Grrr....

All right, so Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant.

That doesn't please me or make me happy at all, even though I disagree with her stance on almost everything and hope with every fiber of my being that she not be elected to the second highest office in the land. And when I say that it doesn't please me, I mean that I don't feel superior or judgemental. I can only wish her the best, as I wish all teen mothers the best. Oh, and I celebrate her right to do whatever she chooses. Let us try to ensure that all teens can keep the current options that are available to them.

But make no mistake, I am annoyed.

I am annoyed at the hypocrisy of the Christian "conservatives" who preach abstinence, yea verily throw millions of dollars of federal funds on "Abstinence Only" education classes for teens, who are now saying it's no problem at all that this young girl is going to have a baby.

The same people who wanted Bill Clinton's head on a pike because of his extramarital affairs are now saying that things like this should be kept "private" since it is a family matter. Or even better, stuff like "We are all sinners" and "Let he who has no sin cast the first stone" and all sorts of other things even though they are the first in line to judge everyone else. They hated Juno because it supposedly glorified teen pregnancy. But Bristol Palin? Oh, the poor thing. And she's marrying the baby-daddy, so that makes it all A-ok.

Can you imagine what they would have done if Chelsea Clinton had become pregnant at 17?

Seriously, it is the hypocrisy that kills me. Every time.

Comments

Bammy said…
They are flippin and floppin like a fish out of water... Just like to No experience thing for Obama.. but.. palin was what.. a mayor of a town that could be considered Mayberry... then moved on up to govern a state that has the population of.. Hmm.. Fort Worth? But by golly.. look at all that foriegn policy experience she has.. ya know. being so close to russia and all that.... or cause shes next to Canada maybe..
Against wonems right to choose..
Pro.. Keep a gun in your house so you can kill someone (Usually a family member on accident)
Againt Abortion (even said if her daughter was pregnant due to a rape.. she would keep it) WHOSE BODY IS IT??
ok.. Im goin over here and breathe now..
J said…
I agree, the hypocrisy sucks. This whole thing stinks to high heaven, and most of all, in my opinion, because her daughter is being dragged through the muck during such a difficult time in their lives.

I must admit, though, that my heart goes out to this girl, and that while I'm not sure what I would do if my daughter became pregnant in a small town, I do know that generations have taken up the task of raising the child when the person giving birth isn't old enough to be a parent.

I'm not sure what I'm saying here, except that there's no way in hell I would vote for McCain and Palin, but not because of this. To me, this stinks too much of the crap that BushCo pulled on McCain in 2000, with his adopted child. Dirty politics, and I don't want to get too deeply pulled in.

That being said, I will admit to being intrigued by the whole thing.
You and I only agree on a few things politically - so I won't get into this.

My honest opinion - is I don't give a rat's patootie if her daughter is pregnant or not.

Teen pregnancy is just too common of a thing nowadays. Just doesn't phase me anymore.
Anvilcloud said…
Without meaning to be, the evangelical right is very selective about how they apply scripture and to whom they apply it.
Sunshine said…
There are so many ways to come at this, it makes ones head spin. And I do hope that the hubbub dies down some, both on the one side saying how wonderful she is for keeping the baby and the other side for waving the "look, another teen pregnancy" flag. I did read somewhere that Obama was encouraging people to keep their noses out of it.

I do disagree on the comparison to Bill Clinton. He was the politician in question, not the child of the politician. And he was also an adult doing something stupid with his private life, and she is technically, still a kid making her own mistakes. So the I wouldn't, myself, lump them in the same category.

But my hopes that people leave this girl alone may be somewhat skewed as the product of teen pregnancy myself. It is already a delicate situation, and this girl messed up, but being the daughter of a politician wasn't her choice, but living out her situation under the scrutiny of the press will be a nightmare.
Gina said…
My point is not that the girl is pregnant, but that the Evangelical right is full of hypocrisy in their reaction to this, which would have been totally different if it wasn't "one of their own."
Maternal Mirth said…
Double Grrrrr! You and I were seperated at birth, I swear!

