This story was originally published by The Center for Public Integrity, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.
Not long ago, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised his administration would battle online smut by strictly enforcing obscenity laws and compelling businesses to install pornography filters on every new computer sold in the United States.
That’s what makes it jarring that Romney’s all-but-defunct 2012 presidential committee — with an assist from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul — is associating itself with a stealthy front group that decries “government censorship” and is best known for producing a cheeky porno spoof that lambastes Internet regulation.
The motive? Cash.
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An extreme example came in 2013, when the American Unity Fund, a social welfare nonprofit “dedicated to advancing the cause of freedom for gay and lesbian Americans,” successfully rented Romney’s supporter list and blasted Romney backers with messages, as RedState.com reported.
Romney has consistently opposed same-sex marriages.
As for “net neutrality,” Romney has said he opposes the idea in principle, while also calling for strict government controls over certain Internet content, namely pornography. Obama supports”net neutrality” policy.
Spokespeople for Romney and Paul could not be reached for comment.
