Yesterday I posted a diary that broke down numbers needed to win or defeat the cynical Measure B Condoms in Porn initiative - the prevailing side will likely need 1.5 million votes, Los Angeles County is big universe, as big as many states. I also wrote about the need for some fearless progressive framing, and suggested that James Lee, a No on Measure B spokesperson might be consciously or unconsciously activating a conservative frame and furthering the true purpose of AHF's attempts to getthese measures on the ballot in LA twice this year, to get social conservatives in the bluest of the blue districts to vote, donate, engage. A prominent GOP strategist admits a similar strategy was behind the placement of the marriage amendment on the ballot of my home state, Minnesota.
James Lee is a former CA GOP Press Secretary (for Bush/Quayle campaign and CA Gov Pete Wilson) so his statement that politics is behind the AHF initiated ballot measure should carry as much weight as Brodkorb's admission.
Here is what James Lee said in a recent interview published on Examiner.com:
Robert Herriman: Do you believe this is basically a political move by opponents of the industry, to possibly drive the industry out of town, for example?
James Lee, No on Measure B spox: Of course. When you consider there is no public health hazard since porn stars are only having sex with each other not only on the camera, but off the camera in their personal lives and that testing has kept infections at an absurdly low level, you have to ask why the obsession to punish porn? Given AHF’s use of terms like “pornographers” to describe the industry, comparing performers to workers in Nevada brothels and intimating that porn companies would use underage minors if given the opportunity (yes, Michael Weinstein himself made that claim), you can only think their zeal is motivated by a desire to abolish porn.
More below the fold!
Indeed abolishing porn is Romney's objective, and slut shaming is the last desperate tool in the box for people like Romney and Rush Limbaugh.
Yet as the interview continues (below)the government waste and the solid position of GOP and Libertarian parties and the conservative framing come back strong - do to the absence of any Los Angeles Democratic club taking any public position on the ballot measure. This is a huge opportunity for brave, sex positive progressives to begin framing a compassionate, fair, perhaps even nurturing message that supports autonomy, freedom of expression, sexual choices and dispenses with the exaggerated fear of sex the other side uses to mobilize right-wing religious fundamentalists and haters to the polls.
Here is the last part of the interview (visit the Examiner for the parts dealing with medical credentials, epidemiology, risk):
Robert Herriman: I understand the Free Speech Coalition and opponents of Measure B says the initiative is a waste of tax dollars, can you please elaborate.
James Lee, No on Measure B spox: The LA County Dept. of Public Health has estimated the initial start-up costs to administer the permitting and inspection program at $300,000 alone, but the additional costs to hire inspectors, chase down productions that don’t apply for a permit and enforce against them could have the program’s costs skyrocketing. That’s why the estimates for permit fees have bounced around to from $3,000 to upwards of $50,000 because nobody knows how to enforce this measure. Also, the industry has made it plain that it plans on moving production out of LA should Measure B pass, taking with it an estimated 10,000 jobs and over $1 billion in local tax revenue and economic activity. Therefore, you get a double whammy of increased government costs and declining tax revenue for a county that is already in the red.
Robert Herriman: I guess the key question is, how do you convince an L.A. County public who may naturally think, “Of course mandatory condom use in adult films makes sense to protect performers and the public health in general”?
James Lee, No on Measure B spox: What we have found in talking to voters is that the initial support for the idea of condoms quickly evaporates once they find out how often performers are tested, that performers don’t want it and the costs associated both in bigger government and lost jobs and tax revenue. Not to mention the halo effect of so many other tax increases on the November ballot making voter sentiment strong for across the board no votes. Also the Democratic Party has declined to endorse Measure B, while the Republican and Libertarian parties have both endorsed the No side.
Unless someone hires me on out in LA and sends me a plane ticket, tomorrow I will return to covering Minnesota politics - I have some great video to edit, render and post tonight. I haven't been paid to engage in opposition to Measure B, it seems to be the right thing to do, and I have made a little bit of money in the adult entertainment industry on the technical side and am friends with a few performers, photographers, webmasters, etc. Good people, great parties. We need to invite them to be a meaningful part of our party, too.
8:07 PM PT: The Los Angeles Times has endorsed a "No!" vote on Los Angeles County Ballot Measure B:
Measure B is well intentioned, but it is likely to stymie county government and bring little benefit to performers. The Times recommends a no vote.
It's a close call. Not every argument put forward by either the AIDS Healthcare Foundation or the pornography industry can be accepted at face value.
Journalists have noticed not everything AHF has said is reasonable, but don't yet question the motive for efforts to put it on the ballot twice this year?
9:09 PM PT: Another Los Angeles newspaper, the Daily Breeze (and LA.com online) endorses a "No!" vote on Measure B:
For many Measure B voters, all of this may be too much detail and disagreement. Some will be inclined to vote for B because they disapprove of pornography on moral grounds. AHF President Michael Weinstein seems all too happy to encourage this, calling people in the porn industry "bottom feeders."
So it's instructive that the Valley Industry and Commerce Association opposes Measure B. VICA might have been expected to veer from its usual anti-regulation philosophy to protect the Valley's good name, but its board of directors voted unanimously to stand up for porn producers, saying new restrictions could endanger 10,000 legal local film jobs.
Everybody wants to protect health. The question is whether the adult-film industry is a big enough threat to warrant Measure B's solutions. The editorial board is not convinced, and we recommend the measure's defeat.
AHF has relied on the public maintaining, negative bias against pornstars to argue for expending resources in a questionable way. Government can do things to lift people up, but not if it is forced to intrude into the private affairs, personal choices, and free expression of a maligned minorit at the expense of managing the basics of public good - transportation, real public health programming, education.
Los Angeles County voters have approved measures to raise revenues to targeted public good in past ballot measures, for transportation and other public good. Measure B is not likely to be an efficient, just or legal way to ensure the public good. It has been a circus. Vote "No!" on MeasureB and let government secure the greatest public good while intruding less on fundamental freedoms.