Catholic League president William Donohue commented today on Larry Flynt’s decision to run for governor of California:
“Flynt has missed his calling—he should run where he might win. In Hollywood. After all, given his record, there are too many Catholics—especially Hispanics—in the state for him to dissuade. For example, Flynt has been accused by his own daughter of sexually molesting her from before she was 10; he foisted pornography on her to desensitize her. She has also accused him of whipping her with a black leather belt and of molesting her sisters.
“In 1988, Flynt’s animus against Jerry Falwell led him to create an ad that showed Falwell discussing how his first sexual encounter occurred while he was drunk with his mother in an outhouse. In 1997, in an ad display for a movie about him, actor Woody Harrelson was shown wearing a stars-and-stripes loin cloth with his arms outstretched as if crucified, over the groin of a bikini-clad woman. When he addressed a crowd at Georgetown University in 1999, Flynt went on a rampage against the Catholic Church, saying, ‘The Church has had its hand on our crotch for 2,000 years.’ The late Michael Kelly also charged Flynt with racism and the degradation of women. In this regard, nothing beats the cover of Hustler that showed a woman being put through a meat grinder.
“Flynt is championed by the left for his devotion to free speech. That they cannot distinguish between what Madison meant by this—political discourse—and child pornography, does not seem to matter to those committed to sexual engineering. Their hero—Flynt—is adored not so much for his exercise of free speech but for the content of his expression. In short, he is lionized for being the Sultan of Smut.
“Flynt says he has chosen to run for governor of California because it is ‘the most progressive state in the union.’ That may be, but it has nothing on the home of Tim Robbins, Sarandon, Hef, Babs and Cher. He would be well advised to declare his candidacy for Mayor of Hollywood.”
