On Demand
RNC Coverage: Hour 1
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch gives his take on the news surrounding this weeks GOP convention.
Then
Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger(R-TX 12th District) talks about her time so far at the convention.
Then
Delegates Joshua Sullivan and Shari Sullivan from Granberry, Texas give their impressions on the ground in St. Paul.
Then
Gary Bauer, the chairman of the Campaign for Working Families and a former Republican candidate for president in 2000, talks about politics and family values -- and whether the selection of Sarah Palin will energize socially conservative voters.
Then
Ari Kagan, a reporter with Feet In Two Worlds and Vecherny New York, talks about reactions to the election from his New York-based Russian readership and the role of the ethnic press during the conventions.
- About the Brian Lehrer Show »
- Staff Bios »
- Contact Us »
- Tapes and Transcripts »
- Latest Episode »
- Show Archive »
Features & Series
Podcast
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to the Podcast
YOU PRODUCE The Brian Lehrer Show
Be a listener-producer with facts, questions and people you'd like to hear on the air.
More
The Brian Lehrer Show Scrapbook
Visit the scrapbook for daily photos and miscellany from The Brian Lehrer Show.
More
Shop at Amazon!
The Brian Lehrer Show picks
Start your Amazon shopping on WNYC.org and a portion of your total purchase goes to WNYC.
More
Comments
Refresh
The audio for the first hour of last Friday's Brian Lehrer show still hasn't been posted onto the website.
[[BL Producer Writes: Seems to be a bug in our system. We're working on it, Jerry.]]
I find it odd that the Republicans cancelled their events yesterday. It seems weird, quite an over-reaction. Obviously, McCain wanted to distinguish himself from Bush's preparation for and reaction to Katrina, even though McCain is not President and can not do anything to help but is just getting in the way... Mission accomplished, Mac.
It is a nice bookend. Bush shows his incomptence by doing nothing and assuming everything would work out. McCain showed his incompetence and rash judgment by over-reacting to Bush's failure by assuming there would be a crippling storm and posturing on preparedness.
Life goes on and this crass political use of the storm is quite ugly and quite transparent.
McCain - Putting Himself First.
McCain can't win with this convention the whole thing is a disaster.
Palin's daughter at 17 having kids not to mention Palin being investigated.
Then Gustav.
Finally McCain's speech being given on Thursday when the NFL opens which will eclipse his speech.
Love it.
Gov. Palin's family issues are valid to discuss because rather than ask for privacy the McCain campaign announced the pregnancy themselves.
Gov. Palin's family issues are relevant because she is seeking the power to be able to force other families to follow the values she herself espouses, so it is an issue if she herself follows them.
Why are they making Bristol Palin marry a boy she's only dated for a year. How is a shotgun wedding for two young people who are most likely not ready to be married commendable. This is why the divorce rate is so high not because of gay and lesbians but because of this.
McCain met Palin once 5 months ago at a governor's conference. Then he did a 3 hour interview with her Thursday before he offered her the job. WTF?!
Palin's family is off-limits like Obama said. Leave Bristol alone, never mention her again please.
Dallas - you took my comment right out of my mouth. How much did Palin's opposition to sex ed in schools contribute to the kid's pregnancy? Interesting that they keep harping that Bristol "chose" to keep the baby - this from people who don't want women to have a choice.
Even worse - they just started vetting her. Hang on - it's going to be a bumpy ride! Mavericky!
These republican talking points are becoming annoying. Most of its untrue but also annoying.
Gotta love the McCain 'strategy' -- Having figured that he's Teflon because of 5 years in the Hanoi Hilton, he tries for a Teflon Veep, only to get Britney Spears.
So Sarah Palin --
- Denies global warming
- Believes creationism
- Wants to ban all stem cell research
- Opposes living wage.
The little creep Orrin Hatch who was among those villifying Geraldine Ferraro years ago should stand for Hypocrite in Chief.
I feel like taking a shower after listening to all the BS from Senator Hatch.
Oh well, so much for never mentioning Bristol's name with this call-in segment.
Listening to Orrin Hatch right now saying "truthfully" he's much rather have Palin sitting across the table from Putin than Biden.
Unbelievable. These guys can simply lie and not even hiccup.
I have news for Senator Orrin Hatch: yes I"m happy for the historical implications of a woman on the VP ticket. But NO, I would not vote for a republican ticket just because it has a uterus on its ticket.
