Shouting “Election for sale” and “For $50,000, you could be a Koch whore too,” the crowd of approximately 150 people assembled with signs and music behind a banner reading “Mitt Romney Has a Koch Problem,” the event’s unofficial slogan. A similar banner was flown above the nearby beach, towed behind a MoveOn-commissioned plane. That organization also brought its Romney Mobile, complete with fake dog strapped to the roof and company logos such as UBS and Bain Capital Ventures on the side.

More than an anti-Romney protest, the focus was on Koch and the influence of wealth on the electoral system. Signs read “Romney is All Koched Up” and “End Corporate Personhood” while a balloon was scrawled with “Romney = Koch Sucker” (the protestors apparently wanting it both ways, pun-wise, when it came to Mr. Koch’s surname).

Walker Bragman, 24, a freelance political cartoonist who’s been involved with the Occupy movement a year, brought his dog, Darla. “I got involved with Occupy because the way this country is run now is radically different from how it was run even twenty years ago. Money is the most pervasive force in politics today, and David Koch is one of the worst offenders. There’s something very sickening about that.”

Representing Bum Rush the Vote, George Martinez, who ran for Congress in the Democratic primary in New York’s 7th Congressional district, emphasized that the issue extends beyond partisanship. “We need to get money out of politics,” he said. “When Goldman Sachs are fueling the progressive Democrats, we have a problem, and when the Koch brothers think they can buy elections by moving major pieces of media around, we have a problem on all sides of the spectrum.”

Others took an even less charitable approach. Blogger Gail Zawacki of Oldwick, New Jersey, passed out mock hundred-dollar bills bearing the images of Charles and David Koch with the words “Things Die Better With Koch” and “Blood Money.” Spurred by environmental concerns, she held up a banner bearing “Koch Kills” in red. “Koch Industries kills people literally,” she said, citing air pollution and crop reduction. “No matter how much money you have, it’s not going to protect you,” she said. “David Koch himself had cancer, but he didn’t make the connection. He could afford the best of care. If I was a One Percent-er, I’d be thinking about making the world a more equitable place.”

The event was organized by a (seemingly vast) coalition that included Occupy Wall Street, The Long Island Progressive Coalition, Greenpeace, Move to Amend [Brookhaven], ALIGN NY, Art Not War, Strong For All, MoveOn.org, United New York, Occupy Storefront and Occupy Huntington, Long Island, and many protesters were bused free to the Hamptons from Manhattan.

Originally planning to march directly to Koch’s home from Cooper’s Beach, the group was frustrated by barricades blocking the road to the Koch estate.

Undeterred, the crowd chanted and waited for further instructions, greeting cars exiting and entering Meadow Lane with a mix of cheers and shouts of “Buy a vote.” “Get a heart,” was the quick retort to “get a job.”

The group decided to use the public beach to get as close to Koch as they could. “This beats Zuccotti Park,” one said as they trekked through the sand along a largely empty stretch of beach before reaching the back of the Koch home.

With state police looking on, the crowd lightly taunted the onlookers, then cheered as fellow protestor David Intrator played the national anthem on his saxophone.

While the protest didn’t quite manage to “non-violently disrupt” the fundraiser, organizers consider it a success. Reached via email, Danielle Asher, lead organizer of Long Island Progressive Coalition, said, “Today was a wake-up call for David Koch. He is not used to regular people pushing back against his agenda and today he learned we will not be quiet any longer. We may not have billions in the bank but we do have like-minded people across the country who are ready to stand up against his agenda.”

As the protest broke up, and some of the assembled even went for a dip in the Atlantic, we wondered if Mr. Koch—no doubt enjoying his party beyond the hedgerows—heard the wake-up call.

From left: Elizabeth Stephens, Annie Sprinkle, Gloria Leonard, Veronica Vera, Veronica Hart, Candida Royalle.

