The Porn Star and the Senate: The Occupations of our Legislators

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/politics/2009/02/09/callebs.vitter.porn.cnnEmbedded video from CNN Video

CNN ran an interesting story the other day that stimulated my…uh…sociological imagination of course! Apparently some fans of porn star Stormy Daniels are gathering momentum to run the actress for Senate against the current discredited seat holder David Vitter. You just can’t make this stuff up! Of course, CNN most likely ran the story for its titillating, tongue in cheek (OK, no puns!) value.

And what’s the likelihood of Ms. Daniels actually winning against such an experienced politician, regardless of his background. It’s been offered that the stunt is politically motivated to highlight the fact that Vitter has been known to participate in questionable sexual activity, albeit not in front of the camera. He has admitted to libidinous connections to the infamous DC Madam. Stormy supporters, however, claim that this is no stunt and the campaign is serious. OK!

None of this is what sparked my sociological eye. What did is the emphasis on Ms. Daniel’s occupation. None of the stories I’ve found on this matter makes any claims to her qualifications. Her website claims that she has talents, such as writing, that go beyond the obvious resume. Even the website is weak on positions on the issues, offering only three categories, the economy, women in business and protecting children (for which she has apparently done some laudable work). There is no exploration into any matter regarding Ms. Daniels than her admittedly risque occupation, and this occupation automatically excludes her from being taken seriously as a contender for the senate seat held by an admitted philanderer and john.

Strangely, this got me thinking about other occupations that might be excluded from holding office at the national level. It appears there are many. Indeed, except for Al Franken there are only nine occupations represented in Congress. Law, the private sector, politics, education and medicine are the top five followed by law enforcement, science, the ministry and accounting rounding out the rest.

That leaves an awful lot of occupations without representation in the hallowed halls of the Capitol. Why? And how is this representative? For instance, lawyers only represent ~.3% of the US population and yet are almost 40% of Congress. How’s that been working out for us?

Where are the retail people and construction workers and garbage men? Are these occupations on the same level as porn star for exclusion from the service of government? Of course, there’s always Joe the Plummer…oh, wait, yeah nevermind.

Frankly, I know nothing about Stormy Daniels. She seems to have become successful in a market where it is very difficult to become successful, as very few porn stars ever achieve any lasting notoriety or fame. She seems to know how to invest and apparently she’s active in causes that are important to her. In my mind that puts her ahead of a number of people currently in office. Beyond this I know nothing, so I cannot recommend that she would be an effective leader. But is it fair to exclude her based on nothing more than her occupation? And how far do we extend this exclusion?

Judging by our current situation, a situation which was easily predictable, we cannot assume that being a lawyer, businessman, teacher or doctor includes any innate qualifications for office. The experience gained in these occupations is clearly not enough to guarantee quality work. If it did, government would run better and politics would not be a dirty word.

Let’s face it, how many of us have been taken advantage of by lawyers? By big business? By doctors? Even educators screw us over sometimes. I, however, have never been exploited or robbed by a porn star.

And hey…if I’m going to be screwed (yes, you know it’s coming)

…it might as well be by someone who knows what she’s doing.