Frankly, I see her as a bit of a stooge -- chosen by The Man. Hillary chose to run herself, on her OWN steam. She didn't wait to be asked to dance like a good little lady!
There is no comparison between Palin and Hillary Clinton (who I was not going to vote for either unless she won the nomination, but who was a very good candidate).
Republican Slogan:
Sarah Pallin - A celebrity we can believe in.
What's Palins position on Universal Healthcare for pregnant teenagers whose moms aren't Governors with taxpayer provided healthcare
Agree with Steve, Hatch is trying to uphold the "Republicans are strong on defense" philosophy. We've seen where that has gotten us. Pass the soap.
"Family matters are family matters."
EXCEPT that conservatives DENY precisely that. For decades they have repeatedly sought to intrude upon the private lives of all Americans -- on religion, on sexual preference, educational approach, and of course on all manner of political privacy issues.
Come on Mr. Lehrer. You challenge leftists on their views. WHY do you run around with your tail between your legs with Conservatives and so-called Moderates?
Unfortunately, family matters AREN'T just family matters for the social-conservative base of the Republican Party. For them to suddenly claim – after decades of attempting to regulate the private lives of others – that this is off the table is the height of hypocrisy. In no way should it be off the table; they are the ones who put it there.
It's the hypocrisy, stupid.
michaelw (#3) - ditto.
I will also add that many women, myself included, find it insulting that the Republicans think they can simply replace HC with any other woman. I was not a Hillary supporter, but recognized that she represented something unique in the course of American history. (Is it inappropriate to bring up Samantha Bee's hilarious segment with Jon Stewart last Friday night?)
Sarah Palin was for Ted Stevens before she was against him - her name appears in incorporation papers for a pro-Stevens 527 group
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/01/palin-directed-stevens-ex_n_122973.html
Sarah Palin should be asked why she sent a video message to the Alaskan Indep Party
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html
The party advocates Alaskans being given the rt to vote on whether Alaska should secede from the US. Palin should be asked if she thinks Alaskans should be given the rt to vote on the secession question.
Brian, please remember that when parents teach about birth control they should be teaching their sons as well as their daughters.
McCain couldn't have picked a better person for his VP to lose the election.
This was such a terrible choice words can not describe.
He should have picked Check Hagel.
McCain is going to be managing Palin's problems.
Of course you abort a down syndrome baby.
Also how old is the father? Older than 17 then it's RAPE.
I don't see how instructions on the use of condoms is too explicit for children in the mind of Sarah Palin. It's not like we're teaching them the Kama Sutra!
My mother taught my brothers about condoms as soon as they were old enough to ask what sex was (ten years old). It did not traumatize them. Every now and then, if they brought up the subject of sex, she would ask them what they needed if they wanted to have sex, and they'd chime "a little raincoat!"
They have grown up to be very responsible adults.
On the other hand, my mother, victorian that she was, didn't tell me to require the use of a condom (typical double standard), and I practiced unsafe sex at my peril for the first ten years of my sexual life! Luckily nothing bad came of it (no unwanted pregnancy, no incurable diseases).
I now remind all my friends to use condoms (girls of my generation still seem to think they're optional!), and remind them that "the condom is our friend." But I certainly wish she had been as insistent with me and she had been with my little brothers!
Why are you only asking what to teach daughters about reproductive health, are sons supposed to get educated in locker rooms?
Brian, I believe you are mistaken that "abstinence only" education does not mention birth control. What I have read is that it does mention birth control, saying it is not effective. E.g. emphasizes the failure rates and that condoms break. What studies we have of teenagers educated this way is that they eventually become sexually active anyway, but are less likely to use birth control than other teens because they believe it's unreliable.
Why suddenly is this a show on abstinence?
From ThinkProgress:
Today on ABC’s This Week, Cindy McCain tried to rebut the criticism that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) has no national experience by taking a talking point from Fox’s Steve Doocy. McCain pointed to the fact that Palin’s state is near Russia:
STEPHANOPOULOS: But she has no national security experience.
McCAIN: You know, the experience that she comes from is what she’s done in government, and remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. It’s not as if she doesn’t understand what’s at stake here.
And the comedy hits keep coming. Best comment seen at a blog yesterday ... "Won't the Naval Observatory look great with a trailer in the yard!"
