Article on Santorum

Santorum Struggles, But Not With Name Recognition




BY EMA NYMTON

PAHRUMP, NV—Rick Santorum has another problem.

The presidential candidate has sued a Pahrump, Nevada brothel catering to fetish clients. The brothel, called the Soup Kitchen, is taking advantage of Santorum’s recent public campaign against Google to advertise a special it calls the Santorum Stew.

A description of the Santorum Stew is unfit for print here. However, it is related to the use of Santorum to reflect a sexual act.

The complaint, filed last Friday, alleges that the proprietor of the Soup Kitchen, Michael Vitter, no relation to Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), committed libel and benefitted financially from the misuse of Santorum’s name.

 “I’m just trying to get a fair shake,” Santorum said. “Maybe it would be different if it were named after a Democrat, being in Harry Reid’s state.”


Senator Reid's office did not release a statement, though audible laughter was heard over the phone when we tried calling his Capitol office.

Vitter is nonplussed.

“Senator Santorum is welcome to get a ‘fair shake’ here anytime,” Vitter says. “In fact, we might start offering the Santorum Shake, with extra froth.”

Vitter also responded to charges that he’s politically biased.

“I can’t afford to be – it’s bad for business. 80 percent of our clients are registered Republicans.”

Santorum is not the only politician struggling to remove his name from association with sexual acts.

Vitter points to other politicians, including Democrats, whose names are associated with services at the Soup Kitchen

“We offer the Wiener Window, which you probably can’t talk about. Let’s just say it involves webcam photos, voyeurism, a bun, and ketchup. Mustard costs extra.”

The Soup Kitchen offers the Boehner Steamer, a variant of an act named after the city of Cleveland, located in Speaker Boehner’s home state of Ohio. It also offers the Vitter Venetian, referring to the eponymous Senator’s scandal involving Canal Street brothels.

“It’s a bit embarrassing to share a name with that guy,” Vitter admitted. Still, it’s good for business.

This is not the first time controversy has resulted from a brothel’s use of politician’s names.

The Bi Den, a Providence, RI brothel catering to bi-curious patrons, came under the public spotlight when Vice-President Biden was named as President Obama’s running mate in 2008. The Bi Den offered something called the Amtrak special, which involved a person in an engineer’s uniform “blowing a whistle”.

The Bi Den was forced to close when Rhode Island illegalized prostitution in 2009.