The Personal is Political

High-minded progressives are supposed to ignore Palin's 17 y.o. knocked-up daughter, and the implications for the country and the world of Palin's politics. How polite.

Sorry. It may be rude, but I consider it important to point out that if a crazy right-wing fundamentalist Christian can't convince her daughter to keep her legs closed, no one can. As witnessed by the other right-wingers at the GOP convention, preaching abstinence only to your children frequently leads to teen-aged pregnancies. The biggest reaction to the news that the kid is pregnant is - yeah, we had that happen also!

Then they announce that their daughter will marry the father. Hello, the shotgun marriage is supposed to take effect soon enough to fake that the baby is premature! Calling the baby's daddy "my fiance" until the child is in kindergarten is a hallmark of the lumpen proletariat. Surely a future President shouldn't allow such conduct in her family, since she's holding it up as a model of ideal family values.

I couldn't care less how many babies they pump out, or who does the pumping. I care about the rest of us having the choice of whether or not to reproduce, and if we choose to reproduce, how many. I care about the poor in America and around the world having the same choices as the rich. I care about children being taught about sex in a scientific, not Christian moralizing, way. I want children to have information and access to birth control and abortion.

This is why the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's teenager should be on the table for discussion. Her personal problem is a political problem for us all.

And I loved this comment.