So the Palins get to choose what they want to do with their babies. The Pro-Life segment of our country wants to take away that CHOICE from other women.
Cheryl, It is not just you regarding her voice. Not helpful but also presumably not important, either, except it won't be pleasant to listen to over 4 years.
I actually think that Palin's choice to get pregnant in her mid 40s is just as bad as her daughter's at 17.
Brian,
Another noteworthy response by Governor Palin to the Eagle Forum questionnaire was the following:
"11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."
Of course, the Pledge of Allegiance was not written by the founding fathers, it was written in 1892 and the phrase "under God" was not added until the 1950's.
Here's the link to the questionnaire:
http://eagleforumalaska.blogspot.com/2006/07/2006-gubernatorial-candidate.html
I have never heard anything so ridiculous as the concept of withholding knowledge of biology and how the body works from our children.
We do not withhold information on how the brain, heart, lungs, digestive systems work from our children.
There is no better way to ensure dysfunction than to LIE to children by withholding truth.
Kbowledge of the facts will not lead to bad outcomes. Making the truth an emotionally charged issue that children cannot talk to adults about will.
And in the internet age, they probably know more about contraception than their parents.
Better to talk openly, and explain the consequences of actions to children, so they learn to do the right thing.
Wow, McCain is really some brainiac. Hmm. She lives in Alaska. Alaska is near Russia. That makes her a foreign policy expert. McCain you've gone more Stepford than your wife LOOKS.
you should ask the guy who says it's not the school's job to teach morality what is his opinion of school prayer.
@Cheryl - it's not just you.
How do grandparents take care of their grandchildren's babies when the grandparents work? How close will Sarah Palin be to her grandson or daughter if she is the vice president?
how babies are made...this is embarrassing
Chris,
Better than Al Gore's talking to three year olds in a southern drawl voice!
Schools and morality:
Conservatives and others call for teaching civics, civil responsibility, and of course "Patriotism". What is that if not morality?!
AND AGAIN, conservatives are busy villifying, demonizing, blacks, hispanics, poor people who have families out of wedlock, have children in their teens.
The sheer hypocrisy of the right-wing is sickening.
What we are witnessing is the rank hypocrasy of the Republican party. Orrin Hatch is now in the position of saying black is white and white is black. An unwed pregnant 17 year old is now the poster child for family values? He would really rather have this untested person (forget that she's a woman) negotiating with world leaders? This is completely insane.
Yes, kids know how sex works, and how condoms work: we're talking about teaching them protocol, not technique!
Why are these people so uptight on the subject of sex that they can't distinguish that nuance? ("lower urges" my eye!)
I agree with the point that family matters are not a subject for political campaigns.
However enforcement of the law is.
If I make pregnant 17 year old I will be prosecuted even if I agree to marry her. Sarah Poulin does not seem ready to persecute the person who made her daughter pregnant. It seems that she chooses law not to apply to him.
Will she do the same as vice president. We've seen this already with Bush administration.
I understand people feel that sexuality for their children is tied to morality which some people believe is parenting rather than education but that is denying that this because of disease and teen pregnancy is a public health issue. Having healthy teens and healthy pregnancies is important for everyone not just people with parents who teach them.
Brian, please bring up the subject of Gov. Palin backing the teaching of "creationism" in schools. I find this irresponsible, if not reprehensible.
The comments by your guests about Palin's vast experience are some of the funniest overstatements I've heard in ages.
NOT teaching proper condom use in school is immoral. It's about disease control and quality of life, not just horny kids.
I think this is one gigantic bid by McCain to get everyone hot thinking about teen sex. He probably has polling and statistics that this will work.
teens watch xtube. teens know about sex.
I see no point in abstinence only.
I can see why Palin is against sex ed because she is a Pentecoastal Christian born again. However, she is letting her religion take precedence over public health and public safety.
Sex ed in schools is a matter of education to prevent stds and help prevent unwanted pregnancies.
This call into play her judgment.
Also, why did she give a speech after her water broke back when she went into labor instead of getting right to the hospital. That is obviously a medical emergency. Giving birth takes precedence over giving a speech.
