Much as I hate deputizing the hypocrisy posse to chase down a Republican, hypocrites in positions of influence deserve a good public "outing" no matter which way they lean.
You listening, Ross Spano? Time to remove the white hat, cowboy.
Spano, R-Riverview, chairman of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and widely admired as a committed Christian conservative, is probably the last buckaroo you would expect to be staking a claim to pornography on Twitter.
But that's exactly what Spano did. The Orlando Weekly exposed him on Wednesday for "favoriting" a tweet Jan. 8 "from the 'Goddess Lesbian' Twitter account, which features a video clip from adult entertainment company Reality Kings." (No, I'm not going to link the 17-second clip, but a screen shot of Spano's "liked" Twitter entry is reproduced on this page.)
Naturally, other news sources followed the Weekly's story, just as I'm doing, and judging by comments in responding tweets, there's likely a slew of disillusioned conservatives out there wondering who the real Ross Spano is.
It's the bald-faced hypocrisy of it all, not Spano's interest in the "Goddess Lesbian" adult entertainment that drives me up the wall. Frankly, as long as it's legal, what adults choose to do with their time is their business, not mine.
But when you preach the evils of pornography in one breath, you don't leer at a porn vid by so publicly "liking" it on Twitter in the next. If you do, be honest -- you're a hypocrite.
Spano, who has represented most of Hillsborough County since 2012, is the lawmaker who last Monday filed "House Resolution 157. Public Health Crisis Created by Pornography." In it he claims "pornography is contributing to the hyper-sexualization of children and teens ..." Further, "due to advances in technology and the widespread availability of the Internet, children are exposed to pornography at an alarming rate and it often serves as their main source of education regarding human sexuality ..."
The resolution also claims pornography promotes kids developing "low self-esteem, ... eating disorder[s] and a desire to engage in dangerous sexual behavior."
Never mind that not a shred of evidence for any of this is presented, but that's a column for another day.
Right now the point is, Spano turns out to be another do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do pontificater who is unable to admit it. He does exactly what U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas did when he was caught earlier this month "hearting" porn -- he blames someone else.
Here's the statement Spano issued:
"Obviously, I have a long social media history on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram since I was first elected in 2012. With a thorough examination of my accounts, it will be easy to see that this is not my doing. I have since gone back, once notified, and rectified the problem. And I’m now looking into how it occurred in the first place.
"In addition, referencing my prior statement, I don’t believe any of this takes the focus off of the fact that there is a direct correlation between pornography and a host of societal problems, including human trafficking, exploitation of children, sex slavery, and domestic violence."
Why don't any of us who have written this story believe the representative's explanation? Maybe because it's hard for us to imagine this kind of "accident" happening to us -- that someone would find our passwords, sign on to our Twitter accounts and misrepresent our values. Or, is it more likely because Spano left his graphic "liked" porno tweet "Goddess Lesbian" up and untouched for nine months?
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
Comments
Rep. Spano did explain "the