Thursday, March 17, 2011

David Shedlock Strikes Again

Every so often I check Race42012 and ever so often I have to just laugh out loud. It usually comes with another David Shedlock piece. This time he is arguing that Palin should have stayed home with the kids. What is fascinating is that Shedlock thinks it is perfectly fine for a man to devote his time as a politician. A woman? No, mam. Get back in the kitchen.

I have tried to email Kavon about Shedlock but he doesn't reply. As long as Shedlock keeps posting this crap, I see no need to waste my time over there. As you all know, I am no Palin fan, but it has nothing to do with the fact that she is a woman and a mother. In fact, those are some of her redeeming qualities.

Oh, and even funnier is Shedlock's title for his post: "This is no way to win a nomination and influence voters." Yes, sexism, the key to influencing voters! Excellent strategy!

28 comments:

ellie said...

Pablo. This is one time I agree with Shedlock. As a wife, a mom and a mother of special needs kids and teenagers, I know first hand the importance of being in the home. Several studies prove that while a stay home dad might be OK, the ideal is a stay home mom, where possible. A mom who is home when the children are home (even teens) has children less prone to teen pregnancy's, drug abuse, alcohol consumption, better grades, etc. It is possible to have kids that avoid these pit falls, when mom works. But it is more avoidable with MOM home.

Granny T said...

I agree with Ellie on this one. Maybe this is one of the reasons Palin doesn't poll as well among women as people would think she should. We know where a mother's priorities ought to be.

Anonymous said...

I rarely agree with Ellie on ANYTHING Palin, but I will confess that this has been a problem for me from when she was announced as McCain's pick for VP. It has not and will not stop me voting for her ultimately, but it is a problem for me, and I am not at all inclined to support her in the primaries.

As soon as McCain--whom I despise--chose her, I found out she has five children ranging in ages close to my children, but her youngest, Trig, is much younger than mine. I told my sisters-in-law that I had a problem with how young her children are and expressed the concern that they really need their mom right now, but that I was still planning on voting for her. I was excoriated for having this opinion. Soon after that, Bristol turned up pregnant, which, admittedly, could happen to anyone, but is more likely to happen when parents are a little too busy to notice what's happening at home.

NOW, many women HAVE to work, and I have many friends who do. However, they do not have to run for Governor or Vice President or President. Sorry, I don't necessarily advocate for her staying at home, per se, because I understand the Palins are not a rich family; however, I believe that Mom is a little too distracted when the little ones need her so desperately! Also, throwing little ones into the limelight so young is so difficult. I feel sorry for the Obama's children, although I think the press has been far kinder to the Obamas than they have been to the Palins.

Bring on the hate mail now!

AZ

Right Wingnut said...

Pablo, I agree the Shedlock's post is stupid, and so are many of the comments (from the usual suspects) after the article.

Anonymous said...

It looks like you have three "veterans" of raising children who disagree with you, Pablo. I hope you will pay some attention to the vets. We DO know something about raising kids. It's a lot of hard, thankless work. I just got my Social Security mail; I'm pretty worthless monetarily. I have spent 20 years now taking care of children, giving up a career and an entire income, with no tax write-offs. I hope that my opinions about raising kids are at least worth something!

AZ

Ellie said...

AZ and Granny. We don't agree on much, now do we? but this one, we do stand on. I appreciate your comments.

This is for us 'sisters' who get it.

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait,
For babies grow quickly, it’s just fate.
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby cause babies don’t keep."

It's not thankless. But it is a lot of hard work and dedication. It is the hardest, but most rewarding 'job' I have ever had. I am positive you two feel the same way.

Anonymous said...

I resent that, RW, I try to be very, very fair to Palin. Still, this is the issue that has been at the forefront of my mind since she was announced as VP pick, "What about the children?"

For you to lump me in with Ellie, who attacks Palin constantly is an injustice. This is a real, though often unspoken issue, and I have found that more women share concerns about Palin and her children than just me. Many people are afraid to bring it up because it seems so "gauche" or "sexist" in a society that has moved beyond such things as asking, "Who will care for the children?" I am here to tell you that I care for the children--my own and other people's children--and candidates who take this responsibility lightly do not attract me. Actually, people who take their responsibility to their children lightly do not attract me. Period!!

AZ

Ellie said...

AZ and Granny. While we don't agree on much, I appreciate your comments.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait,
For babies grow quickly, it’s just fate.
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby cause babies don’t keep.

We agree on this, but tommorrow, we'll disagree on other things! But thanks for the back up. I am in good company.

Closer To Home said...

I posted this as what would have been comment 21, but it is still awaiting moderation. A little off point on the "mothers at home" point. More to the "David Shedlock takes gratuitous poke at Romney" point.

David,

As you wrote this post, any reference to Romney and Mormonism was gratuitous on every level. They had nothing to do with your other comments, not that there couldn’t have been a very serious connection made had you been more informed and more honest.

In 1995, the president of the Mormon church, and cosigned by the entirety of its senior leadership published what is know to Mormons as “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”

I quote here the 6th through the 9th paragraphs in their entirety. (http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,FF.html)

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”

“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.”

