Stormy Daniels is the Louisiana porn star who has been teasing everyone about possibly running for U.S. Senate against "Diaper" Dave Vitter for over 8 months now. While everyone's treated her as either an amusement (for the Democrats) or an embarrassment (for Vitter, which is the whole point), I don't think too many people on either side have thought that she was serious about actually running.
That may have changed this week, with the latest revelations about the RNC's $2,000 lesbian-bondage-sex spending spree at the "Voyeur" nightclub.
As reported by Politico a few days ago, Daniels has released a tongue-in-cheek statement declaring her switch to the Republican Party, stating:
“As is the case with so many of my fellow Louisianans, I have been a registered Democrat throughout my life. But now I cannot help but recognize that over time my libertarian values regarding both money and sex and the legal use of one for the other [are] now best espoused by the Republican Party.”
The Louisiana GOP and the Vitter campaign, of course, dismissed this slam by accusing Daniels of essentially being a "stunt" set up by the Democratic candidate, Blue Dog Charlie Melancon. However, to their credit, the Louisiana Democratic Party hit back, hard:
Kevin Franck, spokesman for the Louisiana Democratic Party, said neither the party nor the Melancon campaign recruited Daniels.
"If the Louisiana Republican Party is uncomfortable with a Republican challenger who has a history of selling sex, I would suggest they reconsider standing by an incumbent with a history of paying for it," Franck said in an e-mailed statement.
ZING!!
Rachel Maddow covered all of this as well:
HOWEVER, as much fun as this has to be for Ms. Daniels, the Louisiana Democratic Party, and everyone here at dKos, the fact still remains that few people seem to think that she's serious about actually running.
SO, on a hunch, I decided to check out the most obvious website that she would use-- http://www.stormydaniels.com (Warning: NSFW!!)
And guess what I found (besides a nude pic of Ms. Daniels, of course)?
Well, if you'd prefer not to actually click through, what you'll find is the following message in large text:
ALL NEW SITE COMING APRIL 2010!
My website is under new management & will relaunch in April 2010
PREVIOUS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO REFUND YOUR MONEY"
...with no other links to anything other than a place for her porn site subscribers to get refunds for, I presume, the balance of their subscription period.
HMMMMMMMM...anyone know when the actual filing deadline is for Louisiana? Because this strikes me as being pretty strong evidence that Ms. Daniels is for real!
In fact, a Google search for her name also lists a second "official" website at http://www.clubstormydaniels.com which talks about the other domain (without the "club" in front of it) being her official site. Clicking on the "Over 18" link at the bottom is supposed to take you to the stormydaniels.com "tour" page, but instead goes to a dead link at the moment.
I think she put her normal porn site into storage and is in the process of overhauling it into a serious, legitimate U.S. Senate campaign site!