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Porn Star Scuttles My Political Career (Really!)
Man, I hate when this happens!
Okay, I guess the whole porn-star-ruins-my-career scenario was in the cards for me from the beginning, but it’s always a shock when it actually happens. Here are the lurid details.
In the hopes of supporting a genuine constitutional conservative in the midst of a field of bozos and blowhards, I wrote a couple of (delightfully entertaining) ads for Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. These were part of a series of Group Session ads in which people sat around discussing their political problems and realized they could solve them by voting for Senator Ted. The ads were filmed with a collection of talented and charming young actors and were scheduled for release this weekend. I, of course, planned to spend the weekend standing next to my phone, waiting for the political ad writing offers to come rolling in.
As it turns out, one of the talented and charming young actors was an attractive lady named Amy Lindsay who, it also turns out, had previously starred in some softcore porn films, including Insatiable Desires and the ever-popular Secrets of a Chambermaid. Apparently someone on one of the other campaigns recognized her from one of his late night porn watching sessions or something and reported her to the press. Let me add here that Amy — a conservative and a Christian — was not only excellent in the ads but added some intelligent and funny ad libs to the scripts.
Nonetheless, the Cruz campaign scuttled the series…
Read the thrilling conclusion here.
Published in General
“Caesar’s wife must be beyond reproach.” Also apparently his ad-actresses.
I don’t like it either, but the commenters around the web are right: if the ad ran, that’s all it would be about.
So I looked up Ms. Lindsay on IMDB, and discovered that she starred in Timegate: Tales of the Saddle Tramps in 1999.
As a SciFi fan, I can’t believe that I missed this one.
They should run the ad. I don’t think the headlines would be that bad:
So no one questions the porn watching, but using a former porn actress in political ads is beyond the pale.
Anyone else notice the cavernous disconnect?
Why do Democrats want to keep women down?
If Cruz has the guts to role with this, there is a magnificent, teachable moment here about both what Christianity is and how conservatism is far more inviting than some folks would have you believe.
First, what she was and whatever trials she has faced don’t define her in Christ’s eyes nor should they define her in His follower’s eyes. That would be a powerful statement to many who have been brainwashed into seeing Christ and Christianity as the National Funless League or a bunch of judgmental knuckle-draggers (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
That leads to my second point which is related. Conservatism is about conserving time tested standards that are based on the content of our character. Not the character of our parents or forefathers or even our character as stupid kids or young adults but our character as mature adults who acknowledge and understand how what we do and believe impacts others. She came to this realization and decided to be obedient to Jesus. I’m grateful for that in my life and hers and grateful to stand beside her if she is in fact a conservative.
Oh, My. I thought this was going to be about one of Trump’s lady friends or something.
Well, the story is out now, they might as well revamp the ads to capture a message. It can’t be that hard to revise it all into something about the judgmental double standards of the left. Somebody start saving all the Huffpo posts and comments.
Otherwise, the story is just going to continue, but be about those ads Cruz wouldn’t release.
And besides that, a former porn actress should have never worked again, in any other field, and shame on Cruz for employing her in something not porn related?
We are doomed if we do, and doomed if we don’t, it might as well be while exhibiting principles.
Cruz should be furious. Someone in either his campaign or ad agency should be sacked for this. They all know he’s going after evangelical voters. Looking at the cast’s IMDB to make sure they weren’t doing something like porn seems to me to be a must-do thing. A no-brainer. Basic to the process. I’ll bet that if Hillary was doing a commercial, her people are making sure none of the cast were doing pro-life marches or something.
I agree, the Cruz campaign is mssing an opportunity to let the Dems make a big deal out of this and to respond by questioning why they would hold this woman’s past against her. After all, they are supposed to be the party of women’s rights, so it only reflects poorly on them. The Cruz campaign could put out a press release saying that they wanted to show that he believes in forgiveness and in allowing people to leave their past behind them and move forward with dignity.
It was an error to drop this like a hot rock. I dare say that unmerciful is not a trait Sen. Cruz needs to cultivate. A shrug of the shoulder should suffice.
Just more fodder for Trump to tweet about in questioning Cruz’s Christian faith…
Cruz should have finessed this to his advantage, using any or all of the suggestions above.
Running from this stuff is exactly what we need to stop doing. Trump stopped, and, absent any other qualities, it has propelled him into the lead.
“Don’t call me Lord Snow.”
