Newt Gingrich Inadvertently Gives "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award To Porn Executive
By Nicole Belle Sunday Sep 13, 2009 11:00am
This week, Allison Vivas of Pink Visual received a fax from Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF) group, informing her that she’s been chosen for a 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year award by his Business Defense and Advisory Council. From the letter obtained by ThinkProgress:
Newt would like to arrange a private dinner with you at the historic Capitol Hill Club on the evening of October 7, 2009 in Washington. You’ll dine privately with Newt at this exclusive venue and he’ll take the occasion to present you with your well deserved award and have your photo taken together.
This tremendous honor is a testament to your success in building your business and recognition of the risks you take to create jobs and stimulate the economy. As an award winner, you’ll be on the ground floor as Newt and his Council begin the work to turn this country around. … Newt is looking forward to hearing your ideas on getting the economy moving again and getting your feedback on his plans over dinner.
Pink Visual is a porn DVD superstore — not the type of company you’d expect Gingrich would want stimulating the economy. ThinkProgress contacted Gingrich aide Joe Gaylord, who sent the faxed letter to Vivas, but we didn’t receive a response. An ASWF representative reportedly called Pink Visual this morning saying it had “inadvertently” sent the fax to Vivas and was retracting the honor.
Ayup. Sure it was a mistake. An "accidental" fax addressed to someone at the correct fax number. Could happen to anyone...
Of course, congratulating a porn company for ...ahem...stimulating the economy would seem to contradict Newt's highly touted "Contract with the American Family":
Ironically, on May 17, 1995, Gingrich led a press conference on Capitol Hill announcing the Christian Coalition’s 10-point “Contract with the American Family,” a conservative legislative wish list. One of the items in the contract: restricting pornography. From Gingrich’s comments:
“We are committed to scheduling the hearings, to scheduling the mark-up and to scheduling the bills on the floor,” Gingrich said. “We’re committed to implementing the contract with the family.“
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I guess the guy was a very talented and hard working porn producer. Newt, maybe next year you will want to go with a drug dealer. They are quite the enterpreurs and I hear they have excellent motivational programs for their employees.
Newt Gingrich
InadvertentlyGives "Entrepreneur of the Year" Award To Porn Executive.Doen't give them the benefit of doubt!
newt is a family values republican, he has a closet full of porn, little boy pictures. The only mistake about it was someone found out about it!
republicanism is a mental illness!
a secret p0rn dog.
The porn industry will be the only ones left to receive Newt's award.
Something The Toot did that I can get behind.
good one. That made me laugh. I can see the p0rnos crying "Oh no! I was so looking forward to my dinner with Newt! I've been dissed!! I am ruined!"
Now we know how he was spending his afternoons when he was between wives.
No doubt some pesky former employee got Newt's mailing lists mixed-up.
I think Newt was completely aware of what he was doing. Why else would the dinner be private rather than having some sort of public awards ceremony? After all, if Newt really wants to promote American entrepreneurship, wouldn't it make more sense to have a very public ceremony to honor the winners of his "prestigious" award?
I think I know why he really wanted a private dinner with Ms. Vivas.
My thoughts exactly!
n/t
Maybe I give Newt too much credit for self awareness, eh?
The only way I'd sit down to dinner with Newt is if I'm granted permission to pick my nose and fart all during dinner. Otherwise, no dice!
disgusting, no not the right description, too much, no still not right, ahhh, too funny. LOL!
Gives new meaning to the phrase "stimulate the economy".
On a more serious note, though -- all that vent up sexual frustration creates psychopathology in republicans.
to finally being open about their sexual appetite. I'll give the Republican party a few points for effort. Now, if only they'd give this recognition and stand behind their decision to reward these sorts of businesses. Baby steps, I suppose
Get your professional address book confused with your private address book.
for some action.
h
he told them to keep "UP" the good work
snorks, keep 'up' the good work, 'stimulating' the economy :)
I don't find anything wrong with porn but I find it hilarious that the 'thugs are so hypocritical about it. All those right-winger "family values" types and you just know they're all suffering from porn-elbow, LOL!
You missed the best part: the letter includes a handwritten note at the bottom saying "Alison - Newt is looking forward to finally meeting you face to face - and getting your thoughts on Cap and Trade and Obama's tax policy." No joke.
I suppose it could have been a canned "personal note" that was appended to all of the invitations, but geez. Are they really so out to lunch that they haven't got a clue to whom they're giving the award and what sort of business they're in? I mean, how did they choose this business and why would anyone think they'd have a legitimate position on cap n' trade? There are a lot of positions they probably know a lot about (and how to shoot them best), but not anything about climate change. ("Is it getting hotter or is it just the negligee I put on?" Oy.)
By putting "Newt Gingrich" "porn" and "photo" in proximity.