McCainn should have picked Mitt Romeny. He shot himself in the foot with this one. But, that's okay, all the better to pave the way for Obama.
the last two callers said things like "kids know about birth control, i don't have to tell them, they find this stuff out on their own." I just want to point out that yes, every kid hears about sex and birth control from their friends, but it's not reliable information. when I was in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grade, I heard from other kids that babies come out of the mom's belly-button, that wearing a tampon prevents pregnancy, that douching with coca-cola after sex prevents pregnancy, and a thousand varieties of the infamous "rhythm method" which in reality does NOT prevent pregnancy! SO MANY teenage girls get pregnant and I think a lot of them are hoping that some old-wives-tale "prophylactic" trick will save them because they aren't using a condom.
I think it needs to be pointed out that the junior-high locker room rumor mill is NOT a reliable source of information about birth control for teenage girls.
Oh Brian, come on. No one asks Obama "How could he go to work when he has kids?" because "women should have fewer rights" is not part of the Democratic platform. It IS part of the Republican platform, hence: hypocrisy.
You set up a totally false comparison there.
well, it's simply not true that the question of parenting doesn't get asked of men and didn't get asked of obama. he and his wife were very open and vocal about what they agreed were his responsibilities as a father when he was running for the senate and when he decided to run for president.
please don't slip into broad generalizations. stick to the facts.
The issue is not that Bristol Palin is keeping her baby.
The issue is that Sarah Palin is telling us that 17-year-old Bristol is going to marry the 18-year-old father, as if that's the most obvious and ideal answer.
These two kids aren't even in a position to know what love is. What kind of "family values" is that?
My question: Is Sarah Palin forcing her daughter to get married only because she -- Sarah Palin -- is running as the "pro-life," "pro-family," rally-the-base VP choice of the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States?
Is she using her daughter as a pawn in a high-stakes political game?
Indeed, did McCain make Bristol Palin's engagement a condition of his offer?
Government must be separate from church. Any leader cannot let their religion influence their policy decisions. We need to not let them get away with it either.
Hey Brian, the reason they don't ask Obama or Dems about who is taking care of their kids is because Dems don't run on a platform of family values. Its not hypocrisy, its relevancy.
When are Americans going to get over their Medieval mentality.
Reproduction is no mystery, its basic biology. Not only that, powerful hormones are driving people to reproduce.
Whether you approve of teen sex, of premarital sex or not, its completely regressive to try to shroud the facts in guilt and mystery.
Its time to stop treating knowledge of reproduction like Gallileo was treated for his knowledge of astronomy.
Children need education on how to protect themselves from disease and pregnancy. Lets get our heads out of the sand. Kids are having sex. Maybe if we had a better working relationship they would consider the consequences more carefully.
Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin would take away the choices that Gov. Palin admitted she and her daughter were free to make.
what happened to the comments page? are you guys (bl producers) deleting entirely legitimate content? my comments as well as a number of others are gone. jeez.
[[BL Producer Writes: A few comments have been edited or removed for violating the WNYC posting policy. Remember to keep your comments civil, on topic, and productive to the discussion taking place on the air. That said, none of your comments in particular have been removed or edited. You've posted in two different threads so make sure you check both. And maybe worth refreshing your browser? Thanks!]]
#46
The problem is that the rethuglicans consistently preach abstinence, no sex ed in school and "family values" which would usually frown on the fact of a pregnant teen...which means it IS valid for this campaign. The rethuglicans can't have it both ways.
You have to admire all this nonsense that repugs have been spewing
if it's ok for schools to teach "how to make a babies" why is it not ok to teach how not to make a babies?
If Gov. Palin believes in abstinence-only education and believes it is effective (i.e. not a waste of tax payer dollars) why is her 17 year-old daughter pregnant?
Its the corruption. Its the abuse of power. I'd like to hear Brian's show discuss the investigation into Gov. Palin's abuse of power. That is what matters.
as for the children. sure nobody asks a man how they'll care for the kids. but how many men or women have started a run for the VP or Presidency with a newly born special needs child? It just raises questions about the big word of this campaign: judgement.
McCain's cynical choice has led him to a Veep who belonged to a secessionist party (Alaskan Independence Party). That's another story worth reporting on. As for her daughter having a baby, that is the biggest non-story except in the context of abstinence only position the Gov. holds. But you can be absolutely sure that if this were Obama's child, the right would be OUTRAGED!
Remember what George Carlin said about the fundies: "They're not pro-life, they're anti-woman."
Comprehensive sex education in schools is NOT an issue of morality but an issue of public health and that's why the schools and the government get involved.
