Congressman cites ‘Debbie Does Dallas’ on House floor

In a speech that surely resonated far beyond the usual C-SPAN audience, a Democratic congressman this week cited the porn movie “Debbie Does Dallas,” in making his case against pending legislation. 

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) argued that a bill sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) to update the Video Privacy Protection Act — which passed in 1988 and made it illegal to reveal what videos customers rented from stores without their consent — could now make it easier to release personal info about video viewing habits. The law was created after a Washington newspaper published a list of videos that then-Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork rented.

With a viewer’s consent, video service providers could post information about which videos the movie lovers prefer, under the new bill. It would also extend to online videos.

But things got a little, um, weird when Johnson started expressing his concerns about the legislation: “Now, I, myself, don’t want folks to know that I have ordered up ‘Debbie Does Dallas.’ I may not mind if they know that I ordered up ‘J. Edgar,’ but I don’t want them to know that I ordered ‘Good Girls Gone Bad.’ ”

The congressman sure knows the XXX-rated classics. But then again, who doesn’t know “Debbie Does Dallas”?

 Despite Johnson’s arguments, the House ultimately passed the bill.

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