Craigslist has buckled to pressure from 17 state attorneys general and blocked access to its adult services section for  U.S. visitors.  The link on the site is now inactive and a black “censored” bar appears where the link would normally show.

Meanwhile, the Tea Party, a group dedicated to small government, freewheeling capitalism, and fewer government regulations on businesses  has been silent on the issue.  Doesn’t it seem they should be righteously piqued?

There’s an understandable urge to just say, “So long and good riddance.”  After all, the adult services section is well known for advertising thinly veiled offers for prostitution and other illegal activities under the guise of legal escort, dating, or massage services.  However, it’s important to note here that Craigslist has not been accused of any actual crime.  The site merely provides an online classified ad service similar to that found in newspapers around the country.

It’s hard to argue that a newspaper is liable for carrying an ad for a legitimate service that turns out to be something untoward.   If the medium of the advertisement is suddenly responsible for the legitimacy of the product or service being sold, then the infomercial business would disappear overnight.  Okay, maybe it’s hard to argue that would be a bad thing either, but the point is that the vehicle of the advertisement is not accountable for the illegal activity, regardless of how distasteful the activity is.  Think of it this way.  If a TV station advertises a local carnival, and one of the carnival’s rides has been improperly maintained and is a safety hazard, should the parents of children injured on that ride be able to sue the TV station?  Yet, this is exactly what’s happened in this situation.  The government has repeatedly threatened and cajoled Craigslist on the basis that somehow it should be responsible for the ad’s content.  This, despite the fact that Craigslist has actively and voluntarily aided law enforcement on a number of occasions, and has made repeated attempts to make it harder for people to accidentally encounter adult services ads, or for illegitimate businesses to place them.

The cold reality is that Craigslist is a perfectly lawful business.  What they are doing has been done by print newspapers forever.  Yet they are being singled out and harassed by a government overstepping its bounds.  This is exactly the sort of example you would expect Sarah Palin to whip out at her next rally as an example of big brotherish government run amok.  But it’s highly unlikely that will happen.

With the exception of Rand Paul, who seems to stick to his Libertarian ideals even when it runs him toward uncomfortable conclusions, most of the Tea Party faithful are fervently in favor of the big broad brush ideals of freedom, liberty, and small non-intrusive government, but get oppositional when those ideals lead them astray of their moral convictions.  Tea Party ideals should result in strong support for Craiglist, but the larger moral disgust for “adult services” will override that.  Of course, Tea Party ideals should also result in a Pro-Choice position, a movement to get out of unaffordable foreign wars, and support for legalization for marijuana.

It won’t.  But if it’s all about ideology, it should.