Why, you ask?
From Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced moments ago that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and is planning to keep the baby and marry the father.But of course, this is not necessarily bad news for the social conservatives hoping to support the republican candidate:
On the one hand, premarital sex is frowned upon. On the other, the Palins' commitment to keep the baby and Bristol Palin's pledge to marry the father of the child gives social conservatives something to latch on to if they are looking for positives out of this situation.The hypocrisy is obvious - the decision not to terminate the pregnancy erases the whole teenage sex before marriage thing.
The McCain folks have already started spinning with the talking points. I loved this one:
The children of candidates do not choose to run for office and be thrust into the spotlight.This from the man who once told this joke:
Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.Granted, that was June, 1998 and neither Clinton parent was actually running for anything then, but if the man has no respect for the First Family, how can he respect the family of anyone running for President?
In any event, Sarah Palin supports both abstinence-only sex education AND contraception. I guess her daughter never learned either.
Before we go any further on this, we should all ask ourselves if Sarah Palin were a democrat, what would the reaction be?
First off, the republicans would be shreiking ear to ear about the candidate's obvious lack of morals for raising a daughter who makes such bad choices.
Don't worry - I won't do that.
The funny thing about these rumors is that they are coming from rightwing radio in Alaska and Palin's enemies in the Republican party there.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you don't properly vet a candidate...drip, drip, drip...she ran Ted Stevens 527, she took money from a group connected to Abramoff, she's under investigation for ethics violations, for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it...
Karl Rove on Palin's selection:
ReplyDelete"He said Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) was a risky choice for vice president..."
Risky. Straight from Rove's mouth.
John McCain is willing to gamble with the country's security.
And Palin has lawyered-up for her TrooperGate troubles.
Ha. Well, I mentioned this over at Froth's, but these are the Obama is a muslim with a fake birth certificate republicans and why aren't you covering it left wing media? So...no mercy. No quarter. This is fair game.
ReplyDeleteI might also note that this doesn't necessarily answer the questions because we really don't know the story behind either the first or the second babies..as Andy Sullivan, not quite a liberal, has pointed out: where are the medical records? For that matter, who is the father? Or is it different fathers for the two kids? Remember: Palin is against birth control and abortion even in the case of rape and incest...fair game. Not to mention that this is graphic proof that abstinence only education doesn't work...
I wonder how long they would have hid Bristol's pregnancy if it were not for the rumors. How about November 5th?
ReplyDeleteNext will come this rumor from Kos that it was a Rovian plot to get her pregnant to make Obama look like a fool for his quote.
ReplyDeleteI am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.
John K: The fact that Palin's daughter is pregnant is tailor made for social conservatives. They are a forgiving crowd. They respect family and as long as an abortion is not involved will view it as the business of the family. Rasmussen has Obama up by 3%. I rest my case.
ReplyDeleteJohn K: Republicans would be shrieking about what? You Democrats must adept at mind reading to devine the thoughts of your political opponents. By the way, left wing kooks, marching orders from Hussein Obama is that children should be left out of political campaigns. Even he is smart enough to know this is a non winner for the left.
ReplyDeleteI started to write a list of all the issues that have risen concerning Sarah Palin in the past 72 hours, but decided just to stop. The information is just too fluid and more is coming out every hour.
ReplyDeleteThe simple fact is that McCain did not vet this pick properly if at all. I realize from the comments from John K and Heir that they are in love with this pick; however the fallout from this pick is going to hurt the Republican party this year.
No, I am not referring to the issue with her daughter which to me is a personal family issue that we should bud out of. I am referring to her support for pork barrel projects such as the bridge to no where, the firing scandals that are arising, yes there are more than one, and the other stories rising each hour....
I am awaiting the adults of the party to step in and fix this debacle now.
Sure, John, social conservatives are a forgiving crowd...that's why for years you guys have condemned teenage girls for being single mothers; that's why for years your side insults them as "Welfare queens" when people just want to give them a hand.
ReplyDeleteThat's why you guys protest funerals of homosexuals with signs that read, "God hates fags."
I guess that's just your funny way of showing compassion, is it?