The dwarf lifted an eyebrow. “Would you rather be called the Imp? Let them see that their words can cut you and you’ll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name take it make it your own. Then they can’t hurt you with it anymore.”
(Jon and Tyrion)
It’s an Alinsky tactic: take whatever they throw at you to embarrass you and own it, twist it around, and stab them with it. (Sorry, too much GoT on the brain.)
This girl could have been someone we were proudest of, instead of someone we’re (unjustifiably) embarrassed by.
The Cruz campaign missed out here, and not only because it would have been fun to jiu-jutsu this back in their faces; now we’ll never get to see how effective the spots might have been. Andrew Klavan is a smart and canny dude; he would not have made crap.
“Hey Republican candidates. Stop following the old, stultifying, intellectually-insulting rules! Don’t be jerks of course, but be honest for once. If so many are following Trump, it’s because they are tired of mealy-mouthed obviously politico-speak horses***. Just say it, will ya?“
Oh come on. This was the perfect opportunity for TC to be suave and non-judgmental. What is wrong with the ad apart from the leading lady’s past movie association?
Put it in their faces. Run it 24/7
As above, especially.
i’ll predict the ad is reinstated within 24 hours, with a mea culpa from Cruz… what a masterstroke, all the news coverage of showing the ad for free on the news shows. Cruz can claim the high ground and has a sister soulja moment with the socon prudes.
Soon to be overshadowed by the news that Jim Gilmore just dropped out…
If the Dems are hiring tools to dress up as Robots (or, Rubots, *snicker snicker*) for Marco Rubio, Hmmm, I wonder…
They missed the opportunity to say, “Hey, we don’t watch porn so we didn’t know. But our opponents, on the other hand, needs to explain why they easily recognized her…”
I guess Cruz doesn’t want to be tied to a porn star, but I get the feeling Klavan wouldn’t mind.
What! When did that happen?! I’m always the last to hear everything.
I’m sure his supporter will be devastated.
Picking up on what EJ said in #16 Cruz should work this bit into his stump speech: “The other day I had to pull a campaign ad because my opponents discovered that an actress appearing in it had done pornography in the past. Now, obviously, a lot of people would have missed the message of the ad if all the press was taking about was the actress. Apparently my staff doesn’t watch as much porn as my opponents’ team so we missed it.
“Now, I spent a little time digging into this story once it was reported. Turns out the actress is now a good christian woman, wanting to promote the values of which we can all be proud. So I am sorry that due to the cold heartedness and calculation of my opponents, this actress is not able to promote to the public the kind of values she now supports, to be seen as the good woman she is. And I would like you to come out and vote on election day and encourage all of your friends and neighbors to do so as well. Vote for the christian and constitutional values that this woman supports and which I pledge, as your President, to promote in our nation’s capitol and throughout America.”
I’d be interested to know who made the decision to can the ads and whether Senator Cruz was involved in making the call. If the latter, very disappointing. I’d happily vote for him in the general but show some spine.
I am.
How would that hurt Cruz? Christians (Rubio/Carson/Bush included) would point to it as the gospel in action, and given that Trump owns strip clubs he’d have no rational objection. Dems routinely defend Porn. I don’t see the downside.
Because she’s a Conservative and a Christian is no reason to drop the ads. Have a heart Ted.
(rubs my hands together menacingly) Then the “Flip-Flopper” ads rollout.
When it comes down to it, even if she isn’t a Christian or a Conservative, as long as you could ascertain that she wasn’t gonna do any political porn spoofs. It would have done wonders for easing misgivings over what a Cruz administration might look like if he still just shrugged it off.
Cruz should change his mind. When the old porn flicks are brought up, he should say: ” I am no more interested in talk about these movies than I am in talk about a beauty pageant winner’s old pictures in Penthouse magazine. It’s wrong to imprison anyone in past mistakes.”
People should remember Vanessa Williams and shut up.
I’m no Christian, but this should be a supreme teachable moment. I mean, it’s right there in the syllabus.
Okay, evidently her “soft porn” career isn’t necessarily an “in the past” thing. I guess I think Cruz should run the ad and say he can’t comment on her other work because he hasn’t seen it. Let’s just hope her films aren’t as obscene as the recent Beyoncé, half time, Super Bowl performance.
I think everyone is misreading the reaction of the Cruz campaign.
It’s strictly a competitive thing. Cruz can’t advertise the support of a minor league soft porn simulator when Marco has won the all -important Jenna primary.