Oh those kids!! September 3, 2008
Posted by geoff in News.trackback
It’s tough raising kids: there aren’t any foolproof approaches, and even if there were, there’s nobody teaching them. Sarah Palin knows how tough it is, but she’s certainly not alone. Yes, there are many, many, many politicians and their families who have fallen short of the family ideal.
Just Googling Congressmen’s kids who have been arrested (certainly a much more serious parental failure than a teen pregnancy), we find a cozy little list of those who have strayed:
- Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL): Son Charles arrested for “battery on a law enforcement officer, disorderly intoxication, and resisting arrest..” (2006)
- Senator Larry Craig (R-ID): Daughter Shea Howell has active warrant for unlawful entry and injury to property. (2006)
- Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL): Son Claude arrested for possession. (2003)
- Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE): Daughter Ashley arrested for obstructing police. (2002)
- Senator Rod Grams (R-MN): Son Morgan arrested for theft, possession, and evading police. (2000)
- Representative Randy Cunningham (R-CA): Son Todd arrested for possession and conspiracy to sell marijuana. (1997)
- Representative Dan Burton (R-IN): Son Todd arrested for possession of 8 lbs of marijuana. (1994)
- Representative Spencer Bacchus (R-AL): Son Warren arrested for possession of marijuana. (1993)
- Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY): Son Josef arrested for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. (1993)
- Representative Dean Gallo (R-NJ): Daughter Susan arrested for possession and intent to sell cocaine. (1991)
- Representative John Murtha (D-PA): Son John arrested for selling cocaine (1991), armed robbery (1985), burglary (1980)
- Senator Arlen Specter (PA-R): Son Stephen arrested for burglary. (1983)
There are many governors’ kids, state senators’ and representatives’ kids, and government officials’ kids who could be added, as well as wives and the politicians themselves. Not to mention the myriad other ways of screwing up one’s life. But the list is too long to put together, or even to read.
All of these politicians managed to avoid any fallout from their childrens’ infractions. The media didn’t insist that their childrens’ crimes reflected on their political competence or even their parenting skills. The stories just came and went, swiftly forgotten.
But then came Sarah and the media circus.
Nobody, including Sarah Palin, regards the pregnancy of her daughter as a parenting success. I’m sure that Gov. Palin and her husband have beaten themselves up over it on many an evening. But compared with the folks on the list above, their problems are trivial and personal, not involving police, lawyers, or the courts. At least they were personal.
Hell hath no nosiness like a titillated press.
“Unlawful entry” almost got Larry Craig in a lot of trouble as well. Like father, like daughter, I guess.
[...] Geoff answers why Frank shouldn’t have gone there. [...]
I grew up in Murtha’s district and never heard about his kid getting in trouble! Armed robbery?
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//080903/ids_photos_ts/r339872508.jpg/
wtff?
Your link doesn’t work, compos.
By the way, one thing I find a little annoying is that those AP picture captions refer to Levi Johnston as the boyfriend of Bristol Palin, rather than as her fiance. It’s minor, but still.
I don’t judge Palin as a parent based on her teenage daughter getting pregnant, but I think it does point out that her abstinence-only approach to sex ed. is impractical and unrealistic.
“…but I think it does point out that her abstinence-only approach to sex ed. is impractical and unrealistic.”
Unless you posit that neither abstinence-only nor condom distribution (or anything in between) is likely to prevent 100% of teen pregnancies.
her abstinence-only approach to sex ed. is impractical and unrealistic
I agree that abstinence only is probably insufficient.
But abstinence must be the main message of sex ed for kids. Liberals resist this, and they’re wrong to. If conservatives achieved this much, it would be enough.
It’s not at all clear to me what Sarah Palin’s views are, though. The only data I’ve seen is her answer to that one question.
Anyhow, this case in particular does not point out what you think it does, since Bristol Palin’s high school does teach the use of contraception in its sex ed course. She didn’t get pregnant due to lack of information.
I posit that no policy will prevent 100% of teen pregnancies. And whether one’s talking about teen sex, drinking alcohol, smoking pot, getting an abortion, etc., abstinence is a valid behavioral choice (and often the wisest one).
But no thinking reed can possibly believe that abstinence-only is a practicable way to approach teenage sex education; and for Palin, the proof of that is under her own roof — so it’s really a leadership question: is she a leader who’s willing/able to reconsider her position in light of obvious evidence that that position is unworkable? That would certainly be welcome from any politician, right or left, but based on what I’ve seen so far, my fear is she’s another rockhead who ain’t gonna change her mind no matter what…and lots of otherwise intelligent people, out of some kind of weird party loyalty, are going to go along with the charade and act like it’s a defensible position. Ugh – it’s boring.