Porn teen for cash

Gore Chastises Porn Industry on One Hand but Counts Campaign Cash With Other - pornography industry endorses presidential candidate Al Gore - Brief Article

With GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush narrowly taking the lead again in the topsy-turvy opinion polls, you would think that Vice President Al Gore would be careful not to spurn the backing of any voters, especially super-rich ones able to promote his candidacy to millions of people. But there is such a group -- the nation's pornographers.

They don't fit into Gore's family-values vision of an America safe for family, home, apple pie and God. That's the public stance. And on the eve of the Democratic convention the vice president finally scotched an election fund-raiser from being held at Hugh Hefner's legendary Playboy Mansion.

In September, Gore aides were less than enthusiastic when the vice president was endorsed by luminaries from the Internet adult-entertainment industry who were gathered in New Orleans for a trade bash sponsored by firms operating the Web sites Kara's Adult Playground and XXX Password. Gore representatives insist that the adult-entertainment folks are much mistaken if they think the vice president looks upon them any more favorably than the Republicans. That's in public.

In private, operators of several X-rated Interact sites have been promoting Gore's candidacy among features offering Teen-age Girls and We've Got What You Want. "That's nothing to do with us," says the Gore camp.

But while Democratic chiefs have given the thumbs down to the thumbs up from the adult-entertainment world, they have been pocketing campaign donations quietly from one of America's most infamous adult-shop owners.

Denver-based Edward Wedelstedt, who runs more than 70 sex stores nationwide, has contributed more than $10,000 to Gore and the Democrats since 1996. One of his sex shops in Texas was raided last month by federal authorities.

Not much cash for a big porn honcho, you might say. True, but in most cases he gave the maximum allowed under election laws and, further, the Democrats have not returned any of the donations. Wedelstedt isn't alone among porn-industry figures in donating cash to the Democrats. Chicago businessman James Levin, who owns a string of strip clubs, has given $2,000 to Gore. He's also twice slept in the White House. "This really is a hypocrisy for Gore to be talking about cleaning up the entertainment industry in one breath and accepting their support in another," says Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.