Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Bristol Palin calls Baby Daddy Levi 'white trash'

Well, this little bit of tabloid gossip is helpful, isn't it? A source says Bristol broke up with the teenage sperm donor Levi "Sex on Skates" Johnston two months ago, won't even let him see the fruit of his loins, and has denounced the entire Johnston family as "white trash."

I love Sarah Palin, but Bristol's judgment is questionable. Really, Bristol: What do you expect people to call a girl who gets herself knocked up by white trash? This does not reflect favorably on you.

UPDATE: Noting the negativity of some of the comments, but didn't realized I'd been linked on this by Videmus Omnia at Conservatives4Palin:
As a final note, I am very disappointed in our friend R. S. McCain. Do all McCains like to stick the knife into Palins when their backs are turned?

Sorry, I'm not wired that way. I support Sarah Palin. But if Bristol Palin is conducting herself in such a hideous manner, I'm not going to turn a blind eye and pretend it's not happening. I've got three teenagers of my own, remember, and if they act disgracefully, my judgment would be quite harsh indeed.

Read what I wrote about the role of lax discipline in the apparent decline of evangelical churches. I am not a violent or brutal person, but neither do I believe that indulgent condescension is an appropriate way to instill character in the young. In sharing some unsavory details of my own tragic adolescence, I should hope I made it clear that I understand the potentially disastrous consequences of wrong choices and bad companionship.

It is not kindness to a wayward child to shelter and protect them when they are doing the wrong thing. While the full circumstances of the situation are of course not known to us, doesn't it seem that Bristol is going out of her way to bring shame and disgrace to her parents? And what about Levi Johnston, the hockey stud? Am I the only one who thinks that his role in all this has been of a selfish, shallow cad?

I would call to your attention the difference between Michael Reagan, older son that Ronald Reagan adopted with his first wife, Jane Wyman, and Ron Jr., the natural son of Reagan's second marriage to Nancy. If you talk to people who knew the family, the cause of the difference between the two sons is obvious.

As a boy, Michael felt somewhat "second best," and had a deep hunger to win his father's admiration and acceptance. Michael went through some wild years, but in his maturity, he was a respectful, dutiful son. By contrast -- and Reagan admitted this privately to friends -- Ron Jr. was treated with too much favoritism as a child, and thus grew up arrogant and disrespectful.

A child's misconduct always reflects poorly on the family. I'm sure that Bristol is breaking her parents' hearts by her shoddy behavior. But I'm thinking back to some TV interview Bristol did, and if she demonstrated an attitude of humility and remorse, it didn't stick in my mind.

Why would anyone think it was helpful -- to her, to her parents, to the GOP or to the conservative cause -- for conservatives to pretend that everything with Bristol is just hunky-dory? If my kid was acting like that, would a true friend ignore it?

And since Videmus Omnia brings up the subject of Crazy Cousin John, how do you think his daughter Meghan got such an impudent attitude? Way back years ago, when I was a single fellow, there was a type of girl I labeled "Daddy's Little Darling."

Maybe some of y'all know the type -- snooty, stuck-up, cliqueish, insufferable demanding, with a high-handed and disdainful way of dealing with people beneath her status, having a self-important attitude.

Once, after I'd been covering sports in Calhoun, Ga., a few years, I was at the season-opening high school football game. Before the game, I was talking to a group of non-football athletes -- baseball, basketball, wrestling -- who were hanging out by the end zone. This girl comes walking up, apparently attracted magnetically to a cluster of high-status students.

So she managed to find an opportunity to introduce herself, "I'm Heather So-and-So." Yes, OK, fine nice to meet you, but there wasn't any recognition on my part, because the only kids I knew were the ones who played sports. Seeing that I wasn't impressed, the girl then repeated her name, "Heather So-and-So. My dad is Jim So-and-So, he owns So-and-So Carpet Outlet."

If that wasn't the tackiest thing I'd ever heard! But that's the "Daddy's Little Darling" attitude, and it's always a source of misery. Whether that has anything to do with the original subject from which I have sadly digressed, you be the judge.

30 comments:

  1. Stacy,
    I'm not about to disagree with you here. The whole situation stinks. Levi and Bristol made a bunch of bad choices, some private but far too many in the public eye. At this point they both deserve to get on with their lives and hopefully not make too much hash out of their child's life. So far those odds are long.

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  2. I wonder why Radar is using a picture of Willow and Trig to illustrate a story on Bristol. Great reporting!

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  3. Mark my words, Stacy: someday we're going to have a half-Trash American in the White House.

    Oh, wait! How futuristic!

