What is and isn't 'fair game' about the Palin family

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

Bristol Palin is not fair game, meaning that her moral failings (if any) should not be at issue. And no jokes should be made at her expense. She hasn't done anything bad to anyone.

SARAH Palin's approach to the matter, however, has to be at issue because she is a crusader for a specific social and governmental approach to precisely the situation she finds in her own family.

Bristol Palin is being used, politically, as an example of someone who made a Godly choice and will do the right thing by getting married and thus making an honest woman of herself. That is the POLITICAL argument.

Palin is flying in the statutory rapist of her daughter to parade before the RNC. I don't think he should be considered any kind of rapist. That is merely the opinion of the asinine Alaskan laws Palin swore an oath to uphold ... she is currently the Governor of Alaska, you know.

Palin is praising her daughter for making a choice that Bristol could not make under Alaska law, except for the fact that the courts had struck down the law; a decision Sarah Palin personally fought against and threatened to over-turn by constitutional amendment.

Until a few months before Bristol Palin got pregnant Alaska law said she did not have a legal choice to terminate the pregnancy, so there would be no "choice," Godly or otherwise. It would have been Sarah and/or Daddy Palin's choice, not Bristol's choice.

The Alaska parental consent law was struck down by the Alaska Supreme Court less than a a year ago. Here was Palin's take on that law (and potential judicial review) back in 2006 while running for Governor:

Palin Said She Supported a Constitutional Amendment To Enforce Parental Consent Law if Supreme Court Declared it Unconstitutional. Asked if she would support a Constitutional Amendment to overturn the Supreme Court and allow a parental consent law to be enforced if the Alaska Supreme Court declared the parental consent law unconstitutional, Sarah Palin responded, “yes.” Council Voter Guide, 8/22/06]

________________________

BACKGROUND:

Alaska teens can make own abortion decision
3-2 VOTE: State Supreme Court justices say notification is OK.

By SHEILA TOOMEY
[e-mail]
Published: November 3, 2007

The Alaska Supreme Court threw out an embattled state law Friday that required parental or judicial consent before a teenager can have an abortion.

In a 3-2 decision, the court said the consent requirement robs a pregnant teen of her constitutional right to make such an important decision herself and transfers that right to her parents or a judge.

However, a law that required parents to be notified of a juvenile daughter's plan to have an abortion would probably be all right, said Chief Justice Dana Fabe in the majority decision for the court. It's a option many other states use, she noted.

As illustrated by the vote, the decision was a close call. Both sides agreed that the state has a compelling interest in protecting juvenile girls against their own immaturity and that parents have a constitutional right -- a duty -- to guide their children. They differed over whether giving parents veto power over a pregnant juvenile's abortion decision went too far.

http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/story/9426719p-9338863c.html

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Link for Palin view of amendment: Council Voter Guide, 8/22/06]

http://www.politico.com/static/PPM106_palin_doc.html

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. .

[valerief]

3. Obama and Biden need to decide what's fair game for them.

When you consider the fate of the country with McSame/TaliPalin in charge, EVERYTHING is game. ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Yes, it may not be fair to her kids, but I don't think a mom who shovels them off to a war she supports and facilitates the melting of the planet does her kids any good either. And that's not even getting into the culture shock of legislating/imposing her fundie beliefs.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

4. Sorry you didn't read the OP, but thanks for playing

:hi:

If your contention is that there is any electoral benefit to painting Bristol Palin a slut, that's extraordinary.

If not, the comment has nothing to do with the OP.

[valerief]

10. Thanks for your concern.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[valerief]

17. To use your phrase, thanks for playing.

And I never said Obama and Biden were mentioned in the OP. Read critically and we'll all get along.

:hi:

[LynneSin]

5. Obama and Biden don't need to get into this bruhaha

That's what we're fore. Obama did the smart thing (and Biden too) of doing the "child is off limits" comment. Secretly this is what they all want is this story to be hashed out. First, it pisses off Hillary CLinton which moves us even more solidly into our camp. It also makes those fence-sitting 'Hillary Supporters' realize that Palin was nothing more than pandering to them and thinking that these supporters have the IQ of an Almond that they can't distinguish the difference between Hillary and Sarah.

THis is all good!

[Life Long Dem]

23. hmmmmmm... really... Hillary supporters aye?

[LynneSin]

24. I try to say 'Hillary Supporters' with the ' ' around the name

since I'm still not buying into the concept that all these 'Hillary Supporters' who claim they still aren't sure about Obama were democrats to begin with.

