Craigslist has always been the whipping boy of law-and-order politicians who say the site is facilitating a bustling sex trade.

But now, the Bay Area's own Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, is calling for Craigslist to shut down its adult services listings where you can find ads like this.

And Speier wants the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on sites like Craigslist that "facilitate criminal activity," the Chronicle reports.

This matters for two reasons: the Bay Area's liberal pols haven't gone after Craigslist before and this kind of political pressure is probably the only way to get Craig Newmark to change his site. That's because he's on pretty solid legal ground when it comes to flesh-peddling. Legally speaking, it appears that Craigslist is no more responsible for prostitution than a stretch of sidewalk in the Tenderloin.

Outraged Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart tried his hand at shutting down the adult services with a lawsuit and a lot of bluster last year. But his suit was quickly tossed by a judge who gently reminded him that Web Sites aren't liable for what their users post, per the Communications Decency Act.

Speier can hope that Craigslist will change its ways -- and it has in the past in the face of public criticism. Newmark and company started charging for adult services ads and reviewing them by hand last October.

But changing the law that protects every site on the Internet from the bad behavior of its users? Good luck with that Jackie.