(AP/Huffington Post) A porn star who has been flirting with the idea of running against Sen. David Vitter in this year's Republican primary announced on Thursday that she will not run.
Stormy Daniels recently declared herself a Republican but her political publicity has been handled by Democratic operative Brian Welsh. If she does announce plans to run on Thursday, her campaign appears likely to be little more than a reminder of a 2007 sex scandal that Vitter so far appears to have weathered.
Vitter and his Democratic challenger, Rep. Charlie Melancon, are to file reports on their campaign finances with the FEC on Thursday.
Meanwhile, another well-known candidate, former state Rep. James David Cain, has said he may enter the race as an independent.Here is Stormy Daniels's full statement:
"Over the past year, since the inception of the "Draft Stormy" movement I have been fortunate and at times saddened to receive a crash education in our modern political system. On one hand I have had the pleasure to meet and talk with so many hardworking Louisianans and to hear first hand their hopes and concerns for a better country. The sincerity of the people I met from so many different walks of like has made a lasting impression on me."What has also made a lasting impression on me unfortunately is the reality of a political system that seems wired to ensure that the voices of these good people are never truly heard. And the sad fact the media and the political establishment in this country is set up in such a way to ensure that many of us are never given a chance to even try.
"This, over these months, I have been reminded of again and again.
"To begin with, like Governor Palin, I have become a target of the cynical stalwarts of the status quo. Simply because I did not fit in their mold of what an independent working woman should be, the media and political elite have sought to relegate my sense of civic responsibility to mere sideshow antics. "They did this not simply for the sake of expediency but because to have a woman of my background challenge the core conscripts of our political and social culture is simply too much for a system that holds that only lawyers and insurance salesmen are qualified to lead
"And yet, in my travels around the state, I found a lot more people who are considered outsiders by those standards than insiders. In fact, many, many more. For just as these misguided arbiters of the mainstream view an adult entertainment star as an anathema to the political process so too do they view the dishwasher, the cashier or the bus driver.
"Never mind that these are some of the hardest working people any of us will ever meet. At some point the rules were written and the lines were drawn. And those lines were drawn narrowly enough to ensure that real change from real people-the kind of change that would make a legitimate difference in the lives of real people, would never really happen.
"And so it is that the honest values of those who seek to lead us are never genuinely gauged. And the shortcomings that would shine so bright among those of us on this side of the line are easily overshadowed by the false legitimacy those.
"The simple fact that David Vitter has $5 million in his bank account pretty much says it all. Against that shear accumulation of special interest dollars, I have no legitimate means of winning a race for the United States Senate under these circumstances. As a businesswoman, I know that better than anyone.
"I am not running for the US Senate because I am an adult entertainment star. I am not running for the US Senate for the same reason that so many dedicated patriots do not run--I can't afford it. On this day inparticualar, we should all take time to reflect on the loss to our country that comes from the sad fact that those who may truly desire to contribute to our society are barred by those who only seek to unjustly profit off it.
"And so here on this tax day, the day when we pay our due to the government we elect, let us be reminded that our government is truly elected by the lobbyists and special influence peddlers who are so eager to trade values for influence. And that it is Senators like David Vitter who do their bidding by placing a higher value on campaign cash than our tax dollars.
"From the first minute that I set about exploring a potential candidacy for the US Senate, I have talked about the need for a tax system that rewards instead of punishes hard work and enterprise. It is for this reason that over a year ago I called for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service in favor of the Fair Tax. And yet, while many so-called conservatives like Senator Vitter have bent over backwards to pander to the burgeoning ranks of anti-tax conservatives and Tea Partiers, he has not once joined me in this call. Why?
"I believe so strongly that the time has come to reform our tax system that I would be willing to consider overlooking Senator Vitter's hypocrisy and support him if he would come around to the need for real tax reform including abolishing the IRS and implementing the Fair Tax. That goes for any other candidate in any other race.
"I would like to thank all of those who have encouraged me and supported me during this time. I have and will always consider this one of the richest experiences of my life.
"And while I will not be participating in this campaign, I do not expect to go quietly into the good night. I will be looking for opportunities to fight for fairness for hardworking people everywhere. And I will continue to talk about the need for fiscal and personal responsibility. We will keep fighting so that one day the voices of the dishwashers, cashiers, bus drivers and porn stars will be heard just as loudly as those of the lawyer, the banker and the insurance company executive. This is my pledge. This is our fight. "