Phil Gramm's recent disparaging of "a nation of whiners" complaining about a "mental recession" did more than offend the sensibilities of economically struggling Americans. His gaffe also served as a reminder that McCain had appointed one of the most reactionary, venal, and destructive political figures in recent times as his top econ man. By Sunday, the damage to the McCain campaign had grown so severe it announced that Gramm's role had been significantly reduced.
Phil Gramm attempted to invest $15,000 in "Truck Stop Women." His money ultimately helped produce a film portraying Richard Nixon wandering nude around the White House.
Gramm was an accident waiting to happen. Indeed, his gaffe represents little more than a scrap in the massive heap of wreckage he has left in his wake. Gramm's own presidential campaign in 1996 was among his most high-profile casualties. In order to win a whopping total of 8 delegates, the charisma-challenged Gramm had to spend $20 million, or about $2.5 million per delegate. This experience curiously translated into a job as one of McCain's key political advisors.
But first, Gramm returned to the Senate, where he was lobbied intensely by one of his major campaign contributors, Enron. Enron enjoyed easy access to Gramm's office; the senator's wife served on Enron's board of directors and Ken Lay was his 1992 campaign co-chair. Gramm rewarded his financial angels in 2000, slipping the "Commodity Futures Modernization Act" into a omnibus spending bill just as Congress headed off for summer vacation. His amendment instantly enabled the creation of a shadow banking system -- "weapons of financial destruction" in the words of Warren Buffet -- that directly contributed to the current mortgage foreclosure crisis. Millions of Americans have suffered as a result of Gramm's machinations.
While the destruction Gramm has caused is felt across the country, little is known about the seedy business schemes that preceded his political career. Before Gramm joined the Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed to call for the defunding of the NEA, before he attacked an opponent for taking money from a gay rights group, and before he was interviewed by the white supremacist Southern Partisan magazine, Gramm was an avidly active investor in soft-core pornography movies.
Gramm's journey into porn began in 1973, when his brother-in-law, George Caton, rushed to tell him about an exciting low-budget soft-core production called "Truck Stop Women." A promo poster for the film boasted of its buxom stars: "No Rig Was Too Big For Them To Handle." Caton, who was in charge of fundraising for the production, asked Gramm to become an investor. To entice his brother-in-law, Caton showed him scenes of Playboy Playmate of the year Claudia Jennings displaying her bare essentials (she is naked throughout much of the film).
These scenes "really got Phil titillated," Caton told journalist John Judis in 1995. Gramm enthusiastically cut Caton a check for $15,000. Because the film was oversold, however, Caton returned his brother-in-law's money, offering him an investment opportunity in an upcoming feature.
The following year, Gramm sent Caton a check for $15,000, this time to finance the production of "Beauty Queens," a soft-core flick about pageant judges having sex with contestants. But at the last moment, the director of "Beauty Queens," Mark Lester, decided to shelve his production to make the sequel to his "Tricia's Wedding," a comedy starring the drag queen troupe, The Cockettes.
Gramm contributed at least $7500 towards the sequel, a satire of the Nixon White House called "White House Madness" that featured the crazed president wandering around the White House in the nude. Gramm never saw that money again. Shot in ten days on a soundstage crudely modeled after the Oval Office, "White House Madness" tanked at the box office.
Like the rest of Gramm's endeavors, his soft-core porn career was a complete disaster.
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Phil Gramm isn't even gone. Gramm will continue as an adviser and surrogate.
Obama"s campaign says: "Gramm's remarks and his policy work are a pretty accurate REFLECTION of McCain's worldview."
If this is true, why can't it be said that "Reverend Wright's remarks and work are a pretty accurate REFLECTION of Obama's worldview??"
It can be said, but some things seem to be more acceptable than others. Obama would rather lie or flip-flop than admit his faults and sordid past.
"GOD DAMN AMERICA" VS. "WHINING'?"
Hear me whine!
I"m voting for John McCain in November.
