Posted on 07/02/2007 4:17:47 PM PDT by AFA-Michigan
Some anti-pornography groups are demanding answers as to how much presidential candidate Mitt Romney knew about the Marriott hotel chain's profits of pornography sales during his nearly ten years on the Board of Directors in the 1990's.
The hotel chain is one of many that offer pay per view sex videos for sale through in-room entertainment.
Though Marriott doesn't release their revenues when it comes to X-rated videos, industry analysts estimate it is in the tens of millions of dollars.
During his run for President, Romney has campaigned on a platform of "family values" recently telling a graduation class, "Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and television and video games."
Some of these conservative grassroots activists want to know whether he spoke up or tried to put a stop to Marriott's business dealings back then.
Phil Burress, founder of Citizens for Community Values, has been fighting hotel chains for decades on this issue. He tells The Brody File that every month a group of roughly 15 anti-pornography leaders meet in Washington to discuss the latest happenings.
Mitt Romney's Marriott connection has come up repeatedly. "Ever since he announced for president, it's been a topic of discussion."
Mitt Romney's campaign told CBN the following: "Governor Romney's role as board member was in an advisory capacity on financial matters related to the company and, obviously, he did not have a role in the day-to-day operations or decisions of individual franchise holders."
John Harmer, president of the anti-pornography group The Lighted Candle Society and the former Lieutenant Governor of California under Ronald Reagan isn't buying it. He wants to hear more.
"My attitude toward board members is that they are fully responsible. They knew exactly what they were receiving. I don't think any board member under any rationale could claim ignorance. You're either a board member or not. I can't imagine a board member going a full year and not receiving a revenue report from the company."
Previous news accounts researched by The Brody File show that Romney was paid more than $100,000 per year while on the board of Marriott.
When he left in 2002, J.W. Marriott, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Marriott International, called him, "an active, hands-on Director… From his first days on our Board nine years ago, Mitt has been an extraordinarily effective director and visionary leader."
Mitt Romney has a very close relationship with the Marriott family.
Romney's father, George Romney was best friends with Marriott's original founder J. Willard Marriott. Mitt Romney's first name is Willard, in honor of the Marriott founder. The Marriott family gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mitt Romney's campaign when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1994.
So far during Romney's presidential run, they have given close to $80,000.
When asked about Romney's time on the board of directors, Marriott Spokesman Roger Conner told CBN, "We don't comment on board level matters."
Conner wouldn't speculate whether Romney had any knowledge about the fight to get rid of pornography in room entertainment or whether he did anything about it. He would only say, "This area would not have been a board area…"
Conner is quick to point out that voting on in room entertainment packages would not have been something the board would have voted on. Rather, he says, this is an operations matter.
Moreover, he says that many of Marriott hotels are either owned by others or franchised.
"We have to respect the business decisions and needs of owners. The guest has a choice to opt out of the adult entertainment options."
The Brody File made repeated calls to LodgeNet, one of the main providers for hotel in-room entertainment. We asked whether hotels have the option to opt out of the X-rated films if they would like.
They did not return our phone calls. On their website, it does say that they work "closely with its hotel partners to determine the best mix of titles to maximize viewing levels. Unlike most systems, On Command Video has the ability to tailor the programming at individual hotels to match the demographic profile of that particular property's guests.
Conservative pro-family groups have been putting pressure on hotel chains for years to change their ways.
In a letter to Bill Johnson of the American Decency Association, Marriott's Chairman of the Board wrote in June of 2000, "The in-room entertainment operators who provide our systems rely upon a certain volume of movie types in order to be economically viable. If we were to eliminate the R and non rated offerings, the systems would not be economic."
Industry analysts estimate that roughly 60% of hotel chains provide in room entertainment with the X-rated pornography movie option. Yet, some have decided to drop the adult videos.
In 1999, Omni Hotels announced that it would remove adult pay-per-view movies from its guest room televisions. It took a financial hit but Peter Strebel, Omni Hotels vice president of marketing, said in a press release at the time, "
"Money is not the issue in this matter. Not all business decisions should be fiscally driven. We believe that this is the right thing to do; the right thing for Omni Hotels, our associates and our customers."
Gary Glenn, a well known pro-family activist in Michigan recently sent an email to Justin Hart, one of Mitt Romney's Faith and Values Steering Committee members. Hart also works for the The Lighted Candle Society.
Glenn writes, "It is a matter of record that during the time Romney served as a 'hands on' member of its board of directors, the Marriott Corporation sold tens of millions of dollars worth of hardcore pornographic videos… as a candidate for president, Gov. Romney has a bully pulpit from which he could greatly assist your organization and others in applying sufficient public pressure to Marriott and other white-collar porn peddlers to 'dry up some of that funding'…we encourage you to urge the Romney campaign to initiate public discussion of the above concerns and questions in a proactive fashion, for which he may receive some credit for initiative and leadership on an issue that speaks both to his personal and political integrity and to his trustworthiness should he be elected as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States."
