Dixie Carter, the actress made famous by her role on the popular television series Designing Women, says she is a libertarian. Carter made the announcement on ABC's Politically Incorrect on February 8, 2000, as part of a lively debate about whether the government should fund a "safety manual" for prostitutes in Philadelphia.

After host Bill Maher said he was a libertarian and thought that prostitution should be legalized, Carter responded, "I'm a libertarian, too."

She went on to demonstrate her understanding of libertarianism by asking: "We should be talking about -- should we legalize prostitution and legalize drugs? I mean, we've lost the drug war. And probably we've lost the war against prostitution. If we're going to do that [hand out a pamphlet], why don't we legalize it?"

Carter returned to that theme a minute later, asking, "Why aren't we discussing whether we should legalize prostitution instead -- and drugs instead -- of whether we should just put a little band-aid on the deal by handing out these pathetic little pamphlets?"

The Tennessee-born actress became a household name thanks to her role as the feisty Julia Sugarbaker on the hit CBS sitcom Designing Women (1986-1993). She later starred as sharp-tongued lawyer Randi King on the CBS series Family Law, and made guest appearances on the show Ladies' Man. With husband Hal Holbrook, she starred in the CBS-TV movie, The Killing of Randy Webster.

In addition to her television career, Carter won a Theatre World Award for her role on Broadway in Jesse and the Bandit Queen, released two yoga videos, published a book (Trying to Get to Heaven: Opinions of a Tennessee Talker, Simon Schuster, 1996), and recorded two music CDs. She still performs around the country in a live cabaret act.

-- Bill Winter

Quotable

"I'm a libertarian, too." -- Dixie Carter on Politically Incorrect, February 8, 2000

Books & Tapes

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