See, this was supposed to be a joke.
Several months ago, some wag from Louisiana placed an advertisement on Craigslist searching for an experienced professional in the adult entertainment industry to challenge embattled Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter.
Vitter's once rock-solid conservative credentials took a nasty beating when it was revealed that the Senator, who campaigned on a traditional Republican family-values platform all the way to the U.S. Senate, had a rather unfortunate predilection for both prostitutes and diapers.
In fact, he had a rather unfortunate predilection for enjoying both of these vices simultaneously, earning him the unwanted nickname "Diaper Dave" among certain political circles.
So with Diaper Dave's scandalous (and hypocritical) behavior prominent in the news, it was a pretty safe bet that he would not be, er, pampered by his own Republican Party in his quest for reelection, but the conventional wisdom dictated that Republicans would find another generic white dude to preach family values if they wanted to replace him.
Fortunately, this is a new people-powered age where genuine political creativity and inspiration can shine through.
Up went the ad on Craigslist searching for a stripper or porn starlet to challenge the Senator in the Republican primary. Initially, lots of folks saw the ad, had a few laughs, and went on their way, figuring that was all there was to the story.
However, the people behind the ad were apparently serious, and they found exactly what they were looking for; porn star (and Louisiana native) Stormy Daniels.
"Draft Stormy" is no joke. It sounds like it is, but whoever is running this thing appears to be in earnest:
A Storm that’s gonna sweep Louisiana clean of corrupt politicians once and for all! And that Storm’s name is Stormy. Stormy Daniels.
Honesty, passion and strength of character. These are the traits Louisiana needs in a Senator at this crucial time. And honesty, passion and strength is what this Storm is all about.
A champion of entrepreneurism, a fighter for decency and the embodiment of pure libertarianism, Stormy Daniels will be a tireless champion for the forthright values of common sense and do-it-yourself individualism!
The story has gotten enough pickup in traditional and new media that Ms. Daniels has embarked on a series of interviews to discuss her potential run.
Notably, she is surprisingly articulate (she was, in fact, editor of her high school newspaper and president of the 4-H Club), has a sense of humor, dislikes David Vitter, and is seriously considering running.
Here is CNN's first coverage of the story:
The Daily Beast's Max Blumenthal scored a one-on-one interview with the prospective Senator:
Not to be outdone, CNN's Rick Sanchez brought the prospective Stormy run to the national stage:
Wow!
No doubt, this will still be considered a joke for as long as the Stormy boomlet lasts. But in fact, it's an inspired tactic for Vitter opponents. She would, after all, be running in the Republican primary against Vitter (and whatever other dreary old men the Louisiana GOP can dredge up to outwingnut the Senator), so there's little danger of blowing the race for a Democrat.
There's nothing for Democrats to lose by a Daniels run, and there's plenty to be gained; it's a major victory for hilarity, and who knows, it could end up damaging the Senator quite a bit.
She comes across well in interviews, after all, and certainly shows a fondness for mocking Diaper Dave. Whether or not she can actually win many votes, she seems perfectly poised to humiliate the state's junior Senator quite badly as he seeks reelection.
It will no doubt be a very long and hard campaign, full of barely legal tactics, of course. Can Stormy Daniels embarrass the Diaper Man sufficiently that his reelection prospects are legitimately damaged? That all depends...