Republican Delegates Wish Party Would Get Over Its Porn Paranoia
"I don't know that it's the government's part to regulate sins and all of that."
Tucked into a section on criminal justice reform, the Republican Party's 2016 platform suddenly takes a turn for the weird: Pornography, it states, "has become a public health crisis that is destroying the lives of millions. We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace." But while GOP officials might want to control American's viewing habits and fantasies, rank-and-file Republicans don't seem so sure Uncle Sam looks good as an anti-porn crusader.
Interviewing delegates and other attendees inside the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, we discovered many—including quite a few who claim to abhor pornography—want the party to stop focusing so much on social and sexual issues and fear that attempts to outlaw or censor online-porn betray the party's alleged commitment to limited government.
"We're a free country," says delegate Eric Lakin, of Los Angeles, California. "You wanna look at pornography? Go for it, as long as it's not child pornography. I have a real problem with the Republican Party trying to get into our bedroom. Don't tell me who to sleep with, don't tell me who to marry. If I wanna marry my horse, that should be legal. It should be about immigration, national defense, maintaining our roads, low taxes, and big business. I think the Republican Party needs to get a grip."
Matthew McAuliffe, a John-Kasich-hat sporting delegate from Columbus, Ohio, also thinks porn has "no place in the party platform." But "platforms like this get written when a lack of leadership occurs," he says.
Shaun Ireland, a delegate from Austin, Texas, who voted for Gary Johnson in 2012 but now supports Donald Trump, says "there are too many laws that go on right now. I don't know why [porn] would be in the platform."
Billy Carroll, a delegate from Delaware, doesn't mind its inclusion in the platform. But he doesn't think there's much government can do about pornography, on a practical level. "I don't know that there's much that you can do to stop it. It's on the Internet, it's available."
According to Ian Paul, CIO of Naughty America, the porn industry brings in $3.3 billion annually from U.S. platform. Some 70 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds admit to watching online porn "regularly."
This bothers Craig Lacardy, a delegate from Texas wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Bible verses. He thinks porn is "a disgusting bane on our civilization" and that watching porn is analogous to adultery. But while he wouldn't mind seeing porn-production outlawed, he admits there are also constitutional concerns to consider. "It's a thorny issue."
Others are similarly conflicted. A delegate from Oklahoma says he thinks porn is a moral hazard that can cause harm to society, but admits that he looked at a Playboy and Hustler when he was younger, and he doesn't think online porn is all that different. "I'm not for banning free speech, I'm not for banning art, but I am for banning smut," he offers.
A delegate from Louisiana says the new porn clause in the GOP platform is "appropriate," because "we are the conservatives of the country. We are the party of God. The decline in the morality in our country is directly attributable to the problems that you see right now." But then he pauses and adds: "I hate to say it and … I guess this might be the libertarian in me, but I don't know that it's the government's part to regulate sins and all of that."
"It's our role to go out as Christians to tell people why they shouldn't participate in pornography," he continues, "but if someone wants to build a business somewhere, it's not [the government's] place to tell them know you can't build that business there. And I don't think government should be telling people, you can't do this in your home."
Some delegates worry that the Republican Party's focus on these sorts of issues is holding it back. "You have these entrenched interests, what I call the Old Establishment," says Lakin, naming George W. Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich as examples. "These folks, they represent the old party. And this is a revolution—we are taking back the Republican Party. It's either make it or break it time, because it's gonna blow up or it's gonna charge forward with this great new candidate, Donald Trump, warts and all. He is breaking the old establishment party and we are charging forward and redefining what [the party is] going to be."
Chris DePino, a delegate from New Haven, Connecticut, whips out his harmonica and sings his answer to the pornography question: "I wish my party would get off pornography. I wish my party would be the best that it can be." DePino jokes that he's "living proof" that watching too much porn might ruin your eyesight, but "it's worth wearing glasses."