- The baby mama/grandmama "scandal" rumors are just gross. If someone demanded that I produce evidence that I gave birth to my son, I would certainly tell that someone to go fuck him/herself.
- Bristol Palin's pregnancy does not make Sarah Palin a bad mother (as some comments on the Daily Kos--and probably elsewhere--suggest). Yes, abstinence-only sex education is bullshit, but plenty of women who know all about birth control still experience unplanned pregnancies.
- This revelation, I think, can easily be twisted to further Palin's pro-life agenda: "See--my daughter is keeping her baby and marrying the father. And our family loves and supports them no matter what. This is what everyone should do."
- All of this People.com worthy business is detracting from the real issues at hand (once again).
- The "liberal" blogs that pushed the rumor that Sarah Palin's infant son is actually her grandson have provided Fox News (and their friends) with more "evidence" that feminists are full of shit (we don't actually care about women--only a liberal point of view) and that Democrats are a bunch of hypocrites (how can we complain about the sexist treatment of Hillary Clinton, then attack Sarah Palin's motherhood?). And I have to say that the points made by Laura Ingraham and Bill O'Reilly tonight regarding these rumors were not completely off-base--and it's very painful for me to admit this!
- I can recognize that Palin's role as VP candidate for the Republican party is a noteworthy moment in women's history. However, the circumstances under which she was selected undermine any feminist goals because I fully believe that she is being used as a manipulative tool and that she was selected only because of her gender and social conservatism--not because she is the best person for the job.
- I feel bad for her daughter. I wonder if she even wants to marry that boy--and if she has a choice in the matter?
Monday, September 01, 2008
A few musings on Sarah Palin's baby mama drama...
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13 comments:
This nomination, and all of the details from that moment, form one bizarre narrative. And, very little makes sense in this narrative.
Yet, one thing that makes sense is the politics of it. It is the argument about abortion. It is the argument about a "values voter."
I would add that the daughter's pregnancy has already been politicized, even by the McCain camp as the campaign had to issue a press release to say the its was the daughter's choice to keep the baby.
In reality, this is just the politics of abortion over and over. In McCain's press release he relies on the language of choice. As Harrogate noted, the Republican Platform means that no one else could make another choice. The VP pick is the representative anecdote of all of the Values Voters.
Of course, McCain fell victim to "children's politics" back in 2000 but relied upon it to fundraise back in 1998. President Bush beat him with it and McCain attacked the Clintons with it.
Ironically, one of the architects of the campaign against McCain in 2000 is working for McCain in 2008. Echos are everywhere in campaigns.
From The New York Times:
James Dobson: “The media is already trying to spin this as evidence that Governor Palin is a hypocrite. But all it really means is that she and her family are human.” [He commended her for] not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances.”
Is it parsing, or pulsunamimous under the cirumstances, to wonder given who the Rhetor is, if the choice McCain refers to is between Adoption and Keeping the Baby?
Hmmmm. Hard to believe that either Palin or McCain would recognize abortion as a legitimate choice, isn't it?
I'm glad someone posted on this because I have been thinking about what to say all morning (C & I've been painting all weekend, so I'm a bit late on the news cycle).
First, kudos to Obama's response yesterday when questioned. He asked the media to respect the Palin family's privacy and to remember that his own mother was only 18 when he was born. I like this statement for a few reasons. It shows that he is not going to make this an issue (and I really don't think he should), and it reminds the American public that teen moms can raise productive members of society. (Although I do agree with C that if Palin were a democrat the republicans would not leave her alone.)
Second, the Democratic party needs to make two points about this "issue": that abstinence education is crap and that Bristol Palin is not a topic for national debate. The bottom line response should be that they want to focus on real issues. As for abstinence education, this too does not need to be a dialogue about Bristol Palin but about the rise in teen pregnancy in the lat 15 years, specifically in the last 8 with the emphasis on abstinence over birth control.
Third, the "left" needs to shut up on this issue. They, as Supadiscomama, so eloquently points out are making themselves (and those of us who call ourselves liberal) into hypocrites. Here's a tip: you can't lambast the media for their sexist treatment of Hillary Clinton and then do the same thing to Sarah Palin and her daughter. Bottom line: Palin is a smart woman who has done a lot for herself and by extension American women. I may not agree with her politics and I may also think she is a poor choice for the job she's running for, but being conservative and being a feminist are not mutually exclusive.
