I know most of you think Palin's kids ought to be off limits ... but I gotta say this .....

[Stinky The Clown]

She keeps bring that poor little baby on stage with her like some cheap fucking prop. She doesn't actually *do* anything with him. She just carries him out like a lump.

Then the kid gets handed off and you never see him again.

That kid is a human.

A person.

An innocent.

Why is she dragging him out there like she does? We all know she has a propensity to have kids and that she has five. We get that. She's a Hockey Mom ..... or whatever. So are millions upon millions upon millions of others.

Why is the kid on stage if not for use as .... well .... a cheap shot ..... a prop. Is she nursing him? Is that why the need to keep him so close?

And why is the kid never animated?

I really think this is a bit sick.

[Booster]

1. I saw that today and thought it was pathetic. Cold damn woman.

[Nia Zuri]

2. She is a user...uses the troops, Piper to avoid boos, "working Americans", etc.

She is a narcissist and sees nothing wrong with using others for her own ends

[John Q. Citizen]

8. That sounds likely, unfortunately.

[spindrifter]

3. Maybe it's her idea of spending quality time with him.

It is pathetic. She also uses the youngest girl as a human shield. ("No one could boo Piper," she apparently said at the hockey puck throw down.)

[BrklynLiberal]

4. I think you are absolutely right...

[Rage for Order]

5. Feel free to lay into Palin's infant son if you think it'll be helpful in getting Obama elected

I can see reasons for legitimate criticism of Palin for using the child in such a manner, but I don't see how her bringing her infant son onstage somehow makes the child no longer "off limits".

[Stinky The Clown]

7. I'm not sure I understand what you just said.

In fact, I am sure.

I do not understand what you just said.

[Rage for Order]

10. I'm not sure I understand either, now that I re-read it lol

I'll try to clarify: Your OP mentioned that most of DU thinks Palin's kids should be off limits, but then you go on to say that she keeps bringing her infant son onstage as some sort of prop. I was trying to say that even though she does this, her infant son is still off limits. Rag her all you want for using him in that manner, but there is no instance in which any attack or commentary on her infant son is justified, except for in the context of criticizing Palin for using him as a prop.

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Okay ... then we agree. I am saying nothing about her son. I **am** commenting on her **using** him.

[rebel with a cause]

15. I think you may be being sarcastic

but just in case I will give you my interpretation. She is saying that attacking the children is off limits. You saying that palin is a bad mother who uses her children for attention is not attacking the child, so it is not off limit. That is my take on it.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. And you would be right ..... and I wasn't being sarcastic.

[rebel with a cause]

29. I never know anymore if someone is really puzzled by something

or being a little sarcastic about a reply. So not to take a chance on it, I try to put it in there as an option. Chicken I am sometimes. ;)

[searchingforlight]

11. I agree that kids should be off-limits

but I think the poster has a good point. There have been many studies of the effects of noise on the hearing of infants and I have to think it is bad for their psyches also. It is one thing to harden a child to normal household sounds and quite another to expose them to a political rally. I believe that is irresponsible.

[Rage for Order]

13. Absolutely

Palin is irresponsible, but the poor child has no choice in the matter.

[uppityperson]

14. Did you read the message in OP or just subject line?

OP was mostly criticizing Palin's behavior, for using her child in that way. I agree that that is ok, and asking questions, being concerned about the kid is also ok.

[TahitiNut]

16. She's using the kid like a "human shield."

In my view, it's child abuse. :shrug:

Parents and guardians are the custodians (literally the guardians) of the human rights of the children in their care. It's HER duty to protect their right to privacy ... a right that SHE claims doesn't exist! (Like most GOPhers, she regards it as an entitlement ... granted to those who can afford it or receive it though power.)

She brings her kids on-stage as political PROPS ... a means to an end rather than an end in themselves. That's the basest violation of human dignity and ethics. The whole 'game' is about exploiting the kids and the engaging in blame-shifting ... BLAMING anyone that then reacts to HER exploitation as though THEY are to blame.

It's the basic theme of the reich-wing playbook: blame-shifting.

Fuck her.


Insofar as Bristol and Levi are concerned, their impending parenthood and marriage give them majority status ... as emancipated minors even if under 18. They're then adults, in effect, and are responsible for their OWN behavior. Welcome to the real world, Bristol and Levi ... it's not Disneyland.

[Stinky The Clown]

"In my view, it's child abuse."

Actually, I agree with that. I was going to say it in the OP but edited it out at the last minute as too hyperbolic ...... but on seeing it as you wrote it .... it isn't too hyperbolic.

Child abuse.

There. I said it.

[notaboutus]

28. You are more right than you know

My son was born with a lung defect and while in neonatal ICU he lost 20% of his hearing. The doctors said it was due to being an infant and the noise of the machines in ICU. That poor baby is subjected to the rally noise level on a daily basis and it could not be good for his hearing.

[LynnTheDem]

6. But she's great with machine-gunning and/or bombing special-needs kids

in Iraq.

[bigtree]

9. I've never seen anyone carry a baby quite like that

It's like she's carrying a sack of potatoes. No interaction at all except as a pose now and then.

[TahitiNut]

20. More like she's carrying a muddy dog ... and doesn't want to soil herself.

It's bizarre ... and sick.

[bigtree]

24. that's it!

[ColbertWatcher]

34. Doesn't she already have a kid named "Muddy Dog"? n/t

[TahitiNut]

36. I think that's her pet name for Todd.

:evilgrin:

[SammyWinstonJack]

39. ...