Birds of a feather flock together. Reverend WRIGHT sermonizes/exposes dirty, deceiptful United States of America undersides. His career and church supports people needs. GRAMM's behaviour shows he despises ordinary people. He hurts. He legislates hurt. Take away from the people and give it to the top dogs. He deregulates industry allowing lenders to expand their jurisdiction, often unltimately deceive and cheat people. Usury is his middle name. His wife is disgraced ENRON to the core. An ex board director. A short list of McCAIN'S fine feathered friends: Reverend Parsely advocates war against ISLAM to irradicate it. Reverend Hagee says HITLER is GOD's plan to scare the Jews all back to ISRAEL. Co-Chief campaign advisor, uber lobbyist Rick Davis. Telecoms lobbyist, Verizon. Overseas lobby for ruthless multi billlionaire Oleg Deripaska, so controversial that the US has revoked his visa. Chief advisor Charlie Black is one of Washington's most powerful influence-peddlers, Advisor Carly Fiorina. Fired HP CEO. (From Online Newsletter: Fallen Star.) "And here comes Carly Fiorina, who is a salesperson. It's about the results, a culture of money. There was something special about the relationship between management and employees. It's called the HP way. And, you know, (since Fiorina) that's pretty much gone now. "
If Obama had hired Wright as his main campaign adviser on anything, you might have a fair analogy.
McCain's flip flops would qualify him for the olympic gymnastics team.
Tell me who in the Democratic camp has invested in several porn film projects? As a public figure, and part of the "family values" crowd, ya think he might have used a little better judgment? Not to mention the writing of legislation directly beneficial to his biggest campaign contributor, and employer of his wife?
Who cares about Gramm's titilation with soft-core porn? Perhaps if he had been the USAG instead of the porn obsessed Ashcroft then maybe the FBI would have investigated the terrorists learning to fly planes.
What Phil Gramm should be persecuted for is his corrupting the finance laws to allow scum like Ken Lay and the bankers that hosed the mortgage market to get away with billions and destroy what's left of our economy.
As to people's religious leaders, I don't always agree with mine, but I don't dump my religion for it.
If McCain didn't have the entire Corporate Media Superstructure hiding his inadequacies, McCain himself would emit a soft chuckle and close up shop.
First they had the gay porn "journalist" with access to the White House, now this. From the sound of it, Republicans just can't get enough pornography... and that's just the beginning of their perversity... read "The Franklin Coverup" by John W DeCamp for more.
What would his wife Lindsay Gramm think of all this?!
We can't say enough about Phil Gramm... The word must get out on this shyster ,who sold us down the road with his deregulation bill and the melt down we are now having... What happened to Enron is now happening to the nation.
He is bad news for McCain and the more it can out the better off we all will be.
Who would ever want this man running their finances? let alone a U.S. cabinet position of treasurer as Mc Cain has suggested.
Bad news for McCain? Bad news for us.
This is McCain's man....
Money or morality?........money or morality?........ now that's how to drive a repug crazy.
I think they think that money is morality.
Oh, livesimply, you have hit the nail squarely on the head! Great post!
If you are looking for the model of corrupt lobbyist-owned senator, meet Phil Gramm. If you want the model of the senator corrupting lobbyist meet Phil Gramm.
You gotta love these fine people with Christian values!
Truck Stop Woman and a butterball nekkid Richard Milhaus Nixon......
Ok Folks ; I am done !
Where will we find such interesting perverted subjects once the GOP is voted out of Congress? The political pages will be so dull.
Max you're killing me. First it was Hagee and all that "rod of iron" stuff, now this.
we're a nation of whiners for sex
More like a nation of perverted sexual political liars.
How else could all these politicians be so afraid to tell the truth?
Blackmail is how.
Max, Phil Gramm is NOT gone, and his financial terrrrism lives on as well.
now thats what i call "christian and family values"
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Posted July 15, 2008 | 05:42 AM (EST)