The Political Impact of Bristol Palin's Pregnancy

Sarah Palin's nomination as John McCain's vice-presidential running mate has generated even more controversy over gender issues than was true during Hillary Clinton's earlier run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The most important development on the left-wing yesterday was the allegation that Palin faked her most recent pregnancy to cover for her teenage daughter's alleged childbirth. Daily Kos, who first spread the rumors, bungled an attempt this morning to put an end to the smears. But with the latest news this morning that 17 year-old Bristol Palin is now pregnant, some interesting questions are being raised about the trajectory of the Daily Kos smears:

Anyone find it amazingly coincidental that Daily Kos went after Palin’s own pregnancy right out of the chute on Friday, with no apparent evidence whatsoever, and now we find out that her daughter’s actually pregnant? I usually scoff at the idea of party researchers planting memes with bloggers, especially since the nutroots is so paranoid about that happening on the right, but that’s a simply remarkable stoke of good luck on their part, no?

While interesting, Daily Kos in fact offered its "story ender" last night at 8:50pm PST, well before the news broke of Bristol's pregnancy. No, the truth is that Daily Kos and the nihilist left - now that the Barack Obama's gotten no polling bounce from Denver - are simply attacking the GOP ticket out of desperation and spite. The Kos people are at it again with a new entry attacking Bristol:

You can't make this s**t up. "Evangelical Christian" Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter is knocked up. No word on the father yet. That'll help Palin's daughter to break the glass ceiling: start out life dragging a screaming kid around. Should work out fine on those job interviews.

Oh, but she's KEEPING it. Wonderful. What's the name going to be: Bareback?

Palin is quickly being revealed as a White trash Protestant in the vein of Brintney [sic] Spears and the drunk Bush clan. What's next? The father of Palin's daughter is the family Pastor?

The next two months are going to be a riot - I'm betting there's MUCH more on this kook Palin.

Keep in mind that the Daily Kos netroots is considered the "mainstream" of the Democratic Party. This is a significant point, since these slurs reveal that it's not "post-partisanship" animating the crazed political vultures of the leftosphere.

As Tennessee Guerrilla Woman puts it:

A woman enters the presidential race and suddenly the progressive mission is to shame and mortify Sarah Palin, her children, her husband, and every woman who has ever found herself in a similar situation. And then no one will ever vote for Sarah Palin again because she's a slut!?!?

John Aravosis imagines that we are still living in the Victorian Era when women were so devastated by public shaming that they committed suicide. Way to go John Aravosis! And we thought you already held the record for alienating women voters with your vile misogynistic posts about Hillary Rodham Clinton. There's just something about ambitious women that brings out the inner misogynistic creep.

Note this comment too, from "Slim999" at Althouse, on the netroots attacks on McCain-Palin:

When the tallying is completed of the landslide of states that voted for Sarah Palin ... the Democrats need to take a good look at the bloggers who blew the election for them.

A sadder bunch of women haters and closet racists just couldn't be found.

I suggested this morning that the left's earlier attacks on Palin have precluded any credible criticism from the Democrats in light of this morning's announcement:

Bristol Palin's pregnancy and pending marriage to the father look even more likely to endear McCain-Palin to average American household members who share similar everyday challenges in raising functional, healthy families.

I felt a bit tentative in commenting on all of this, but Chris Cillizza's analysis of the political impact of Bristol's pregnancy dovetails with my own:

* Palin has a VERY strong following among social conservatives who are nearly certain to give her the benefit of the doubt in this situation. She is a known commodity in social conservative circles and is regarded as "one of them" - a fact that should lessen any criticism from the right.

* Democrats must be VERY careful not to take a false step here. Some Republicans have already insisted that the Obama campaign is behind the rumor-mongering about Sarah, Bristol and Trig ... Any sense that Democrats are pushing this idea will almost certainly turn both Sarah and Bristol Palin into sympathetic figures - and that spells trouble for her detractors.

The Palins will most likely find sympathy among disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters, who cannot be assumed to be automatically healed from this year's primary wounds following the appeals in Denver a "unity ticket":

It was an awfully complicated week to be a Hillary supporter.

Her voters headed into the Democratic National Convention in Denver with anger, with threats to reprise 1968. Then came the swelling of pride, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gave what many considered the speech of her life. But, oh, the regret: if only she had campaigned with that kind of oratory!

By the time Mrs. Clinton graciously called for the convention to nominate Senator Barack Obama by acclamation, some of her supporters were working their way toward acceptance, wiping tears but nodding as she declared that the party had to unite behind him. Yet how could they not feel at least envy, watching the Obamas and the Bidens stroll out in triumph, and thinking that their candidate could have been in either role, at the top or bottom of that ticket. Not even vetted for V.P.!!

Then, of course, came Friday: “It turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet!” That was Sarah Palin, the Republican governor of Alaska, as Senator John McCain introduced her to the country as his vice-presidential nominee. “We can shatter that glass ceiling!” she proclaimed.

What’s a woman to do? Or at least, the woman who so badly wanted to see a woman in the White House?

Democrats, who make up the party that has long claimed the bigger pool of up-and-coming women, were quick to dismiss Ms. Palin as not experienced enough to be a heartbeat from the presidency. Mrs. Clinton’s supporters will never back her, they insisted, because she is against abortion rights.

Not. So. Fast.

That underestimated, or at least underappreciated, the raw feelings of many Clinton supporters, and particularly the women among them, despite the almost flawless display of harmony in Denver.

At the very least, Ms. Palin’s selection unleashes gender as a live issue again, just when Democrats thought they had it under control.

The Democrats may have already been doomed, when earlier this year Obama "decided to exploit sexism and misogyny in his quest to defeat Hillary."

The continued hatred and intolerance seen among those in the left-wing base will simply hammer the last nails in the coffin of the Democratic Party election hopes for 2008.