The Brody File contacted Justin Hart who said "In this important fight against pornography there are those people who are determined to make enemies and effect zero change and there are those who propose to use their influence to create serious lasting change - Romney is in this latter camp…pure societal turnaround can only happen when people of influence find the right moment in time to lead change…In my opinion, Romney's record shows that he could very well effect that change to happen. The fact that he included a serious anti-pornography group on his Faith and Values committee suggests this as well."
That's not satisfying to Phil Buress. He wants answers from Romney. "This man is very knowledgeable about the issues, but for him to not know anything about what Marriott is selling, I found that very interesting."
The Romney campaign won't go beyond their initial statement.
Instead they point out that Governor Romney is actively talking about pornography issues and today's culture wars.
In a speech Romney gave nearly three months ago, he said, "I have great faith in the American people. I have faith in our children, and in our grandchildren. But at the same time, I am deeply troubled by the culture that surrounds them today.I'd like to keep pornography from coming up on kid's computers. I'd like to keep drugs off the streets. I'd like to see less violence and sex on TV and in movies and in video games…I believe that the most important work being done to strengthen America's future is the work that is being done within the 4 walls of the American home."
There is also a huge demand for on call prostitutes in hotel chains. Hotel chains make most of their money from repeat customers. I don't want them supplying hookers either.
Smithee, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that the guy who started the exchange by accusing me of being “disingenuous” was suddenly taking offense.
“Seeing that Romney wants to be Chief LEO but would have only at his disposal FEDERAL agencies, of what FEDERAL law has Marriott run afoul?”
In our opinion, which is shared by some (but not all) past and present federal law enforcement officials, Marriott and lots of other white-collar porn peddlers are subject to prosecution on federal obscenity charges.
For example, see Bruce Taylor, former Senior Trial Attorney for the Child Exploitation & Obscenity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice commenting on similar white-collar porn sales by a division of General Motors:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200012\CUL20001220b.html
And since — cover your eyes if you don’t want to read about Cincinnati — state obscenity laws in Ohio fall under the same U.S. Supreme Court decisions as the federal obscenity law, our opinion is validated by the judgement of prosecutors in two counties that Marriott’s chain-wide porn selection met the SCUSA’s definition of obscenity.
(No indictment followed, since two Marriott hotels removed the obscenity rather than risk prosecution.)
Our question to Romney simply offers a better use of his money than returning it to Marriott, i.e., as a charitable contribution to a group such as the Lighted Candle Society, a foundation that assists victims of pornography.
Not worried that Romney might actually make any such donations. In fact, certain he won’t. Just testing (1) whether he’s willing to put his porn profits where his alleged anti-porn rhetoric is and (2) whether he feels any moral responsibility for having failed to even attempt to stop porn distribution by a corp of which he was a prominent director.
You bring up an interesting point, though, since Romney or Romney supporters have made a habit of financial largesse with groups that have criticized him in the past: for example, Mass Family Institute, which publicly criticized Romney before receiving a large donation, and now praises him.
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/us/politics/11romney.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
The Nation:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=174210
If I could be similarly bought off, they’d have done it long ago. But nice try...
I’m not a Mormon but I always thought that they were highly moral people. Whassup with this stuff?
As the Church Lady would say, "How conveeeeenient."
Hey montag — you notice how Smithee looks foolish in a post at 1:23 a.m. by prematurely high-fiving himself — obviously without having hit “refresh” to see my post at 1:21 in which I was more than happy to rebut his feeble “gotcha”?
What does the Church Lady say about that, Smithee?
People at that level don’t often think about things like this. Maybe they should, but they don’t. It probably does prove that Romney isn’t especially concerned with pornography, but that shouldn’t be a news flash. Anyone who thinks he’s a strong social conservative doesn’t know how to read between the lines anyway.
This thread is a classic example of conservatives’ circular firing squad.
“A pornographer, which is what Romney is by definition ...”
You’re a lunatic.
Don’t judge the Mormon church based on Romney or Marriott.
The LDS Church this winter published a seven-part series on the damaging nature of pornography:
http://www.desnews.com/cn/view/1,1721,470005852,00.html
Plus, former California Lt. Governor John Harm (appointed by Reagan), quoted in the original article above as not buying Mitt’s claim that he wasn’t aware, is a prominent Mormon.
Make that John Harmer (misspelled above)...
Really? What word do you use to describe a person who makes money from the sale of pornography, if it isn’t “pornographer”?
Not really, since Romney is not, and has never been, a conservative.
He was the most liberal governor in the history of this country.
“the most liberal governor in the history of this country.”
That’s too crazy even to laugh at.
Gee, I don’t know. Board member of a hotel chain, maybe.
The hotels have bars, presumably. Does that make Romney a liquor salesman? A bartender? Do their pools and gyms put him in the fitness business?
What kind of liberty is it that says I MUST do what YOU want me to do?
Face it. Those who make money from selling porn are pornographers, no matter how many strawmen you offer up.
Really? Name me another Governor in American history, of either party, who enacted gay marriage, socialized medicine [complete with taxpayer-funded abortions], a permanent assault weapons ban, appointed radical gay activists to the bench, and whose administration flooded the public schools with gay propaganda.
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