A difference that can't be overlooked: the FCC censors broadcast television in radio. No federal body censors the written word.
Had Webb simply been prone to including steamy adult sex in his work, I'd never have questioned it. But while I believe he has the right to write the way he does, the fact that his work is peppered with graphic perversion should rightly cause people to stop and think before voting him into the US Senate.
Sounds to me the man's political ideas should cause people to stop and think before voting him into the US Senate. What he wrote as a novelist should not enter into the equation . . . I'm sorry, but this really reeks of desperation from his opponent. This kind of "gotcha" politics should be beneath a political party that claims its ideas and integrity are better than that of its opponents.
Oh please. What he wrote came from his own mind. Moral people, although occasionally troubled by impure thoughts do not dwell on them and write about them in graphic detail. Moral people do not share any passing impure thoughts with others for the sake of book sales. What he wrote as a novelist is a testament to his [lack of] virtue.
"the FCC censors broadcast television in radio. No federal body censors the written word."
But that's really irrelevant, because the question was about whether or not it was possible to convey the concept without being unduly offensive.
"This kind of "gotcha" politics should be beneath a political party that claims its ideas and integrity are better than that of its opponents."
In today's climate I strongly disagree. We've got to become as fierce as our opponents. Moreover, as I pointed out, Webb's pattern of words and images are simply going to concern a lot of people. Put it this way; what if *every* book written by Webb contained graphic scenes of incest? How many books would he have to write before the public could legitimately begin to question his character, judgment, temperment, etc.?
Also, it has considerable potential to backfire, given the facts that 1)much of Webb's writings relate to his experiences in Vietnam and 2)Allen's Vietnam experience is limited to deciding whether to order the Banh Hoi or the Mien Ga.
I tend to agree with your take on this. I thought Allen was ahead and would win handily before this was introduced on the Drudgereport. That Bubba and Hillary gave Webb the kiss of death was enough to ensure Allen's victory. And I'm not interested in hearing the MSM analyze this stuff on television. I don't want my children reading it here, and I don't want them hearing it read on television. I doubt Webb's intention was for it to be discussed before audiences which might contain children.
When this first hit the net yesterday, my son walked into the room, and I had to kill the page. I don't want this all over the airwaves.