[AFA-Michigan]

Questions that Gov. Romney should answer as a candidate for chief executive and law enforcement officer of the United States:

1. Do you believe the Marriott Corporation was and is wrong to sell and profit from the sale of hardcore pornographic material?

2. If so, what if any actions did you take during your decade as a member of the board of directors to stop the Marriott Corporation's distribution of hardcore pornographic videos? Did you at any time protest the company's sale of such harmful material? If you did not speak out or act to stop the corporation's sale of hardcore pornographic material, please explain how you justify having failed to do so.

3. The Brody File reports that you received $100,000 a year for your service as a member of the board. Please explain how you justify having personally profited in part from the Marriott Corporation's sale of hardcore pornographic material.

4. Do you own currently own stock in the Marriot Corporation? If so, please explain how you justify continuing to personally profit in part from the sale of hardcore pornographic material. If you currently continue to personally profit in part from the sale of hardcore pornographic material via any Marriott stock holdings, and if you believe such personal profit to be inconsistent with the "family values" theme of your presidential campaign, will you as a candidate for president publicly divest yourself of any Marriott stock holdings so as to no longer gain personal profit from the sale of hardcore pornography?

5. Do you feel morally obligated to return to the Marriot Corporation -- or better yet, donate to a charitable ministry such as The Lighted Candle Society that assists the victims of pornography and sex abuse -- whatever percentage of your compensation, if any, from your board service or stock holdings that is reasonably commensurate with the percentage of the company's overall revenues produced by its sale of hardcore pornographic material?

6. The Brody File cites an Associated Press report in April that as of three months ago, "longtime family friend J.W. Marriott...of Marriott’s hotel empire (had) donated more than $80,000 to Romney’s campaign." Given that some portion of the Marriotts' personal and corporate profits derive from the sale of hardcore pornographic material, do you feel morally obligated to return to Mr. Marriott whatever percentage of his substantial contributions to your presidential campaign might reasonably have resulted from porn profits?

7. Will you now, as a candidate for president, publicly urge the Marriott Corporation to end its multi-million-dollar annual sales of hardcore pornographic material because of the unconscionable impact such distribution has on families, women, and children?

8. Given your close personal, business, and political relationship with the Marriott Corporation and family, can the American people trust that a Romney Administration would nonetheless aggressively, faithfully, and impartially investigate and prosecute the illegal distribution of hardcore pornographic and obscene material -- including such illegal distribution, pro-family activists believe, by the Marriott Corporation and its franchise properties (as evidenced by two Cincinnati Marriott properties which in 2002 removed the chain-wide selection of porn videos under threat of criminal obscenity charges by local prosecutors)?

[advertising guy]

change the subject since the man in question is a christian.........are there wet bars in the room......just a vice choice..........

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

the Marriott Corporation sold tens of millions of dollars worth of hardcore pornographic videos

Do they mention the hardcore porn videos in their glossy full-page color ads in the national magazines? Is it worth it to them, making millions in that way? Do they think it adds to their reputation? Why don't they have a little abortion mill on the side? It would be perfect. Have an abortion, then recuperate at the Marriott. A package deal! I'm sure some ad person could come up with the perfect slogan.

[sarcasm now off, needless to say]

[Ditto]

This post is

LAME!

Get a life

[AnnaZ]

This may seem like an interesting fishing expedition for someone, but I would like to know what it has to do with being President. (My guess? Nada.)

(P.S. I'm a Thompson supporter... but this doesn't make me hate Romney. And I don't like pornography -- I think it's insidious, soul-suckingly dangerous.)

[loboinok]

montag813 - "Yeah, so sick of tight-ass moralists..."

" Continental Congress

Whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness: Resolved, That it be, and it is hereby earnestly recommended to the several states, to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement thereof, and for the suppressing theatrical entertainments, horse racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners.

-Journals of the American Congress: From 1774 to 1788, (Washington: Way and Gideon, 1823), Vol. III, p. 85. This resolution passed on October 12, 1778.

You think our founding fathers were "tight-ass moralists"?

Extremely Extreme Extremist - "Shhh! Hyper-moralists are immune to the laws of supply and demand."

Benjamin Rush

[Gaming] "This disorder seizes gentlemen in some instances before breakfast in the morning, and continues with only short intervals for meals, till 11 o'clock at night. It affects some people in the night as well as the day, and on Sundays as well as week days. . . . This madness is of a destructive tendency, and often conducts persons afflicted with it to poverty, imprisonment, and an ignominious death."

-The Selected Writings of Benjamin Rush, (New York: Philosophical Library, 1947), p. 215. "On the Different Species of Mania.

HitmanLV - "...there is a wing of conservative types who are notably prudish."