Like Hillary said so wonderfully - "Did you think this was just about me" (well not exactly but that is the quote)

[LynneSin]

25. I try to say 'Hillary Supporters' with the ' ' around the name

since I'm still not buying into the concept that all these 'Hillary Supporters' who claim they still aren't sure about Obama were democrats to begin with.

Like Hillary said so wonderfully - "Did you think this was just about me" (well not exactly but that is the quote)

[Life Long Dem]

27. I agree on using "Hillary Supporters"

And I apologize for not doing so the other day.

[Egnever]

6. Sorry its all fair game

You may not like it, but it is what it is and no nanny police will stop it.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

12. Since the only two things cited in the OP are

Since the only two things cited in the OP are calling her a slut and making her the butt of jokes, you believe either of those speciffic things is virtuous or politically productive then that's what it is, or are replying to what you assumed the OP would say.

(PS: You said something in a locked post that I have to agree with, and offer an apology/clarification. When I said there was not an organized effort to drive out Dean people in 2004 I was thinking of at this point in the cycle. I do recall the biterness earlier on, and you were quite right to correct me. I don't think anyone was actively hunting Dean supporters in August, though. If my memory is faulty, it wouldn't be the first time.)

[Egnever]

18. I think you are making the mistake of thinking that all of the voters

we are dealing with are rational thinking people. They are not and the less rational ones are the ones most open to the sorts of attacks you rule out. they don't respond to well reasoned arguments. They are motivated by how slutty someone is or how tough/whimpish they are. Taking those lines of attack off the table while perfectly honorable ignores the realities of these voters.

As to the other part of your response. I agree by august the attempt to drive dean supporters out was mostly over. That of course was months after the race was decided so it doesn't really relate to where we are now.

Though I will say that at this point I dont see much of an attempt to drive away Clinton supporters any more. If anything I think we healed much more quickly this time. Probably because the convention came sooner after the race was decided. Of course the palin pick has also galvanized us against something and has erased all thoughts of division as well.

Good of you to post that though. Thanks.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

22. Rational or irrational, nobody will vote for Obama BECAUSE Bristol Palin is called a slut

Some people may vote for McCain for that reason.

I thought the OP laid out a cogent case for the relevance of Bristol Palin's pregnancy in the face of many folks saying it is categorically off limits. My argument is that it IS within bounds.

I only think it is off limits as an attack on Bristol Palin's character... off limits for reasons of decency, and more importantly for reasons of political efficacy.

From our perspective, Bristol Palin is an innocent VICTIM of Sarah Palin's politics and religion and primitive attitudes. That's her role for our purposes.

That's the best play because Bristol Palin is a sympathetic figure to everyone across the political spectrum.

I cannot immagine how Bristol would be anything other than sympathetic... even if she's a monster in human form she looks like a scared child.

[LittleClarkie]

7. How is he a statutory rapist?

I thought the age of consent in Alaska was 16.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. The law as posted here on DU said otherwise, but that's my only source

What was posted said 18 with 17 was illegal.

It was a very poorly thought out law, if accurate.

[LittleClarkie]

11. Here's one source I found by googling

http://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2006/11/07/alaska-age-of-consent-laws/

According to this, it's 16. And statutory rape is determined by the difference in ages between the minor and the older partner. If the minor is 15, and the older partner is 18, the 18 year old is guilty of statutory rape.

I'll keep looking for something better.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

14. I stand corrected. The danger of using DU citations as a source for Alaskan law.

Thanks for the clarification

[JVS]

8. No holds barred.

[Iris]

13. I don't think Bristol's situation is the result of a moral failing.

It's a result of abstinence only education.

[marshall]

19. Have they divulged whether Bristol and her beau used condoms?

I'd like to know if this is the result of condom failure, improper condom use, or no use of a condom.

[Iris]

20. I'd warrant a guess that it is the 3rd choice.

[skooooo]

16. CNN was just debating this....

...given the fact that they are doing family photo ops including baby daddy, how can they have it both ways???

:shrug:

[Shakespeare]

21. EVERYTHING is fair game. EVERYTHING.

Palin, her sleazy husband her kids, and if she has a sweet, elderly grandma, go after her, too. It's time to get ruthless if we want to win this. Hit her on the issues, hit her on her political past, and hit the family, too.

No holds barred. Go after them with everything we have, full-on negative.

[Geek_Girl]

26. If they are parading Bristol around using her as political tool

to win over the fundie's then the family is fair game.

Sarah Palin is the worse kind of human being to do this to her daughter and family.

The Chimperor isn't even as bad as that.

[Wapsie B]

28. Wow, you must not have gotten the memo.

There are no rules here.