Dennis Hof: Still Dead ... Pretty Much

CRYSTAL, Nev.—"It is with great sadness and tremendous shock to announce that Dennis Hof, 72, passed away sometime this morning (October 16, 2018) in his sleep at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada," begins the official announcement of Hof's death. "He was discovered by longtime friend Ron Jeremy, who went to his room to wake him for a scheduled lunch at the Pahrump Senior Center, around 11:00 a.m. No cause of death has been determined." Yes, Dennis Hof is dead—but his memory lives on in so many ways, not the least of which is his continued candidacy for Nevada's Assembly District 36 where, thanks to the state's arcane laws, he's still on the ballot ... and his election committee wants to make damned sure that the district's Republicans elect Hof, who's referred to himself as "The Trump From Parumph," over his Democratic opponent Leisa Romanov. "If Romanov wins, this seat will go to the Democrats … and will likely give them a veto-proof majority in the Assembly ...," wrote Hof's campaign manager and friend Chuck Muth on the "Keep 36 Red!" website. "On the other hand, should Dennis still win the AD-36 race on November 6th, the three county commissions within which the district lies—Nye, Clark and Lincoln—will appoint someone to fill Dennis’ term. … And that person MUST be a Republican who lives in the district! "Not only would Dennis’ victory be the ultimate 'FU' to the Carson City 'establishment' that tried to destroy him politically—as well as destroy his businesses and reputation—but it would keep District 36 'red.' There is NO DOUBT that Dennis would have wanted us to see this campaign through to the end." But it's not just the District 36 seat that's at issue. An email from the "HOFington Post" reminds recipients that the petition to close all the brothels in Lyon County will be on the ballot come election day, and links to the website SaveOurBrothels.com for plenty of good reasons to vote "no" on that ballot question: "1.) If the brothel ban is enacted your taxes will go up! "Lyon County’s four legal brothels currently pay $458,952 in various taxes and fees every year. And according to Lyon County Executive Jeff Page, 'the county would be hard pressed to make up that revenue if the brothels were banned. From a financial perspective, it means it has to come from someplace else.' YOU would be that 'someplace else.' Why would you want that? Also, we would lose tens of thousands of dollars the legal brothels and its employees donate every year to local charities and community organizations..." "2.) A brothel ban won’t stop prostitution…but it WILL cause other problems! "Prohibition has never worked—and certainly not for 'The World’s Oldest Profession.' It didn’t work for alcohol. It didn’t work for gambling. It didn’t work for marijuana. And it doesn’t work for guns. Just look at how many tragic shootings occur in 'gun free zones'—including our schools and churches. What prohibition DOES DO is put the activity in the hands of gangs, street thugs and criminals instead of responsible and answerable business owners..." "3.) A brothel ban could unleash an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in our community! "Taking prostitution out of legal brothels and putting it back on your streets and neighborhoods also poses a serious health and safety danger to our community. Legal prostitutes are tested for all sexually transmitted diseases every week. As such, in the entire history of legal prostitution in Nevada, not one case of HIV has ever been reported and traced to one of our legal brothels..." "4.) A brothel ban will chip away at Nevada’s 'live and let live' way of life! "Legal prostitution in Lyon County is a business transaction between consenting adults. No one is forced to go to a legal brothel. And no one is forced to work in a legal brothel... In Nevada we may not always agree with the life choices made by our neighbors…but as long as they don’t interfere with our own lives…live and let live. Perhaps the biggest danger of this brothel ban proposal is that it sets us on a slippery 'nanny state' slope. If they’re successful in banning the brothels…who’s next?... Banning Lyon County’s legal brothels would be yet another step toward making Nevada more like other states where the government, not the individual, decides 'what’s good for us.' It’s another incremental step toward taking away our freedom and liberty. It’s another step toward making Nevada more like California. We don’t want that!" DAMNED RIGHT! (Uh...) But for Hof's seven Nevada brothels, that ballot question may turn out to be moot. "Questions as to Hof’s successor abound, not just in his political life, but with regard