WASHINGTON - The porn magazine Hustler arrives every month at your congressman's office.
Tucked in a conservative-looking manila envelope, the latest edition of the magazine goes to all 535 members of Congress - free of charge.
Most members don't want it, and it usually gets thrown in the trash. But, like clockwork, it keeps coming, despite efforts to have it stop.
Several members of Congress have sued to make it stop, only to lose. Because the public must be able to seek redress from Congress means they have to take it. But that doesn't mean they have to be happy about it.
"It's a disgusting abuse of the system,'' Rep. Chris Cannon, [pictured] R-Utah, says. "It's a nasty, tricky little thing to do by a person with no conscience.''
It's not exactly clear when the magazines were first sent to congresspersons, but it's been at least two decades. And publisher Larry Flynt isn't going to stop.
"I felt that they should be informed with what's going on in the rest of the world,'' Flynt said, deadpanning during an interview. "Some of them didn't appreciate it much.'' But, "I haven't had any plans to quit.''
It doesn't surprise him that some members don't want the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based publication, which he describes as a "humor magazine'' and one that deals with "a lot of political and social satire.''
"I would never force a subscription on someone who didn't want it,'' Flynt said, except for members of Congress who are public servants.
He doesn't mind that the ones who are actually opening the envelopes aren't the members of Congress but young interns.
"I'm sure the interns are over 18,'' Flynt said. "Those guys need some help getting through puberty anyway.''
Interns for Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, are trained to distinguish the nudie magazine's envelope from the other mail and throw it away, says chief of staff Scott Parker. "So every time we happen to get one, it ends up in the trash pretty instantly,'' Parker said.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, says it is offensive that his staffers have to see the publication when opening the mail.
"It's immediately deposited in an outside trash bin, so no one else has to be offended by it,'' Matheson said. "It's insulting behavior on the part of the publisher, but not surprising.''
Daniel Weiss, a senior analyst for media and sexuality for the conservative religious group Focus on the Family, says that members of Congress who don't want the mailings should work with the Postal Service to make them stop. And if that doesn't work, they should ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the magazine is obscene and have it blocked.
"It seems like Flynt's trying to stick it to Congress,'' Weiss said. "I don't know what I'd call it. Childish, perhaps.''
Others in the sexually oriented business industry, though, think it's a good idea.
"I have to respect his tenacity,'' says Tom Hymes, a spokesman for the adult industry trade group Free Speech Coalition. "This is vintage Larry Flynt. And he certainly has a flair for publicity.''
For now, it's a standoff: Flynt will dutifully continue to mail the magazine to Congress, and Congress will dutifully continue to trash it.