And I' sorry, John and Heir, but no one is making an issue of Bristol. Perhaps if your candidate had actually vetted Palin, he wouldn't have to worry about all of this stuff leaking at the way it has. But when you just make an appointment for politics and not with governing in mind, this is what happens.
But I gotta say that I absolutely love how John K. is trying to score political points off of this - "tailor made(sic) for social conservatives." Proving once again, that there isn't a person, a place or natural disaster that Republicans won't exploit to hold on to power.
Pathetic, just like our little winger trolls.
Stay classy, John K.
Billrott,
ReplyDeleteYou could not be more right. McCain did not vett this pick at all. In fact, the Republicans are now sending a team of 10 operatives to Alaskak to do a more thorough vetting. They didn't even search the archives of Wasilla's newspaper, so McCain's camp is getting caught completely off guard on a lot of this stuff.
McCain did not know that she was originally for the Bridge to Nowhere(she only changed her mind after a national outcry).
He did not know that Palin supported a windfall profits tax on Big Oil.
He did not know that as mayor of Wasilla she took trips to get earmarks for her city.
He did not know that she told a reporter earlier this year that she really didn't know what the VP did.
He was not aware that she was more doubtful of human contributions to global warming than he is.
And contrary to what the McCain camp is saying, Palin has very little control over the Alaska National Guard. From Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, head of AK's National Guard:
"Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard, considers Palin "extremely responsive and smart" and says she is in charge when it comes to in-state services, such as emergencies and natural disasters where the National Guard is the first responder.
But, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, he said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations."
Unbelievable. McCain wants us to trust him with the Presidency and this is how he makes his decisions?
Get real.
McCain/Palin: A Bridge to Nowhere
This is from ABC NEWS
ReplyDelete"Members of 'Fringe' Alaskan Independence Party Say Palin Was a Member in 90s "
Link To Article
WTF is wrong with McCain? She openly belonged to a group that has this platform:
"a plank that challenges the legality of the Alaskan statehood vote as illegal and in violation of United Nations charter and international law."
What the hell is wrong with the McCain camp???
Oh, the comments I could make... but who has the time and energy to get into it all the time? Well, maybe John K. (It's not a criticism, don't worry.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I just have a quick question.... What does it mean to "vet" a candidate? I keep hearing about this.
Thanks for anyone's answer.
And well, I might as well not waste a post, and just say that yeah, sometimes kids screw up (no pun intended). And YES, I would say the same thing if it was a Democrat's kid. Of course. I used to teach high school, and I saw many kids who did stupid things, and from "both sides of the aisle," so to speak, but it didn't make them bad kids either way, you know?
Does is strick anybody as odd and a non-sequitur, when Gov Palin says she is pro-abstinance only and pro-contraception. Can one teach how to use contraception and why to use it, and still teach abstinance only when it comes to sexual relations?
ReplyDeleteJohn K: Well, it appears that the 'facts' you related about Palin's and her flying around et al while pregnant was a total lie. The Daily.Kos made it up. Well isn't that interesting. Think I am wrong, then listen to Juan Williams of NPR. You folks are making this stuff up. LMAO I should have known. LOL LOL You folks made it up before. Oh well. I am with Dick Morris on this one. Sarah Palin is a huge plus for the Republicans.
ReplyDeletePalin is an interesting choice. There is a line there which McCain is trying to get us to cross. Wise people will not cross that line.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I have relaunched my blog at a new address:
http://thebagofhealthandpolitics.wordpress.com
Sorry, John, but these rumors about Palin's personal life originated from rightwingers in Alaska who opposed her in the gubernatorial race and other Republicans who do not like her(like the Republican leader of the Senate).
ReplyDeleteThat aside, everyone knows this is not an issue. But McCain should have known that, especially with such an unknown candidate, all of this stuff was going to come out. Well, he would have known if his campaign had done its job.
But it's clear they didn't thoroughly look into Palin before announcing her; they just didn't vet her.
What does it mean to vet a candidate?
Well, in this instance, a presidential candidate investigates the career and background of anyone he is considering for his VP candidate. This type of an investigation covers everything - legal, political, public, private. A campaign wants to know everything, absolutely everything, they can about a person before they nominate them to anything.
