Adult Site Founder Backs Conservative Candidate, Media Freaks Out

You may remember Cyan Banister, one of the founders of the only venture capital-backed adult startup, Zivity. Well, according to the Associated Press, Banister and her husband donated $4,800 to Rand Paul, a Republican running for Senate in Kentucky.

Why is this a big deal? Because Banister is a porn-peddler and Paul is a Republican, of course!

Never mind that it makes perfect sense for sex-positive individuals to identify with a candidate who supports a more limited role for the government. This is a clear attempt by the opposition and the media to tip the scales in favor of Democrat Jack Conway, also running in Kentucky.

“A lot of Kentuckians would have a problem with a candidate accepting money from organizations that are tearing down the culture,” the AP article quoted Martin Cothran, who is a policy analyst for The Family Foundation of Kentucky. “We assume that when the Paul campaign finds out about this, they’ll return that money.”

We here at Sex and the 405 were disappointed with the statement issued by the Paul camp, which condemned pornography and, according to the AP, said it considers it degrading to women.

The campaign asserted that it “cannot be expected to run background checks on all 25,000 donors who share his stances on issues like balanced budgets, reduced federal spending, opposition to ‘Obamacare’ and the reckless behavior in Washington.”

This view is similar to that of Pennsylvania’s Republican Pat Toomey, who received a $4,800 contribution in November, 2009, from Scott Banister, co-founder of Zivity, and Cyan Banister’s husband.

“Many supporters do not agree with Pat on every issue,” Toomey campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik told the AP. “But they tend to share his belief that the government in Washington is too big, it taxes too much, and it is sticking future generations with far too much debt. We’re happy to have those supporters, even if we differ on some issues.”

Cyan Banister responded to the press brouhaha via e-mail, saying:

My point of view is that our country is in danger of losing some of its most valued freedoms. The Pauls have strong values that resonate with mine. I believe they support limited government, tax reform, are against nationalized health care.

No word yet from the Paul camp about whether they will return the donation.

Information from The Lexington Herald-Leader.