Jamelle has already mentioned the nutty anti-masturbation videos made by Dead Republican Senate Candidate Walking Christine O'Donnell. It should be noted, however, that O'Donnell's very serious concerns have been echoed by more respected Republican intellectuals. Consider the dissent of the great legal sage Antonin Scalia in Lawrence v. Texas, explaining the horrible consequences that will flow from the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a law banning consensual same-sex relations between adults:
State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’ validation of laws based on moral choices. Every single one of these laws is called into question by today’s decision; the Court makes no effort to cabin the scope of its decision to exclude them from its holding.
Although we've made it so far, you have to admit that Scalia has a point: if the widely respected and rigorously enforced laws banning masturbation were to be struck down, it is difficult to imagine how the American constitutional order could be maintained. I hope Republicans will continue to pursue this sure-to-be-popular strategy!
--Scott Lemieux