Campaign operatives are usually dispatched to do this sort of thing and you look everywhere - where they grow, who they knew when they were kids, teenagers, when they were in college, people they worked with. You scour newspaper archives. You search through public records.
Ultimately, you want to know every position, every decision, every vote, every skeleton in the closet that you can.
You absolutely do not want to be caught off guard, as the McCain is currently by the daily drip-drip-drip of revelations about Palin.
"it appears that the 'facts' you related about Palin's and her flying around et al while pregnant was a total lie."
ReplyDeleteActually John, those reports are true. It was reported by both the Alaskan Papers and the Texas Papers.
What has been reported months ago by the MSM press of Alaska and Texas is that Sarah Palin had a leak a ambiotic fluid in Texas. Instead of going to a hospital, she gave a 30 minute speech and then took a mutli stop eight hour flight back to Alaska.
once in alaska, she passed by two hospitals to instead go to her hometown in Wassella to have the baby delivered.
That was what is in the press. The story is shocking to say the least.
The story about the flying is true. From the Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html
ReplyDeleteNow poor McSame is having to fly a Rapid Response team to Alaska to try to counter anything the media digs up on this poorly vetted pick.
You know when Palin appeared with McCain Saturday down in Washington PA they were hiding Bristol Palin in the bus with the lame excuse she was babysitting Trig.
Nice that Palin threw her daughter under that bus to try to counter the internet rumors that Trig is her grandson.
Who knows. All I know is that Palin is totally unqualified to be VP.
dragonlibra,
ReplyDeleteLEAVE THE DAUGHTER ALONE.
John: The people that run the Daily Kos never pushed the pregnancy story or fake mom stories. It was just one or two posters who, even though they had 1700 comments, coudn't get their diaries recommended.
ReplyDeleteTwo, the airplane trip seems to confirm that she was pretending to be pregnant, as many of the pics floating around would seem to suggest. You fly eight hours in order to find a doctor that you know who will lie on your behalf. That's the only thing that makes sense....
Phil,
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely not. The airline story does not confirm that she is lying. It is possible she did all that is reported. As such, her decisions were terrible....TERRIBLE.
It in no way proves the kid is not hers and/or she is lying concerning the pregnancy.
Here is an interview from an Alaskan Anchorage Radio Host on this topic.
http://airamerica.com/content/thom-hartmann-palin-daughter-pregnant
billrot do you think they'd leave a Democrat's kid alone if her mother(or father) was running for VP and the kid came up at 17 pregnant? Limbaugh, O' Reilly, Hannity, Quinn, and the other RW'ers would be all over this and you know it. I'm not knocking the kid. I'm knocking the fundies who want to take sex education out of schools and teach abstinence only. Like Sarah Palin!
ReplyDeleteOh and how they love to comment on minorities getting knocked up as teens and the lack of family values in the minority families and absence of fathers. I'll make you a bet that either the baby daddy won't marry the girl or that marriage won't last. As Stephanie Miller said on Larry King tonight, good thing Sarah's a member of the NRA cause there's going to be a shotgun wedding.
Obama's right not to touch this in his campaign. But this is a local liberal blog and commenting on this story is not attacking Palin's daughter.
So if I want to comment on that here I will.
Dragon,
ReplyDeletePlease don't give me the five year old excuse of but he did the same thing.
We would be just as outraged and disgusted if they attack a Democrat's child. The fact is the daughter should be left alone and off limits. Since when did we excuse common decency in politics.
Your comment claims that Palin's child is not hers and smears her two kids in the process. It is an offensive comment and should be taken down.
Well, I think Obama said that his mother was 18 when he was born but his mother's mother wasn't picked to be the vice president of the free world. Furthermore, his mother's mother wasn't preaching the gospel of pro abstinence teaching in the public schools. Her public policy within this context is fair game. I mean, Obama has been quoted as saying he favors the "Chicago Way". Well, you bring knives to the knife fight. You bring guns to the gun fight. You say Obama doesn't like fighting mean well his family has health care. My doctor is Mr. Google and luck. If I have to get down in the dirt to beat these corporate theocrats into submission, then, hey, let's get dirty...
ReplyDelete