In a course in Health Communications at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore (before it was called the Bloomberg School of Public Health) I was surprised to learn that the US is so far behind in public health on this issue.
I learned that in countries around the world where the Church has a strong influence, including very Catholic countries like Bolivia they partner with the government for public health and family planning purposes and advocate condoms and other birth control methods beyond abstinence that are more realistic.
Abstinence only sex-education is like buying a kid a car and then the ONLY driving lesson you give them is that the best way to avoid a crash is not to drive.
Once again, Senator Hatch doesn't disappoint us by showing us how backwards and stuck in the past the Republican party is.
"Women are proud of Ms. Palin". On what planet? I am a woman and she could not be farther from what I believe and want for my children, especially my daughter. If anything, she is bringing women back 50-60 years when women were denied information, had no power to make choices over their own body, and were forced into shot-gun weddings and motherhood.
Actually, for someone who is supposedly representative of "family values" the way she put her fetus at risk at the end of her pregnancy and the fact that she went back to work after only 3 days of giving birth to a child with tremendous needs and continues on "campaigning", away from her family even though this is probably one of the times when her family needs her the most. A Down syndrome baby and a pregnant teenage mother need their family and mother by their side, not sitters and nannies. I guess this really says a lot about her REAL priorities are and where her family really stands. There is a time for everything. With a sick infant and a teenage pregnant daughter at home, I do not believe now it is the right time for running for what might end up being the most demanding job in the land. She is not going to be able to fulfill any of those roles adequately and will end up hurting her family and our country.
Ms. Palin, go home. Take care of you family. They are your first priority at this point.
"Of course she had qualities that will help win the election"
yeah that quality is having a uterus. Is it not insulting to women that McCain picked her only due to her gender with the assumption that women will vote for him based on that fact only?
Does anyone even doubt for a moment the kind of pressure Bristol Palin would be under while her mother is running for Vice-Presidential office, to "do the right thing?"
I'd say she felt she had no choice but to marry the father of the child. If her mother had not been a prominent politician, it might have been otherwise.
Don't get married at 17. It won't last. You will be heart broken and it will be hard to trust again. Wait till you're at least 25! People are getting married way too young. Live a little. You'll wake up one day and say what did I do and divorces are expensive.
Save yourselves the drama.
For gawd's sake, check your dates, Brian! Congress eliminated the Bridge to Nowhere earmark in 2005, BEFORE Palin became governor in November 2006. She had NO authority to accept or reject that earmark. If she "opposed it", it was only in her dreams. In addition, the money STILL went to Alaska, to spend as the state saw fit.
From the NYT:
HULSE (11/17/05): Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in Congress
Congressional Republicans decided Wednesday to take a legislative wrecking ball to two Alaskan bridge projects that had demolished the party's reputation for fiscal austerity.
Straining to show new dedication to lower spending, House and Senate negotiators took the rare step of eliminating a requirement that $442 million be spent to build the two bridges, spans that became cemented in the national consciousness as ''bridges to nowhere'' because of the remote territory and small populations involved.
The change will not save the federal government any money. Instead, the $442 million will be turned over to the state with no strings attached, allowing lawmakers and the governor there to parcel it out for transportation projects as they see fit, including the bridges should they so choose.
Major point from the NYT article that everyone seems to be overlooking, unless I'm reading it wrong. Palin didn't turn down the original allocation of money, ($220 Million), only the request for more. "(Alaska was able to keep the federal money and directed it to other projects.)"
There are times when career goals must be deferred to family needs. I felt this when John Edwards ran for president while his wife was struggling with cancer - well before we learned what else he was up to. I certainly feel the same in regards to Gov Palin - with a special needs child and a teen facing a life crisis played out on a world stage, it is time for the Palin family to circle the wagons and nurture one another. As a mother of two adult children and a former high school teacher, I learned two relevant things. One, the Palins' experiences are the same that every family faces. Two, there is only so much time, energy, resources that a family has to deploy. Young people, especially, suffer life long consequences if their needs are overlooked in a family's drive to "do it all"
What softball questions Brian.
You know that Palin's Alaskan approval ratings are NOT "80%"; but closer to 60 and falling.
You, basically, allowed the congresswoman a forum to put out her talking points with no serious questioning.
You were either incomepetent or cowed.