:spray:

[shadowknows69]

12. Palin's exploitation of her kids isn't off limits

In fact if I were a woman and mother I think it would absolutely enrage me.

[Stinky The Clown]

19. I'm a father. It enrages me.

[arcadian]

18. FREE Trig!!!

And Bristol needs to learn how to hold a baby.

[searchingforlight]

21. I think it is odd that all of these "Focus on the Family" people think it is wonderful.

[SidneyCarton]

23. My Wife, feels the same way you do.

Her treatment of her children is what totally turned her off to Palin (She's an Independent).

[Disturbed]

26. Gov. Palin uses her children as she does everyone else.

She exploits them for her ambition. She is a despicable person.

Here are some of her views:


Outlawing Abortion, even in cases of Rape &/or Incest.

Against any form of Birth Control.

Abstinence Only Programs in Public Schools.

Creation Education in Public Schools.

For overturning Rove v Wade

Extending US Occupation Iraq Indefinatly.

Believes that Homosexuals can be cured through prayer.

Against Civil Unions.

[Warpy]

25. The baby has Down's so he's like a rag doll

In fact, that's what alerts hospitals to do testing on newborns for Down's, if they don't wriggle and kick. They're flaccid.

But yes, he is a prop baby, exposed to whatever those huge crowds are bringing to him in terms of stuff his body isn't geared up to fight off.

And just why is he used as a prop until late at night? Why isn't he asleep in his crib?

[dkofos]

27. She could crowd surf the little bugger and the base would swoon.

I wouldn't want her for a mother.

[rvablue]

30. This is a despicable image, but it made me laugh b/c you are probably right! n/t

[lunatica]

31. Narcissists believe everything is about them

Their children are not individuals who have separate personalities. They are always a reflection of the narcissist parent. For example, a narcissist demands that their kids be 'the best', 'the prettiest', 'the brightest', etc., but not for themselves. It's supposed to always be reflective of the parent. It's not that uncommon. Their children are also considered property, and are expected to be little carbon copies of the parents.

There is no other reason to drag that child on stage after every rally or after the debate EXCEPT to enhance her image. Period. There is much more reason to protect the child from that environment and most parents, or at least the ones who aren't narcissists, would keep their infants far away from the screaming crowds, popping lightbulbs, insanely loud music and the general stomping that rattles the rafters. And especially away from speeches which are screamed so everyone can hear them. Sarah Palin doesn't seem to talk in a normal tone of voice much.

All the children should be kept away from that except for very special moments, such as winning the Democratic or Republican nominations because those are important FAMILY moments too.

I suspect everything in Palin's life is always about her. Everything

[ColbertWatcher]

35. Isn't there a way to have that poor child taken away from her? n/t

[TahitiNut]

37. Yup. The narcissist parent says "What'll people think of ME if you ....?"

Thus, the child of a narcissist bears the crushing burden of being responsible for the impossible-to-determine: what OTHERS 'think' (but rarely say). The child of a narcissist becomes an enabler, merely to survive. It takes long effort and lots of learning to overcome such upbringing.

[Are_grits_groceries]

32. I think the younger kids should each have a "guardian ad litem."

Somebody should sue on the grounds of neglect or endangerment. Why aren't they in school? Why is that baby toted around like a sack of grits in huge crowds? It could be a Cabbage Patch child for all anybody knows. I don't ever remember seeing a candidate's kids so much. The First Dude ought to have them home in Alaska where they can have a slightly normal upbringing. I will have to have a brain wipe after the election to get rid of the TMI about those youngins I've learned.

[grasswire]

33. I doubt she nursed him.

It would be nearly impossible with her schedule, to say nothing of her apparent maternal instincts.

[Bluebear]

38. It's a tragedy that they named him Trig. "Prop" would have fit the bill. nt

[lunatica]

40. When you're a politician your life is in danger when you campaign

The fact that all Presidential candidates get secret service to protect them has grown out of historical assassinations. It's not a game. When she insists on holding that baby at the time that the crowds are going wild, right after she's whipped them up into a hateful frenzy is when he stops being a prop and starts being a target. I don't think anyone can refute this statement with a good argument to the contrary. No matter how vetted the crowd, crazy people get past the guards all the time, and it's insane to believe that this hasn't occurred to them.

[riley3]

41. First thing came to mind was human shield, and shame on her.

[MiniMe]

42. I haven't seen Trig cry, or move for that matter

I don't know much about Downs babies, but it doesn't seem normal, even for a downs child.

[Mad_Dem_X]

43. I believe she is using him...it's disgusting

She hauls the poor baby out when it suits her.

[JI7]

44. she kicked out Bristol when she found out she was pregnant

and hid it like it was something to be ashamed of. it had nothing to do with Bristol's privacy since if that was the case she wouldn't have ran for VP and exposed her daughter as she did.

and now she is using her daughter's pregnancy for political reasons. how they brought LEvi out here and the crap about valuing life and other shit.

she disgusts me as do her supporters.

and really, can anyone say they would react the same if it was Obama who had a pregnant teen daughter ?

[IndianaJohn]

45. The way she uses her children is pathetic...

I would think that a baby that age without a disability would express discomfort from the noise of a rally by crying. Perhaps Trig isn't capable of expressing such discomfort. She has been promoted as being able to understand children with disabilities. If so, why does she put him through all that? Just sickening!