might not care about the potential downside – what do they have to lose? But politicians with a legitimate chance to win an election should pay close attention to what’s happening to President Bush now that he has raised the ire of insanely popular shock jock Howard Stern.
Unless you’ve been hanging out in a cave for the past month, you’ve probably heard that Howard Stern was booted from six major radio stations owned by the company Clear Channel as a result of the FCC’s crackdown on “indecency” on radio and television. In addition, Stern himself is facing potentially enormous fines and a possible end to his popular morning radio show after years of on-air entertainment. Stern has blamed his troubles on the Bush Administration, noting that the actions taken against him happened only after he recently became critical of President Bush after years of support.
“If you’re listening to me now, the one thing I ask you to do is vote against Bush. Vote for Kerry,” Stern said recently during a broadcast of his popular radio show. Stern has taken to ripping Bush on a daily basis, taking his message to his 8.5 million listeners. Considering that the Howard Stern Radio Show is not normally a political show, and that Stern had been largely supportive of the President up until recently, Stern’s message is undoubtedly finding a whole bunch of people who intended to vote for the President in November. Considering that the last election was decided by a couple hundred votes, playing the morality card through the FCC could end up costing Bush the general election in November.
Now I have to admit that I was tickled when I heard about the FCC’s crackdown reaching Stern. Why? Because frankly too many Americans have grown complacent when it comes to Free Speech rights, and what better advocate for the cause than a charismatic, popular radio show host who was drawn unwillingly into the fight because the fight came to him? Better yet, Stern has always been especially friendly to the adult entertainment industry, having many industry personalities on his show and providing them with ample opportunities to promote their products and services. No adult industry lobbying force could ever have hoped to net a Free Speech advocate with so much power and influence. Luckily for the adult industry, the Bush Administration netted this one for us.
So now the issue of censorship is front and center. If the Bush Administration was planning on attacking adult entertainment quietly, promoting their deeds only to the appropriate hardcore conservative voting groups, then they certainly will be re-thinking that decision after awakening a sleeping giant in Stern. While few Americans will probably think twice at the most extreme Net content running into troubles, the same can’t be guaranteed for any “obscenity” attacks leveled at the more mainstream content producers. So whether he wants to be here of not, I for one am glad to welcome Howard Stern to the fight, and hopefully for Stern and the rest of us, the fight will end with a victory in November.
Connor Young is Editor in Chief of YNOT News and TheAdultWebmaster.com