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  4. As they say, the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

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  5. Quoting "The Star" as a source on your blog just lowered my estimation of this blog by a huge factor ... and yes, your quoted source accompanies their salacious story with a photo of the wrong sister and the wrong baby!

    No thanks for doing your part to spread this trash around the 'net.

    Have you never heard the advice to "not believe everything you read?" Sigh.

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  6. No thanks for doing your part to spread this trash around the 'net.
    Have you never heard the advice to "not believe everything you read?"


    If it is revealed that the tabloids got it wrong -- that the couple are still happily in love, planning their wedding, getting along splendidly -- then OK, it's wrong. The fact that it is sourced to Levi's own sister leads me to believe it is true that they are on the outs. The details as Levi's sister relates them are just what she said, and if Levi or Bristol contradict that version, the story moves forward.

    Try to imagine if Chelsea Clinton had acted this way. If liberals had remained silent -- "Oh, we must respect her privacy" -- we would have been mocking them to scorn for their transparent hypocrisy.

    If Republicans want to be the party of higher standards of personal responsibility, then we can't be looking the other way at this kind of shenanigans and mischief. Don't call a spade an entrenching implement.

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  7. Isn't it so brave of that anonymous poster to "swoop and poop!"

    I love how people will try to equate what a child does to the parent. Some parents teach their children everything there is to know and are decent and caring individuals, but like it or not, children don't always listen and some have more issues than others. Is that a reflection on the parent? I hope not because lord knows nobody is perfect.

    Being a rebelious child, myself, I can attest to this fact. My parents did the best they could w/ what they had - but as a grown-up I make my own decisions, right, wrong or indifferent.

    It appears that "anonymous" must really be Pro-"nanny-state" if he/she thinks that the parents should control or have influence over their child for the rest of their lives.

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  8. hey, now you're a "Star" blogger...

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  9. Personally, I could care less about Bristol Palin.

    But I would like to point out this quote by Whittaker Chambers:

    "The right tend to leave their wounded on the battlefield"

    It seems that the liberal types will have a field day with this ... so why are we helping that along?

    We know that nobody cares about Bristol ... but she will be used against Governor Palin

    so, why are we leaving her "on the battlefield wounded?"

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  10. Those of us from the more refined pile prefer "bleached rubbish". ;)

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  11. Quoting "The Star" (gossip) as a source is a very bad habit.

    1; is is a family affair.

    2; the only information we have is from "The Star" ; not quite a reliable source. (so, we don't know what Bristol said)

    3; who cares!!!

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  12. Robert, you just wrote about your own youthful indiscretions 12 hours ago!

    http://rsmccain.blogspot.com/2009/03/insightful-political-commentary-etc.html

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  13. All that's new here is that a teenage girl appears to have fallen out with her boyfriend, which scarcely qualifies as "shenanigans and mischief". Their situation as unmarried parents is known, and it isn't the first time that Levi's sister has made the "white trash" accusation. Meat and drink for an Alaskan "progressive" (maybe a whole week's incitement and conspiracy building) but not for The Other McCain please.

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  14. well, I defended Bristol once on this blog, but now I regret it. She came off badly on the Greta interview, to the point where I questioned her parenting.. not good.

    Yes, Whitaker Chambers was right with that quote. But, we can't just latch on to someone just because they were our "Obi Wan Kenobi Last Hope" during "That Other McCain's" campaign.

    I am a Sarah Palin supporter. But this stuff is making me a little woozy in that support. We'll see if it is true.

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  15. RS, this is why I keep coming back.
    It's refreshing to see a Con call it like it is instead
    of drinking the koolaid like they do over at Cons4Palin.
    And you are right that as of this moment the greatest obstacle for Republicans is credibility, and it doesn't help when the idolaters begin to circle the wagon when they know this stinks.
    As for me, I revel in the news. Reminds me of when the news first came out about Bristol And Levi and how right-wingers talked about Levi like he was some Hollywood hearththrob.
    Oh Sarah, maybe Todd needs to cut down on the dog-sledding and focus on family matters....

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  16. So much for the biblical quotes about now throwing the first stone. The issue of Bristol Palin is one that should be dealt with by her parents and clergy, not by sanctimonious preaching from Robert S. McCain.

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  17. Using the Star as a primary source. Great journalism! Using the Star as primary source to trash an 18 year old girl is contemptible. Using the Star as a primary source to enable Libs to trash Gov Palin and her family is for me a firable offense. Goodbye.

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  18. People's website is confirming the break-up, but NOT the crap that Levi's sister apparently peddled to the Star. According to people who know the families, the break-up happened a couple of weeks ago and was a "mutual decision." Both kids and the families are working together to do the best for the baby. Same thing happened in my family. My guess is the kids just couldn't keep the relationship together in a pressure cooker. And, even if they did have a fight when the break-up happened, so what? People fight, especially at break-ups.