“How many people here have I fucked?” called out an exuberant Annie Sprinkle to the crowd Tuesday night at the Museum of Sex. The group had  gathered for the reunion of “The Golden Girls of Porn,” as the panel discussion was billed. She got a few laughs, and some raised hands when she asked how many had seen her cervix in her infamous stage show.

The Q&A was led by Ms. Sprinkle’s partner, Elizabeth Stephens and also featured Veronica Hart, Gloria Leonard, Candida Royalle and Veronica Vera—each exuberant, proud and, at times, wistful as they recounted their careers in the adult business. Fittingly, they formed their support group, Club 90, named for Ms. Sprinkle’s nearby former apartment at 90 Lexington Avenue, in 1983, and have met semi-regularly ever since; all were bridesmaids at Ms. Vera’s wedding to artist Stuart Cottingham this past weekend.

Porn, it turns out, wasn’t a calling so much as “why not?” opportunity. Ms. Hart, armed with a theater degree, wanted to be an actress, and was drawn to her first set because she liked the script (she went on to have parts in Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Six Feet Under), while Ms. Vera slipped into one of Ms. Sprinkle’s scenes to help out a male actor experiencing, ahem, difficulties.

The adult industry, to these ladies, was about making a statement rather than a quick buck. Ms. Leonard, the only one to share her age (71), started her porn career in her mid-thirties as a political act supporting free speech; she sounded quite pleased that during her tenure as editor of High Society, they were sued by the likes of Barbra Streisand and Ann-Margret, and won. Similarly, Ms. Vera smiled wickedly when highlighting a bondage photo of her that she included in her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1984.

The only points of contention struck were over the environment and condom use in porn. Ms. Sprinkle, who hosted a talk with Ms. Stephens at the Museum of Sex last night called “Assuming the Ecosexual Position,” expressed concern that porn is “killing the mountains” by using up so much bandwidth.California’s mandatory condom-use law, which took effect in March, was largely scorned. Ms. Hart declared, “Our numbers for HIV are lower than the general population. We have policed ourselves." When Ms. Royalle said she wanted to protect her actors and set a “positive example,” Hart shot back with, “We’re not the only business where people take risks; look at policemen or firemen.”

The overall mood was celebratory, as if their porn days were more nonstop party than work, though Ms. Royalle admitted to going into therapy to work out her early ambivalence about performing on camera and explained the group’s necessity with, “You can’t know how it feels to be scorned for something you’ve done and never be forgiven.” Her favorite memory was learning to skateboard while preparing to shoot 1979’s Hot & Saucy Pizza Girls.

Not much love was given to the modern porn industry, save for Ms. Royalle’s Femme Productions line and Ms. Hart’s ongoing work behind the camera (one of her sons, who was in attendance, works alongside her as a director of photography). From the crowd, infamous cable access host Robin Byrd lamented, “When you ask a multiple-choice question of today’s porn star, they say ‘uh-huh,’” giving the final word her best airhead inflection. “I can’t think of a single name of a girl performing in porn today who will likely be remembered in twenty years,” Ms. Leonard declared.

The fact that these women are still, if not household names, successful (though Ms. Leonard admitted she is “living close to the poverty level”) and able to pack a room largely with their peers (one male audience member remembered scenes more accurately than their performers) is testament to their longevity.

Jeff Vanzetti, webmaster of the Internet Adult Film Database, agreed that Club 90’s members helped shape porn and still have ardent fans. “Just like there’s still a market for old music, there’s still a market for old porn,” he said, citing the Blu-Ray release of The Opening of Misty Beethoven, starring Ms. Leonard. Lisa Vandever, director of the CineKink film festival, concurred. "Their work has been instrumental in creating a happy, positive voice for women around pleasure and sexuality, both in their porn of the time and their endeavors since. It felt like we were basking in their presence."

While none of the women publicly discussed any negative repercussions to taking it all off on camera, Ms. Vera told The Observer some men she dated disdained her career choices. “Porn saved me from a lot of bad relationships.”