Amen and amen again!!! And not because I am a hypocrite, but because I have lived the teen pregnancy life (I had my son at 19).
Ted said…
It's nice to know that Sarah Palin is pro-choice and Carly Fiorina is decrying sexism -- but it only when they are hurling attacks at Democrats or Obama. Otherwise, it's back to "It's a Child, Not a Choice," and "Damn Feminazis" 24/7 for many in the Grand Old Party.
Scout said…
You are so right, and this is one of the best takes on this situation that I have read to date. And to issue a statement saying they are excited to become grandparents is utter crap.
Cherry said…
This is why I like to stay in my bubble and not pay attention to the political side of being an adult.

I'm still miffed over the strategic side of his VP choice, and fear that it will work, but now this?
dgm said…
I don't really see the hypocrisy on this issue. I think the Christians are more than thrilled that Palin's daughter decided to keep the child rather than abort. They would find more scandal in Rielle Hunter aborting Edwards' baby than in keeping it.

I agree with Sunshine--this is not analogous to Clinton's inability to keep his pants on. And if Chelsea was the one who got knocked up, there is no way the media would have touched the story. They were virtually hands-off with any negative story about Chelsea when Bill was in office. Not so much with the Bush twins back when they were partying hard.
Quiskaeya said…
The Hubster and I were just arguing (and might I add it wasn't pretty) this same thing! I'm soooooo pissed at the way the Evangelicals are trying to push this one under the table. This is the ultimate hyprocrisy simply because it is Palin's daughter and they've been praising her like she's the mother Mary since her debute. It make me sick!
Gina said…
I'm not trying to lump Bill Clinton and Bristol Palin's situations together, I am simply trying to point out how the conservatives generally overreact to "extramarital sex" only when it is someone on the other side of the political spectrum.
Heidi said…
You have done a great job summing that up. I totally agree.
dgm said…
Gina, I think the objection to Clinton's behavior went far beyond "extramarital sex" (although I agree that his infidelity enraged many of his detractors.) There was that whole sex with an intern young enough to be his daughter thing, and in the workplace paid for by taxpayers, no less. His behavior was clearly within the scope of what the law considers sexual harassment in the workplace. Then there was the lying about it afterward.

I just don't see how that is analogous to Bristol's teenage motherhood, but then again I am assuming she didn't conceive in the governor's mansion.
Gina said…
Extramarital sex is extramarital sex. Whether it be two unmarried teens or a married man with an unmarried woman.

When the Bible says that any sex outside of a marriage is a sin, and the people I'm talking about claim to be extremely Bible-oriented to the point of wanting to teach creationism in schools, I don't think it is right to cherry-pick (no pun intended) when it is ok or isn't simply depending on who did it.
Gina said…
dgm, let's try to move past the Bill Clinton thing. I don't agree with or condone what he did, and I don't agree with or condone teen pregnancy.

It doesn't mean I want to brand them with scarlet letters, but I don't think it is a great idea either.

But seriously, do you not think that the Christian conservatives would have been outraged and foaming at the mouth if Chelsea had gotten pregnant at 17? Even with the assumption that she had not conceived in the White House?

They would have said that like parent, like child. That the Clintons were lacking in morality and were bad parents for their child to stray in such a manner.

Try to tell me that isn't true.

Thus, hypocrisy reigns.
Nance said…
I'm with you, Gina. The Fundamentalists are all about their Values and you can't decide when Values are or aren't Values. I'm still remembering the skewering that Dan Quayle gave fictional character Murphy Brown for glorifying having a child out of wedlock, and then we have the republican VP candidate's unmarried, school-aged pregnant daughter standing up and taking a bow at the convention. The Liberal Left-Wing New York Media didn't do that, nor did the Democrat Political Machine. The girl's mom did, the GOP did, and it has their stamp of approval on it. Something seems a bit "situationally ethical" here, and that's just not their usual Company Line.
Gina said…
Oh, and it certainly wasn't the mainstream press who broke the Bristol Palin pregnancy.

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