    Mr. McCain you should really cut the girl some slack. Even if she makes mistakes, she's trying a hell of a lot harder than many others in her position, both to be a good mother and a good citizen.

    Another thing, lay off the family. Very few Stepford families exist in politics, apart from the Romneys. The Palins are just like my family, and recognizing us in them makes the bonds stronger, not weaker. Those of you, like Rob Howard, who say Bristol Palin's life and choices makes you queasy about supporting Sarah Palin should ask why you supported the Reagans, or the Bushs or, God forbid, the Kennedys.

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  19. We were all witness to the savagery of the MSM in their treatment of Sarah previously. I can only cringe when I think of what they will do if she runs in 2012. We can be sure that this kind of stuff will be dredged up and made exhibit A over any substance or her record.

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  20. @Mich,
    To which I hope the Palins reply: "Bring it on, buddy".
    The alternative is dhimmitude.

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  21. "Another thing, lay off the family. Very few Stepford families exist in politics, apart from the Romneys."

    Don't forget that Sarah's oldest son has his boots on the ground in Iraq, while Romney's sons thought working on his campaign was service enough to their country.

    Everybody focuses on Bristol Palin, but let's not forget that Track Palin also reflects on his parents.

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  22. Let's face it. Mom neglected the home front. The Palin boy was ordered into the military by a judge because of his drug involvement. The girl made this series of bad decisions. No wonder Governor Palin charged the state a per diem and tried to stay home as much as possible. Hope the littlest one gets the extra attention to his development that special needs kids must have. The Governor's ambition was put before the dignity and privacy of her kids. Being considered for a national level office must have been a thrill, but she was in way over her head! We only have to hear about her family and listen to the Couric interviews to know that.

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  23. The comments from the Star allegedly made by Levi's younger sister appeared on her (supposed) My Space page a month or so ago, so I take them (and her) with a grain of salt. I can imagine the relationship between the families became very strained after Mrs. Johnston's arrest on felony charges, and then young Levi found his employment questioned by political enemies of his future mother-in-law. It all was probably too much to deal with; clearly the couple was serious at some point as Levi had Bristol's name tatooed on his ring finger.

    The most heartening part of the People article (and I do not consider the Star credible at all) is the suggestion that Bristol plans to attend college and pursue nursing. Good news for her and her son! My former law partner, now a Court of Appeals judge, had a child at age 17; she was devastated when the father "dumped her" shortly after the birth. But she had a strong family and eventually succeeded in making a wonderful life for her and her child. Her daughter is now a successful attorney in her own right. Here's hoping Bristol makes her dreams come true.

    Oh, and my former law partner? She attended an all girl's parochial high school where she was on the high honor roll, and her parents were so strict they insisted on entertaining all her boyfriends at their home before she was allowed to go out with them, and she had to be in by 9:30 when she went out. She still got pregnant.

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  24. I agree with you, Stacy:

    http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/03/my-advice-to-bristol-palin-levi.html

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  25. Using the Star as a primary source. Great journalism!

    Bristol made a mistake. Lots of kids do. She has taken responsibility and is doing the best she can for herself and her child.

    The Palin's are a strong and loving family.

    In short, leave the kid the hell alone.

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  26. Steve Altman wrote:
    Using the Star as a primary source. Great journalism!

    Razor wrote:
    Using the Star as a primary source. Great journalism!

    Well it's good to see that Team Palin has their talking points straight.

    Listen, I'm a fan of Palin's, but it's hard to argue that Bristol has made a lot of good decisions recently. I don't like blaming solely the parents for the sins of their children, but let's not whitewash this situation either.

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  27. Bristol Palin should never again be entrusted with an elected office.

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  28. Anonymous said...
    The Palin boy was ordered into the military by a judge because of his drug involvement.


    What astonishing ignorance. It's illegal for judges to do that, for one thing, and the military doesn't want criminals, for another.

    Besides which, your drug allegations are absolutely false and slander an honorable American soldier. I can't believe that post was left here.

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  29. @Videmus Omnia
    Censorship bites.
    Barring outright spam or incoherent potty mouth, even wrongheaded thoughts are tolerated.

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  30. "...clearly the couple was serious at some point as Levi had Bristol's name tatooed on his ring finger."

    LOL. That reminded me of a passage in Theodore Dalrymple's Life at The Bottom where he is describing the chavs he is dealing with as a British prison doctor. The typical convict, according to Dalrymple, had a child with a former girlfriend and "tattooed her name on his arm as a prelude to abandoning her permanently".

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