Politicians are huge supporters of the adult industry. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer launched the modeling and writing career of working girl Ashley Dupre after anonymously donating several thousand dollars to her employer. In February of 2010, a Republican National Committee staffer allegedly spent close to $2,000 entertaining donors at a West Hollywood S&M club. Recently, Indiana State Representative Phillip Hinkle reportedly offered to pay for sex from a teen male he met via Craigslist—possibly with the intention of helping the 18-year-old pay for college.
When 40,000 or so Republicans converge on Tampa next August for a week-long party, they are bound to donate a significant amount of cash from their family values campaigns to support the single mothers who populate the local adult scene. In fact, conventions and illicit sex seem to go together no matter the political party: a study out of Baylor University found that the last time Democrats and Republicans met separately for their 2008 National Conventions, the number of ads for escorts on Craigslist.org and Eros.com—the virtual street corners and bus stops of modern call-girls—increased in both host cities by 30%.
Accordingly, Tampa's adult business owners are already planning on ways to attract some of the estimated $150 million the convention will pump into the economy.
