A Bunny Ranch, Tucker Carlson & Ron Paul...

In what seemed like a Saturday Night Live political parody, a real-world press conference was launched as MSNBC's Tucker Carlson and two prostitutes stepped from a limousine, the ladies were with their employer and the owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch who arrived at an endorsement press conference for Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX). Carlson is traveling with the Paul campaign while doing a story for the New Republic.

While Paul, a devote Christian, opposes prostitution personally, his campaign claims he believes it is a state's rights issue. Meaning, states can regulate it if they choose too, but that the federal government in Washington, D.C. has no place in its regulation or control. Nevada has chosen very permissive sex-trade regulation.

Dennis Hof, the Bunny Ranch's owner is so excited that he wants to raise money for Paul. The Reno Gazette Journal reports:

Following the news conference, Hof said he was so impressed that he wanted to start raising money for Paul.

"I'll do it today," he said. "I'll get all the Bunnies together, and we can raise him some money. I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1 dollar, $5 dollar contributions."

Hof's prostitutes, Air Force Amy and Brooke Taylor, said they liked Paul's message, but wanted to learn more about the other candidates before making a decision.

It is really no surprise that anyone in an heavily regulated industry would want to see a Ron Paul victory. But as true as any axiom, whenever sex and politics get mixed, eyebrows area raised.

This type of endorsement may have been the only way an underdog campaign, like Paul's, can get coverage in Nevada, but it undermines his campaign's central message by trading its scarce opportunities for real notice with gimmicks and out-of-the-mainstream stunts.

For some, clearly the appeal to a more libertine government is access to pot and prostitutes but to a much greater number, those are expressly the roadblocks to their movement towards such a world-view.