Pinky and The Pimp
I watched from the gallery as Sen. Harry Reid called for an end to legal prostitution in his speech to the Nevada Legislature yesterday.
This part of the speech got wide coverage all over the world, overshadowing everything else he said. But there is one thing you should know. This was all an act, political theater that will have no effect on anything. So for all you folks riled up by this issue, just settle down and enjoy the show.
Agree with him or not, Harry knows politics. He knew going in that state legislators weren't receptive to this. Nevada's already suffering and small counties depend on taxes from brothels. And legislators from the big counties where prostitution isn't allowed know that tackling this issue is like playing with dynamite. Do any of them really want to play hardball with brothel owners like Dennis Hof? You could tell by the scant applause that this proposal was DOA.
Speaking of the Pimp Master himself, Hof was in the house with some of his ladies, and proceeded to hold a press conference after the speech. The cameras couldn't get enough of this spectacle. Everybody was getting their 15 minutes of fame.
I was told by a couple of media sources that someone in Reid's office leaked the dig against prostitution to the brothel people, and they alerted the media. That means either the pimps have better sources inside the Senate Majority Leader's office than the news media, or perhaps the leak was on purpose.
Just another reason I think this was pure theater. Here Reid is making a proposal he knows will go nowhere. While it was a good speech, touching on some important issue like education and renewable energy, there was nothing really groundbreaking or new.
But mention brothels, and he's getting worldwide headlines. He earns some points among the moralistic crowd that dislikes Nevada's approach to the oldest profession, knowing full well that nothing will change. It gives him a painless way to distance himself from The Left, at least in the perceptions of conservative voters.
After all, if he really wanted to end legal prostitution, he could write up a federal law doing so that would easily pass Congress. That will never happen. I'm betting we won't hear the word "prostitution" coming out of Harry's mouth for a couple of years.
Glancing at the media coverage this morning, it would appear they bought the act. Good show, Harry. A poor boy from rural Nevada doesn't get where Reid has gone without being a master at playing politics.
Perhaps after retirement, Reid and Hof can make a reality show out of this.
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