From HUSTLER MAGAZINE – April 2010

There’s only one way to eliminate the corruption that has cast its dark shadow over America’s political system: We must eliminate campaign contributions, which have turned our congressmen and senators into puppets of Big Business. That means the government, using taxpayer dollars, would finance each candidate’s campaign. Only then will we be able to return political power to the people. Until we remove the money of the rich and powerful from the electoral process, nothing good will come from our politicians.

- Larry Flynt

From HUSTLER MAGAZINE – January 2010

Who are these nutjobs? I’m talking about those American citizens who have shown up at town hall meetings, including gatherings with the President of the United States in attendance, packing guns. And not just handguns—although that would be bad enough—but semiautomatic rifles as well.

We all agree that Americans should have free speech, due process and the right to bear arms. In fact, we demand it. But showing up at town hall meetings with weapons is equivalent to yelling fire in a crowded theater. These people, whoever they are, wherever they come from, embarrass us in front of the entire world. You don’t need guns to petition for redress.

Whether these loons come from the left or the right, they must all be repudiated—by the media, by our politicians and by the overwhelming majority of citizens. Let the world know not all of us are crazy.

- Larry Flynt

From HUSTLER MAGAZINE – February 2010

America is obsessed with heroes. The Old West had Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok. Later came President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General George S. Patton, President John F. Kennedy, astronaut Neil Armstrong and, most recently, airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

Heroes are resilient, unflappable and, most of all, masculine. If someone doesn’t appear to be strong, Americans will back away.We tend to dislike people who are weak. Barack Obama was elected President because he was seen as a hero. Now he has to build on that. If he can’t, he won’t win a second term.

-Larry Flynt

This coming November, I want the Presidential candidate I vote for to pledge to restore the Constitution and safeguard all our freedoms— with no exceptions. I want my candidate to vow, unequivocally, to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act. Cruel and unusual punishment, such as torture, must be banned. Habeas corpus must be restored. Warrantless spying on American citizens must be abolished.

Finally, any attempt by the President to bypass Congressional oversight via executive orders and signing statements must be prohibited. America without the full force of the Constitution is no longer America. A candidate who does not respect the foundation of our country does not deserve my vote or yours.

Larry Flynt
Hustler Magazine Publisher

I am a capitalist. I have made a lot of money being one. But to me, capitalism is only a game, and the money is just for keeping score. Given the fact that capitalism has been quite good to me, I criticize the system with great reluctance.

There is no question that capitalism is one reason why America has been the most successful country on the planet. Even so, capitalism is not without its problems.
Unregulated, it is capable of doing great harm. It can even destroy the other reason America has become the envy of the world: our democracy.

Bush and his minions have spent the past seven years pushing unrestricted capitalism. As a result, we have lost our manufacturing base; jobs have fled south (and east and west); our middle class has been trashed; our food, water and air poisoned. Struggling to make ends meet, America’s workers feel the sting of capitalism unfettered.

Most troubling, our politicians—both on the left and right—say nothing about this pressing issue. Yet if our democracy is to survive, we need to humanize our system by taming what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the “economic royalists.” A system that punishes its citizens is un-American.

Larry Flynt
Publisher

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