You can ask hard serious questions (and followup questions) that challenge people without being rude. That's what journalists do.
BTW Imagine the reaction of these same people if Chelsea had become pregnant at 17!
I think that the GOP's family values are either wrong-headed, irresponsible or out of touch with traditional American values.
Where were Mr. and Gov. Palin when their teenage daughter got pregnant? Why didn't this child have a strong, broadbased education on the realities of sex including birth-control methods? Is a 17 year-old ready for motherhood?
Not all 17 year-olds have the wealth of the Palins (or the Spears). What message does this send to them?
Doesn't this prove that birth-control needs to be part of every teenager's education? Doesn't this prove that abortion needs to be an option?
There needs to be a choice - if only for when a 17 year-old makes a mistake.
Two issues really strike me about the Sarah Palin epic:
1) The vetting process seems to have been very scanty at best. According to an NYT story, as well as stories carried in Alaska papers, Alaska's legislators and officials weren't contacted, people who know her weren't contacted, local papers weren't canvassed, etc. Exactly what constitutes vetting in the McCain campaign?
2) Babygate: not her daughter's baby, but her story about baby Trig. Gov. Palin's actions during the whole scenario surrounding his birth gives me chills. Did she really make a deliberate decision to travel via plane, 8 hours from Texas to Alaska, after beginning to leak amniotic fluid prematurely? Did she inform the flight attendants of her impending childbirth? And since the labor onset was premature, knowing her son would be born with DS, why would she risk the baby's life this way instead of seeking emergency care, as I think most women would do? This makes me wonder about her judgement. She makes a moral choice not to abort, but it's fine to risk the baby's life during delivery by taking a long plane to a small-town medical center when she goes into premature labor? So precisely when and how do "family values" kick in (and apparently back out again)?
"We are the party of values adn the party of responsibility," says the Repug.
Obviously the Dems are the party of no values and irresponsibility.
Why even have an election?!
What makes america a great country?...brian u are silly
Brian, you should ask some of these people if they know that federal and local police are beating, teargassing, and arresting non-violent protesters. They are also executing searches at houses where some of these people are staying. It's Orwellian.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/01/democracy-nows-amy-goodman-arrested/
Helen From Manhattan:
She didn't turn down anything. She wasn't even in office at that point.
The whole story is fantasy.
The republicans under Bush has vastly expanded government
Not to mention domestic spying and the rethuglican propensity to intrude upon the private lives of people with their so called "family values" "moral" agenda
so how exactly are these rethuglicans able to get away with making the arguments that they are for "lesser government" and "government staying out of people's private lives"?????
They are for the diametric opposite!
will BHO grow the government more than bush??
Hey Brian, could you ask these people how they feel about the federal government's unprecedented growth under Bush? Or is even the most basic reality not acceptable there?
Hey the Dems had their soapbox last week and their "open mic" time. Now it is the Repugs turn.
I question Governor Palin's judgement in conceiving her fifth child at least as much as her daughter's judgement in becoming pregnant. Sarah Palin was already governor of Alaska, in her mid-forties with four children, when she became pregnant. This is at a time in her life when, statistically, she could expect her child to have a roughly 5% chance of suffering from Down syndrome. What was she thinking? Wasn't the responsible thing to do to exercise birth control? Who was going to care for this baby?
will Palin's daughter marry before the election? (NO?)
cheney had a gay daughter, palin has a sexual promiscuous daughter. the right wing looks the other way, again.
The issue of Governor Palin's 17 year old daughter's pregnancy is off the table, but I am troubled that the Governor accepted the VP nomination offer, knowingly exposing her daughter to international commentary. Is she putting herself first at her daughter's expense? The same could be said when the governor elected to return to work 1-3 days after delivery of her last two children, rather than taking the time to bond with the infants. I wouldn't say that she has successfully merged work and motherhood, rather that she has pursued her career and left her family to compensate as best they can. (Her husband is a househusband.)
WashPost King commented on the racial/socioeconomic presuppositions regarding teen pregnancy this AM
GOP men are very good at discussing what it’s like to carry and give birth to a child and all that it involves.
GOP women are very good at nodding while GOP men discuss what it’s like to carry and give birth to a child and all that it involves
Brian,
The very fact that McCain chose Palin makes it clear that the religious right has firm control over the Repub party. It was silly of you to pose the question to Gary Bauer of whether the religious rt's influence has diminished.
