Pimpin' for Paul

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A visit to a legalised brothel in Nevada underlines how the Republican coalition is unravelling

I wnder if The Guardian reporter was on an expense account...

[...] They have even been offering two-for-one specials to clients who go onto their computer, access Paul's website and donate money.

How about an 'early bird special' for us ol' geezers?

The Bunny Ranch's owner, Dennis Hof, has - to the embarrassment of Ron Paul - been touting his support for the congressman for a few months now. Above the lounge fireplace is a sign (photographed above): "We pound for Paul". Just inside the entrance is another pithy banner: "Pimpin' for Paul".

On Saturday, South Carolina and Nevada both vote. They are as culturally distinct as, say, Amsterdam and rural Poland.

Of course, Dennis Hof and his "girls" aren't representative of Nevada as a whole; but there is widespread tolerance for institutions such as Hof's, and there is widespread distaste for in-your-face morals politics of the sort that has come to define much of the Republican Party in recent years. South Carolina, by contrast, is solidly evangelical, the conservative edge of its politics laced with the legacy of segregation, the "morals" issues of abortion, pornography, gay marriage and so on always high up in voters' concerns.

Squaring this particular circle, winning Nevada as well as the South, might just prove one trick too hard for the Republican candidates to pull off.

Heh. He said 'trick' and 'pull off'...

There's an awful lot of Ron Paul campaign signs in front of people's houses in Northern Nevada, which is right next door to me. I think I understand the Wild West Libertarian views in a state with 24-hour saloons, gambling, and floozie parlors, but if they think Paul's the one, they're all as batshit crazy as I've always thought they were. Of course, the fundies are crazy too, but far less benign. Nevadans want government to leave them alone. The religious nutters want government to leave us alone after converting us by law.

There's never going to be very much less government than there is now, and even though we would all like there to be less, ain't gonna happen. The best we can hope for is a break from the Repugs for a while. A good long while.

This is America. If folks want to throw their votes away on a sideshow geek like Paul, let 'em, and if they do it from a cathouse it's a fitting and ironic statement about the state of American politics.

My only excuse for posting this silly shit is I'm still getting over truck lag from yesterday.