Bristol Palin

That talking point is already tired.

How is it that the party that slings mud the dirtiest cant take what they dish out? I agree that the personal attacks on EVERYONE should stop, but we all saw what happened in 2004 when Democrats took the high road.

If I wanted to pick on the girl, I would mention that fact that she got knocked up by a likely HS dropout that doesn’t want kids and depending on when the bdays match up, may have been statutorily raping her. But I didn’t. Instead I indicated that it was an indication of poor parenting, poor family values, and poor sex ed choices (her main “plus” and reason for being chosen). To reiterate, there is no reason that in today’s society a teen girl should be pregnant. Im sure that the daughter is a sweet girl that made a mistake, as Im sure that on an individual level most teenage mothers are also sweet, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that looking at the big picture (which politicians are supposed to do in formulating policies) teenage pregnancy is an epidemic that is a result of bad parenting, “liberal” societal acceptance (and conveniently, for the time being at least, conservative acceptance of teen pregnancy), and out of date sex ed policy. Sexualized Hollywood has nothing to do with it. And the bloggers bringing it up are correct to point out the hypocrisy of Republicans praising this as a victory for “family values”. Apparently “family values” merely means not killing your kid. Everything else is fending for yourself. It is a bad policy and indicative of shortsightedness and bad judgment. Im sure Bristol and her unborn kid will be ok with her mother being Gov/VP, but what about the other unwed mothers from the farms to the cities who will likely end up on the dole?

In the end, it has nothing to do with the daughter but with a VP candidate that is not prepared or qualified, and a presidential candidate that cared more about his VPs hobbies then vetting the proper successor/advisor. Bad judgement.

Someone once told me that the difference between is "good" kid and a "bad" one is the bad one got caught. I was raised in a two parent household. We were taught right from wrong. We knew what was immoral, indecent and un-Christian. Sadly, I made choices that I knew my parents wouldn't approve of.

As a parent, I have taught my boys the same things my parents taught me. In addition, I also have tried to open the line of communication between us, something I really didn't have growing up. I have told them about the consequences of pre-marital sex, drinking and drugs. I have also educated them on birth control and responsible drinking, if there is such a thing. (ie designated driver, calling me if they get in trouble). I can only hope that my boys make good choices in life. Sometimes, however, life's best lessons are those you teach yourself, not those that you are taught by someone else.

No, I do not believe that Bristol's pregnancy was the result of poor family values, or watching Soap Operas, or because both of her parents worked. It was a choice she made for herself. It was also her choice to keep the baby and raise it, when it would have been just as easy to abort and rid herself of the worry. Instead of chastising her for making the "mistake" (please forgive my wording, for I do not believe any child is a mistake), perhaps we should applaud her for how she has chosen to handle it.

I think the fact that her daughter is pregnant makes her more like someone the average middle class can relate too. Give the daughter credit for not having an abortion.

You obviously taught your kids well, and as someone that was raised well and at least taught the right things, I can confirm that that doesn’t necessarily mean the kids will listen. Oh boy did I not listen. And I said, Im sure the Bristol is a good kid and her baby will turn out all right in this instance. My points were:

She at least had a choice. If the conservatives have their way, there will be no choice- only one legal option. Its callous to say, but sometimes bringing a baby into the world with unprepared parents isn’t the correct choice. It is also callous to say that some soldiers will have to die in battle to protect our country. Every life initially has value, but that doesn’t mean keeping every life is the best policy for this country. That is why we must look beyond the individual action and see the larger picture. Because a governor’s daughter will turn out alright- plenty of money to take care of the baby, watch it so Bristol can finish her schooling, men in black to force the father to marry her, etc, does not mean that there should be no other options available to a woman. Hopefully she makes the right decision, but if she decides abortion, then so be it. We can look to the young girl and her beautiful missing daughter in FL for what happens when young mothers are forced to keep their babies that they do not want or deserve.

But that is getting more philosophically into a larger debate. Americans should be allowed to point to the hypocrisy of her position and word choice. Another thing you mentioned was about teaching your kids about condoms and protecting themselves. Palin is for abstinence only education. I can give you plenty of anecdotal evidence as a young guy about how that is working out for a couple girls I knew in school who got that sex ed, but the alarming pregnancy/std rate increases coming out for the past year or so should settle that argument.

Give me fiscal conservatism and Ill live. Im an educated white man. Life isn’t too bad for me. But to hold on to these backwards ideas of “moral” rule and our country is down the tubes. We need to constantly debate what is “right”, both for the society and the individual, building off of what history has taught us, not just what our grandparents and great grandparents thought was “moral” as they were burning witches or hanging black men.


Tomcat, as our dear friend would say, respectfully, the middle class is not used to un-wed teenage pregnancy and nor should they. It is not helpful in succeeding and most anecdotal evidence suggests that both mother and child in this situation do not do too well in the race of life.

But in the end, I think we should let Papa Bear decide who is at fault for Bristol’s pregnancy: http://tinyurl.com/6fesjf

I understand and respect your opinion Idiot. Quite frankly, politics confuses me as much as religion does. Personally, my beliefs don't all conform to one political party OR religion.

I don't believe in the education of abstinence only. It is a nice thought, but not very realistic. I am personally not in favor of abortion, but I do support freedom of choice. I do not oppose social programs designed to financially help people in time of need, but I would like to see more strict rules regarding who can participate. So what exactly does that make me?

I want the next President of this country to make health care affordable (not free). I want to know that I have a job to go to and gas in my car to get there. I want to be able to buy a week's worth of groceries without spending half my paycheck. I don't know how things got this way, but I know I don't like it.

I'm not sure yet what the right choice is yet. I'm still working on collecting information that will allow me to cast an educated vote.