So I’m doing more Palin research, which I think is the new national hobby, and I ran across this gem.

In fact, as Palin’s cultural views become better known — she oppose abortion in all cases and opposes the use of birth control pills and condoms even among married couples — she will undoubtedly scare the hell out of the soccer moms and 98% of Hillary voters. In fact, many of these women may feel insulted by this choice in that McCain and the GOP think they are stupid and would bypass their own interest (reproductive and economic) to vote for the ticket due to gender and anger that Hillary was not the nominee.

In my estimation as a pollster and analyst, while historic for the GOP in selecting their first woman on a national ticket, this choice may be the worst selection by a major party nominee for President in modern times.

[from here]

That was posted on Saturday.  So it turns out that Palin doesn’t think people should use birth control.  Fine, it’s her vagina.  She can turn it into a clown car if she wants.

One of the benefits of being against any form of birth control and encouraging your family to do likewise, is that you get to be a grandmother at forty-four.

ST. PAUL – The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin’s five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain aides said.

[full story]

Of course she did.  Just as she made the decision to have unprotected sex on her own.

Like she was taught, at home.

—-

I just have to say…we’re so far into joke territory here I think this whole election is pretty much over.  The Republicans simply aren’t going to be able to overtake all the facts, not rumors, that surround Palin and make her a very strange choice for VP.  The rumor before this came out was that she covered for her pregnant daughter. The fact was that both her, and her daughter were pregnant at the same time.  The likelihood is that they wanted to hide this until after the election.

When you are just being introduced to someone, and you are introduced at the same time to their 17-year-old pregnant daughter, there are some natural question and assumptions that follow.  I’m not talking about those, they are going to happen.  I’m talking about the difficulty of trying to explain them away, which the GOP is going to have to try and do between the cacophony of the press, Gustav wiping away their convention, and the constant flapping on the internet (hi!).

I don’t think it is possible, but it’s going to be fun to watch.

—-

UPDATE: I wasn’t going to mention this, but after Palin made such a deal of her family at the RNC, it should be mention this whole “shotgun weddin'” thing is a family tradition.

You need to use the pregnancy calculator http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/923526833.html

Go down to the estimated due date and put in April 20, 2009. It will then tell you that as of today’s date, September 2, you are 7 weeks one day pregnant. This means she was approximately SIX weeks (plus a day or more) pregnant when they eloped, not one month. if Track was born on his due date. BTW, first time mothers are more likely to go past their due dates rather than the other way around if the mother is healthy.

This is about right, a woman misses her period then at six weeks in 1988 was the earliest possible time to be tested for pregnancy . They eloped, that is NOT the issue.

What is important is that this woman thinks that marriage even for her own seventeen year old daughter impregnated by a self-described f–g redneck now eighteen year old is the best option in these cases. Furthermore she is for abstinence (obviously didn’t work in either one of these cases-like mother like daughter), no sex education, over-turning Roe V. Wade.

[full article with dates and stuff]