"The last thing I shall mention, is first of importance and that is, to avoid gaming. This is a vice which is productive of every possible evil, equally injurious to the morals and health of its votaries. It is the child of avarice, the brother of inequity, and father of mischief. It has been the ruin of many worthy families; the loss of many a man's honor; and the cause of suicide. To all those who enter the list, it is equally fascinating; the successful gamester pushes his good fortune till it is overtaken by a reverse; the losing gamester, in hopes of retrieving past misfortunes, goes on from bad to worse; till grown desperate, he pushes at everything; and loses his all. In a word, few gain by this abominable practice (the profit, if any, being diffused) while thousands are injured."

-The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1938), Vol. 26, p. 40. This advice was given to by Washington to his nephew in a letter on January 15, 1783.

moonman - "A Christian or Islamic 'fundamentalist' mentality tells one, "No viewing of porn, having anal or oral sex, no drug use, no tobacco use and no alcohol"

Being moral, free and responsible in the choices we make that affect our family, community and country is one thing, having a fanatical theocratic religious/state actor mandate their choices is another.

As a prudish, tight-ass moralist, damnable Bible thumping busybody, I, for one, don't appreciate your trying to blend the two.

"[W]e have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." -- John Adams

"Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time; they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime & pure, [and] which denounces against the wicked eternal misery, and [which] insured to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments." -- Charles Carroll - Signer of the Declaration of Independence

"[T]he primary objects of government are the peace, order, and prosperity of society. . . . To the promotion of these objects, particularly in a republican government, good morals are essential. Institutions for the promotion of good morals are therefore objects of legislative provision and support: and among these . . . religious institutions are eminently useful and important. . . . [T]he legislature, charged with the great interests of the community, may, and ought to countenance, aid and protect religious institutions—institutions wisely calculated to direct men to the performance of all the duties arising from their connection with each other, and to prevent or repress those evils which flow from unrestrained passion." -- Oliver Ellsworth - Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court

"We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government, that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by the means of the Bible. For this Divine Book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws, and those sober and frugal virtues, which constitute the soul of republicanism." -- Benjamin Rush

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of man and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?"

"And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who, that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?" -- George Washington

[newguy357]

As much as I’m not a Romney fan (Hunter and Thompson much preferred), this is a really lame attack.

[L.N. Smithee]

Questions that Gov. Romney should answer as a candidate for chief executive and law enforcement officer of the United States:

Hold on, there, pardner -- this issue has nothing to do with "law enforcement." Don't be so disingenuous.

[no dems]

I’m not a Mormon but I always thought that they were highly moral people. Whassup with this stuff?

[Recovering_Democrat]

Oh give me a BREAK!

What next: does he have to answer how much TRANS-FAT was used in preparing MEALS at the restaurants in Marriott hotels? What about the GIFT shops at Marriott...they may have sold, (gasp), cigarettes and condoms! Shame on Mitt, pretending he is a family value guy!

Ridiculous.

[RightOnline]

You really can’t be serious here. I’d suggest you and these other nannies know absolutely zip about how business works, first of all, and are really digging to turn this into some sort of idiotic crusade against a decent man.

Grow up, get real, and stay out of adults’ bedrooms.

[Badeye]

Sheesh, you anti Romney types are losing your minds these days.

Apparently it wasn’t enough to smear the man’s religion, eh?

His political positions - and the noted flip flopping should be more than enough to defeat him in the primaries.

This kind of thing is so Clintonite I feel the need for a shower.

[Grunthor]

“Questions about Romney’s ties to Marriott porn sales”

Unless he is personally IN the movies or personally making money off the sales or rentals, I see no problem here.

[GSWarrior]

You know, these types of hit pieces only convert the already-converted. Basically, you are preaching to the choir. No Romney supporter is going to abandon his camp over this. In fact, making a big deal over this is more likely to backfire on you, IMO...in effect raising Romney's "cool" factor, if you will.

i wonder how many Marriott properties Duncan Hunter has stayed in over the years?

[Salvation]

**Marriott hotel chain’s profits of pornography sales during his nearly ten years on the Board of Directors in the 1990’s.**

Hmmmm.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

[Scarchin]

The nanny state comes in all shapes and sizes.

[MistrX]

Clinton, Inc.

In action

[Quicksilver]

I have questions about your use of the Internet subsidizing the spread of porn. What do you plan to do about it? Will you return any money that you have ever made from the sale of products or services over the Internet? Ah, we're all enablers!

Happy Fourth of July!

[streetpreacher]

Besides Romney, we should examine the hypocrisy of the Latter Day “saints” leadership.

[Craigswatch]

There is a major difference between the entertainment industry trying to market porn and obsene lyrics to the public and something that is sold behind closed doors. Fact is that it is adults making the purchase, thus what is the issue. I do not support or oppose the porn industry, I support free markets.
So, what is the issue?