I can't believe no Democrat has come out clearly against this Palin-Juno neo-con morality tale and all of its contradictions.
Yeah, yeah, yeah...the kid is going to keep the baby. Big deal. I thought a cornerstone of Family Values opposed sex before marriage? And who is going to take care of this little gift from God? The 17 year old without a job or Ms. VP in the White House on the back of our tax dollars?
And if the Dems allow this bimbo Palin to be portrayed as a strong, modern woman, then they deserve to lose. Here's a woman who has enjoyed being a baby factory while the tax payers supported her lifestyle. C'mon. Why not compare this right-wing daydream with a waitress with more than one kid? Ask Palin who is babysitting while she's off ice-fishing and hunting?
The Republicans have sacrificed their 'too inexperienced' argument so as to make a play for the disgruntled Hillary-ites via Palin. In other words, they think they can define feminism through a former Ms. WhoCares that likes guns and oil -basically a 70 year old right wing man with tits. Any genuine Hillary supporter that falls behind this cartoon rather than Obama is likely as racist as our worst nightmare. And any Democrat that doesn't expose this civil rights shadow play for the farce it is, still doesn't have the guts to stand up for their true values nor the strength to lead this country towards a better place.
on schools, abstinence and common sense:
i find it ridiculous that teaching the rudiments of basic contraception in schools is often discouraged. advocating one form or another (abstinence and condom use included) should never be the agenda. just teach the facts.
i went to a catholic high school where abstinence until marriage was the only line we were fed. two girls out of my class of thirty were mothers by 16. i knew one of them very well and was well aware that she felt that "counting" and with-drawl would be adequate. needless to say, her folk knowledge did little to stave off either her inclination to have sex before marriage or pregnancy. i suppose she was lucky that the only thing she "got" was pregnant.
as one not very far removed from her teen years, i recall quite clearly that kids are going to do what kids are going to do. but please give us all the information. i shouldn't have had to learn the basics of reproduction from a loop video in the waiting room of a planned parenthood where i was a volunteer, helping other girls who also had only a cloudy idea of how their bodies work.
Once again, the primary relevance of this whole conversation is McCain's judgment or really his lack thereof. How dare he gamble the nation and its future on his naked, crass ambition to win an election.
He miserably failed his first presidential decision. (I will note his overreaction to Gustav also shows he failed in his second one as well but that is more personal to me, whereas we can all agree that pick of Palin was reckless and non-deliberate.)
Chris - that was awesome. I doubt they'll let the comment stay up, but that is a monster rant. I salute you.
[[BL Moderator writes: Chris O's "rant" was on topic, didn't use any bad words, and contained actual, productive ideas. No reason to take it down, and others may want to take it as a lesson for how not cross the line between expressing a strong opinion and being just plain mean.]]
"bad words"
are we 5. someone should listen to the george carlin segment from the Lopate show from last year
Let's end this lurid discussion of Bristol Palin.
Wonkette http://www.wonkette.com has lots of other great lurid discussions about Republicans.
Take a look at the casual sex personal ads from convention-goers in the MFM section on St. Paul Craigslist. I wonder if they learned about condoms in their sex-ed classes.
If McCain didn't want to win, why didn't he get Mike Huckabee as a running mate?
For Chris from NYC #99 and Dems frustrated over Palin's hypocrisy regarding moral values
The religious right has embraced Sarah Palin as America's sweetheart. No arguments any Dems/progressives make about the contradictions of Sarah Palin pertaining to sex ed and abstinence will gain any traction. The religious rt loves Sarah and they won't let the facts get in the way. The more we point out Sarah Palin's blatant hypocrisy, the more the religious rt will see her as a victim being persecuted by the liberal media.
#108
Unfortunately because of the aid of a gutless irresponsible media who will mostly let her slide on the hypocrisy, I think you are right
Brian, This morning we are hearing many people at the Republican National Ocnverntion compare Sarah Palin to Barack Obama in terms of experience, when thery aren't even applying for the same job. If Palin and her qualifications are going to be compared to anyone on the Democratic ticket, it should be with Senator Biden.
leland,
expect for the fact in 6 months any of these 4 people could be president.
Leave a Comment
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
1 | 2 | Next | Back to EpisodeEmail addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. WNYC reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the WNYC.org Comment Guidelines before posting.