My brain is overheating trying NOT to picture that.
“We’re committed to implementing the contract with the family.“
I believe Mr Gingrich now has contractual obligations with a number of families.
as a twenty-year veteran of the trade www.city2005.com in Seattle, to clarify: Pink Visual is a Tucson-based 'reality porn' producer, well-situated on the internet as a pioneer streaming-site; they have adapted their model to create a companion DVD product for stores. They are a mid-grade producer with a small title list, but they maintain price points and catalog-drop pricing that make their product quite accessible to retailers, not to mention a try-harder sales staff of both men and women with whom it is always a delight to do business.
receiving awards if they excel in the criteria set forth to win.
I do have a problem with the award-givers and the host being uninformed about the supposed "greatness" of the winners and the backpedaling they now want to do to reclassify, apparently, who is eligible after the fact.
Republican hypocrisy? Can't be...
"You’ll dine privately with Newt at this exclusive venue and he’ll take the occasion to present you with your well deserved award and have your photo taken together.
This tremendous honor is a testament to your success in building your business and recognition of the risks you take to create jobs and stimulate the economy."
What could possibly make this self absorbed stupid prick think there's anything honorable about being in the same room with him. I find it insulting to clear free thinking people every where that he's even on the planet.
I would want the pic though, so I'd have something to tell as my most embarrassing moment, I stood next to someone named after a lizard.
More likely they rescinded as soon as it was realized that word had gotten out.
it should be noted, however, that while Pink Visual garners accolades for accessible, reality-driven vignette-style porn, they are really just a mid-level producer and their stuff is C-grade at best
That would have been so great if Newtie had kept his dinner date with Ms. Vivas, but, alas, I found this statement on Celegalz.com.
"How humiliating it is that Allison Vivas has been belittled. Gingrich named Vivas for his “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”. The honor was valid only for a short time. Gingrich withdraws from Vivas after some clarification. "
Gingrich "withdraws." No pun intended.
that just crunched some numbers by state and pulled the "highest scorer" in each state.
Who knows what the formula was? Maybe fewest number of Hispanic-sounding names on job applications versus largest number of east European mobsters with 310 and 818 area codes per state?
BTW, see page2 of the TPM article to see what the award looks like. Might be worth getting if it comes with the ability to thump Newt with the mallet to check for ripeness, like one does with a watermelon. I'll let others fill in the Galagher jokes...
someone should indeed give her an award
the porn industry is hurting due to the fact that so many people can now get free porn on the net
if she is making money....ill give her a fucking award
Somehow, I'll bet a video addressing this blow-off is probably in the works. I'll check my local porn emporium; Hell, Vol 1 probably arrived already, with Vol 2 later in the week...
I put in Newt's name in the porn name generator and it came back with Sergeant Hardon. He may be thanking Vivas for money he's made in incognito or in this case in incocknito.
That's hilarious!
But you mean it didn't come back with "Dirk Diggler?"
ill give her a fucking award
presumably that's the main sort of award available in the industry.
I participated in a Federal investigation of a 100% bogus insurance company. During the investigation, we came upon a letter from a pro-Republican political action committee (I don't remember the exact name) soliciting donations from addressees nominated for "Entrepreneur of the Year".
The letter included an offer to receive the award at a White House dinner (during the Bush Administration). The letter was addressed to the President of this criminal enterprise, since shut down with 10+ year convictions for wire fraud and money laundering. This target within our investigation did not send in his money, and therefore was not awarded nor invited to the White House.
I'm sure that the sender did not know our target from Adam. He was just another random name on an address list that might be willing to send in money.
I would be willing to bet that the "Executive" in this article was one of those that responded back to a solicitation, and was now enabled to receive the award (although probably not at the White House THIS time).
If you come across a bio or resume that includes an award for "Entrepreneur of the Year", I would not consider this distinction to be exclusive nor any particular honor of distinction.
Dammit, ThinkProgress, why'd you have to go and follow up on this BEFORE the ceremony? If they'd just waited and let this hardworking American receive her well-earned award before digging into the story, Newt's people wouldn't have been able to yank it away from her.
And that would have been just right: She gets the award she deserves, and Newt would have no room whatsoever to weasel out of giving it to her.
I can tell you if *I* ran a porn superstore and Newt sent me an invitation like that I'd sure as hell show up for it just to see his face when he asked "Just what is it you sell, anyway?"
It serves the idiot right. It's freudian that the fax went there. With all the salacious behavior by the Repugs in recent years, this is right on the mark.
The last three small businesses I have worked for in the past 15 years have received solicitations disguised as awards form Newt and his brethren. The "honor" is a plaque and some pictures to hang on the wall that only cost $500.00 for the honor. These people are not a political party as much as they are a marketing pool.
(nudge nudge)-hehe you know-that kind of stimulation, right Newt?
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