Politics: Koehler’s Sister Souljah Moment (UPDATED)
UPDATED to fix a fact error.
I have to admit. I was initially baffled by State Sen. Dave Koehler’s latest idea. He’s proposed legislation — still very much in draft form — that would tax patrons of strip clubs a few bucks every time they walk through the doors. The cash would apparently go to support programs that help women who are victims of sexual assault. No doubt the state will take a little off the top for the “administrative costs,” namely jobs that would never, ever, ever go to campaign supporters or relatives of politicians, heaven forbid.
The thinking, apparently, is that domestic violence is caused by the looking at nekkid women. The buzzword that’s used in the article is “objectify.” Whatever. All I know is that they have ZERO strip clubs in nations like Saudi Arabia, and over there, you can cut your wife’s head off, and they consider it mildly uncouth, at worst.
I’m all for fighting domestic violence. Blaming it on strippers for inspiring the violence is silly. What’s Koehler thinking, other than he wants to raise a few bucks for a good cause?
Then it hit me. Koehler is triangulating. It’s just like the Bill and Hillary Clinton used to do. They’d spend 90 percent of the time making appears to the Democratic Party’s traditional base, but every once in a while they would take a stance that was designed to made centrists and moderates think they weren’t all that bad.
This is Dave Koehler’s Sister Souljah Moment.
Consider that just a few days ago, Sen. Koehler proposed legislation that would establish “civil unions” for couples– including same sex couples — that come with rights and benefits equal to married people. As I said then, Koehler was really letting his liberal freak flag fly with that one. He’s not facing re-election until 2010, but anything that smacks of gay marriage really gets some folks riled.
Now, he’s working to put a tax in strip joints — and the rationale being bandied forth is the same sort of silliness that’s been coming out Peoria’s own conservative nags, Citizens for Community Values, for years.
Of course, this won’t get Koehler any more votes of CCV members. These folks take an all-or-nothing stance. But it might mean he loses fewer votes from those who aren’t quite as conservative.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
For clarity sake, the funds would be used to support rape crisis progamming, not domestic violence. The proponents are the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) not Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV). Our local Center is a member of both state-wide organizations.