to control and ownership of his brothels," wrote attorney Cori A. Robinson. "It is unknown whether Hof died with a will, although there have been news reports referencing a trust which could determine the ownership and control of Hof’s empire. Similarly, madame and friend of Hof, Heidi Fleiss, who visited with him the day before his death, has reported that a last will is in existence... "Speculation has already arisen as to who will take over Hof’s brothels," she continued. "Some news outlets have reported that Suzette Cole, who worked as a madame with Hof at his brothels, will manage the brothels as her name appears on many of the brothel licenses. Interestingly, her name does not appear on the license for Love Ranch South where he died. The brothel temporary closed upon Hof’s death. "As is often the case with estates, litigation may ensue. It is already reported that Hof’s two estranged daughters from his first wife have surfaced inquiring as to the succession plan for their father’s empire. The drama of Hof’s life continues as his family, business associates, and political constituents eagerly wait for succession plans, not only for his brothels, but for the 36th District of Nevada. Hopefully Hof was as prepared as the State of Nevada for his unexpected passing." ... which, as noted above, with the state having no way to remove Hof's name from the ballot, is "not very prepared." Hof's passing didn't go unnoticed by a couple of contributors to the ultra-conservative blog Townhall.com. "[L]ike Donald Trump, another reality TV star who was also known as a playboy, Hof decided to run for political office as a Republican," noted lay religious columnist Michael Brown. "But there’s more to the parallels, and this is certainly the most surprising part of the comparison between Trump and Hof. Some evangelical Christians were backing his run for a seat in the local Assembly. As Reuters reported on June 22, 'In age of Trump, evangelicals back self-styled top U.S. pimp.' I’m not making this up... "Had Trump been the reality TV star of Cathouse (the name of the HBO Hof brothel show) rather than The Apprentice, and had he been a practicing pimp displaying his naked prostitutes for the world to see (as opposed to being a former casino owner), I believe the percentage of evangelicals voting for him would have been minimal. We probably would have sat out the election and perhaps really pursued a breakaway third party for the future... But what is certain is that we must check ourselves regularly to be sure that we are not compromising our convictions for the sake of political and social gain. To do so is spiritual and moral suicide... For me, with complete personal integrity, I can say I voted for Donald Trump and I don’t regret it." Well, that just makes you as big an asshole—and hypocrite—as your "evangelical" pals, Mikey. The other Townhall Hof commenter was Haley Halverson, VP of Advocacy and Outreach at the rabidly anti-porn/anti-sex National Center on Sexual Exploitation. "Dennis Hof, the notorious pimp in Nevada, has died," she wrote. "In his wake, he leaves a legacy of harm. Hof rose to national notoriety by running several of Nevada’s legal brothels, and starring in the HBO reality series Cathouse. While some have described Hof as a 'bombastic' personality, the reality is that Hof maliciously made his living exploiting women, sometimes even specifically targeting those who were desperate because of crushing student debt." (Somehow, according to Halverson, working off student debt is a bad thing—if the work is sexual. She'd undoubtedly like to tell that to the dozens if not hundreds of porn/cam performers who are doing the very same thing.) "Nonetheless there will be many people who step up to defend Hof’s legacy as a man who merely profited off of women’s 'consenting choice' to enter into prostitution," Halverson later added. "But here’s the reality... Meaningful consent to sex cannot exist where payment is required. And sure, some could argue that payment isn’t considered coercion for other jobs like being an administrative assistant. But #MeToo showed that our culture recognizes sex is different from work... So, as we sort through the legacy of Dennis Hof, let’s not pretend like the last year hasn’t happened. Let’s not view women who engage in prostitution as 'deserving what they get' and as outside society’s social responsibility to protect." No, Haley, people should view women like you do: Unable to choose what to do with their bodies, whether it be sex for money or to terminate a pregnancy—and to keep sex work illegal in the 49 states that aren't Nevada so that when sex workers are robbed or raped, they can't complain about that to the police. Fuck off!