Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is coming under scrutiny from social conservatives for investing taxpayer money in a company with ties to pornography.
The former Florida governor invested $1.3 million from the state’s pension fund into Movie Gallery, a film rental company that offers X-rated films in addition to comedies and action movies, according to a report in the International Business Times.
The report examined thousands of emails from during his tenure that show a strained relationship between Bush and the “religious right."
One voter wrote Bush was supporting a company that was “enslaving men and women to its addiction."
American Family Association founder Donald Wildmon, in particular, took offense to Bush’s ties to pornography. He wrote a mass email rallying social conservatives against Bush.
“Movie Gallery shades hundreds of its stores with ‘back rooms,’ filled with thousands of videos and magazines exhibiting morbid depictions of sex,” Wildmon reportedly said in the email. “By investing in Movie Gallery stock, the state of Florida is giving its stamp of approval on hard-core porn. Tell the Florida Board of Administration to get out of the porn business by divesting itself of Movie Gallery stock.”
Initially, Bush did not back down amid pressure, allegedly maintaining that he had to make the most profitable investment choice for taxpayers.
But in the state sold the shares in 2006 after Movie Gallery’s stock performance began to slip.
The revelations came from 280,000 emails recently released from Bush's time as governor.
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