Your last point is one I'd definitely agree with. I certainly don't criticize Palin's parenting skills because her daughter ended up pregnant at 17. Rather, I'd question her (and her husband's) decision-making ability if she has any hand in leaving her daughter with no choice but to marry the father. Anybody in their right mind should understand that a 17-year old is, in all liklihood, not ready for marriage. For a parent - mother or father - to encourage their child to make a legal and religious committment like this, especially when a child is involved, is, to me, nothing short of reckless parenting that is ultimately setting a family up to fail through no fault of their own.
Screw the third person voice. I love you m but this right here is complete bullshit:
"Bottom line: Palin is a smart woman who has done a lot for herself and by extension American women."
and by extension American women? Are you kidding me? Is this an index of the current state of American feminism? Good God, Sarah Palin isn't human if she isn't supremely amused and happy with the wagon circling by people she and McCain are poised to betray fundamentally.
Her politics include banning abortion in the case of rape and incest. She is a water carrier for the war dogs and the oil companies. She is a creationit in the public schools politician.
The only difference that I can find between her and Rick Santorum is that apparently, she doesn't equate homosexuality with bestiality.
And if Rick Santorum were the nominee there is no way in hell you would be talking about what he has done for women, at all. What has happened since McCain picked her is one of the saddest commentaries on the state of our culture that I have ever seen.
You write:
"I may not agree with her politics and I may also think she is a poor choice for the job she's running for, but being conservative and being a feminist are not mutually exclusive."
First of all I want recognize that you disvowed her politics. That is good. And the only sane thing to do, I might add.
But I ask you. Is Rick Santorum a feminist? Is John McCain a feminist? Palin mirrors them ideologically but she gets "feminist kudos" and special pleading for being a woman. Great. When the bombs drop and the judges don their robes, I hope people remmber that they insinuated such things.
McCain did two principle things with the Palin pick. 1)He rubbed identity politics in our faces. Having a woman on the ticket is that important to you, he asked. Really? Any woman? Okay, then, let me introduce you to Sarah Palin.
2)He threw a Mike Huckabee-style chunk of red meat to the Conservative Base and effectively demolished any opportunity for compromise on the culture wars. So that Abortion, for example, can continue to be the albatross on the neck of American politics.
I would add that I think there is an important sub-text to the Palin family story. There are politicizing this issue as the "right thing to do." Yet, Palin, her family, and McCain do not desire keeping this issue a private family affair for all people. Instead, they desire to prevent families from making that choice. "They" know better than other Americans; "they" can make decisions for us.
I think that the "left" must focus on this issue from a choice perspective- if it is good enough for the Palin family, it should be good enough for everyone. And I think that includes the idea that the daughter should or should not marry the father of the child. That is still a personal choice.
Just because people reach different conclusions on the topic should not mean that they cannot make that choice. The conversation must reflect the choices involved and it is a legitimate conversation regardless of the "private" nature of the conversation.
Solon: exactly.
The caveat as currently configures seems to be, the prgnancy issue is a personal matter for her family, don't talk about it.
But considering her and McCain's politics, the caveat very much should be: it's a personal matter for he family and we respect the choices. Why won't Governor Palin extend the same courtesy to the rest of us?
But she's a woman so even that is off limits, I guess.
I'm going to jump in on one point here, but for the record I agree with everyone's general disgust of Palin's politics. However, I have to agree with 'M' that Palin has done something for American women. She has shown that a mother can have her family and her career. Last year I read an article on how rare pregnant women in high-powered political positions are; mothers may be in high positions, but pregnant women rarely are. The article cited Palin and Spain's Defense Minister as two rare examples of women maintaining their career while expecting. The article didn't mention Palin's politics but simply discussed how both women were plowing ahead with their jobs while expecting. In a world where women are still pressured to choose career over family (or vice versa), I appreciated this article's recognition that a pregnant woman is not a blubbering emotional mess in a delicate “condition”, but a functional member of society. I wish I could find the article now. I don’t respect Palin’s politics but I commend her maintaining her position while pregnant.
Thank you, p-duck, for expressing what I meant to. That is precisely why I admire Palin: she has managed to balance family and career in a way that I find admirable. And as you point out, finding the way she manages her career and her family manageable is much, much different than finding her politics admirable.
Yeah, but no. If you balance work and family and in the process you become a soulless beast then that is all cumulative failure. At a certain point, this feels like an inverted "Hitler could paint" argument. As in, "All this great work, and art too! Artists sure are coming up in the world!"
Yes, I realize I come close to falling prey to the Reductio Ad Hitlerum fallacy, although I am more interested in blinkered apologists than be-pantsuited attempted book-banners, so let me offer a further option:
"All this great work, and he built C-3PO by hand! That Skywalker boy is a model for all orphans!"
Yippee!
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