“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”

“We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”

From this single document, you might have drawn conclusions about similarities between Mormon and conservative Evangelical belief about the place of families in a modern and increasingly confused world. You might have remarked at how seemingly consistent Romney’s biography is with these standards, deemed archaic by the secular world. You might have called on all like-minded people to lay aside their grudges so that they might unite in support this kind of statement, something that was the topic of discussion for the CEOs of 40 evangelical denominations and senior Mormon leaders last week in Salt Lake City. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelicals-mormon-search-for-common-ground-in-utah-49351/)

Or you could write it the way you did.

Noelle said...

I have always believed that a mother's greatest work is done within the four walls of the home. There are many women (mothers) who have made great contributions to the world in the public sector as well as in business, and I would not want to presume to judge if they did the right thing by their families or not. But I think that the greatest work of all is the one that is generally the least appreciated by the world, and that is raising children.

Sarah Palin's family has been the unfair target of the media and the left (and some on the right), and that is wrong. There is no justification for it. But it has happened, and there it is. I would not want my life as teenager to be put before the public. The Palin children have doubtless done some stupid things (as I did as a kid, and occasionally still do), and I am sorry for them that every foolish statement, every thoughtless action, every mistake, is put up for public ridicule. It is wrong, but it is happening. I truly believe that it would be best for the Palin family to step out of the public eye. Those children deserve a break from scrutiny.

Pablo said...

When Bill Cosby commented that you can walk through the streets of Philadelphia for hours and not find a father with his original family, conservatives clapped their hands raw. I am perfectly fine if you guys want to argue that a woman should stay home with her kids instead of engaging in politics. But what about the men? You can't tell me that being the governor of a large state allows for a lot of family time? What about Paul Ryan? Congressmen must spend half of their week or more in Washington away from their families? Is that ok?

That's why this is sexism. There is nothing Biblical about a father spending his life focused on his political career and not focused on his family. You can't have it two ways.

Noelle said...

In a perfect world, the father provides for the temporal needs of his family (ie, he makes the money). Adam, not Eve, was instructed to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. The mother nurtures, cares for and trains her children.

Each parent, while they have a primary role to fill, must support the other. For example, the mother, if she is complaining that her husband does not make enough money, or if she spends money unwisely, is not supporting her husband in his role. If she makes little or no effort to teach her children, she is not fulfilling her role. Likewise the father, if he resents his wife for not making any money, or holds money over her head, or does not contribute to raising and teaching the children is not supporting the mother in her role.

This is not a perfect world. Many mothers find it necessary to work. That is why I said in my previous post that I cannot judge whether or not they made the right decision.

Fathers who put their business over the welfare of their families are not fulfilling their role. Their success in fulfilling their role is NOT judge based on how much money they made, or how much time they spent away from home. It is certainly a delicate balance, and there are probably men in government who do not fulfill their role as fathers and husbands as well as they should. But I believe that there are men in government who do balance their job and their role as a father well.

It is not sexism.

Anonymous said...

Pablo, a few years ago I quit law school because it was looking very likely that my chosen field, patent law, would not allow me to be at home for any more time than to sleep. I didn't want to miss my kids growing up. The time I spent in school alone was hell because I was missing significant time with my one year old daughter.

I work from home now, as does my wife. We don't make a ton of money, but we have a great deal of time for our kids.

I am not ok with any parent, father or mother, engaging in a political career, when they have young kids at home. It is not ok. It is particularly bad for a mother of a special needs kid. I don't know that I would be supportive of Paul Ryan either.

Shedlock is a real piece of ... for sure. What was really funny about that article was him working in his anti Mormon dig.

Anonymous said...

As the mother of a special child, I have been critical of Palin for not putting Trig first. These kids come with issues-medical and otherwise-that normal children don't have. I was sure she would turn down VP because of Trig, and when she didn't, I couldn't help but wonder how she came to that decision. It's none of my business, and I realize it would be incredibly hard to turn down such an opportunity, but there Trig was only a few months old, and needing a committed mother AND father.

Since the election, Palin has been a very busy lady. Sometimes I wonder who is taking care of Trig? It sure doesn't look like she is focused on his special needs. I remember reading that he was to have a minor surgery right around the 2010 elections. (Is any surgery for a 2 year-old minor? Not in my world.) But Palin didn't seem to slow down at all. If I remember correctly, she had an appearance the day after. In the TV show, it also didn't seem like Trig was the focus of her life. I know she loves him, who wouldn't? But he seems to get the back burner.

Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am. There are plenty of people in that family to give him all sorts of love, and it's clear that they do. But Palin is not front and center for him. I don't think anyone could credibly argue that she is, knowing her schedule.

Now, what is has to do with her political credibility, I cannot say, but I can't separate what I know about her personal decisions from my overall opinion of her.

I believe stay at home dads are great. I know many, and the families make it work. In this world, we all have to do whatever it takes to get by. It's not easy.

I'm glad the Palin have now made enough money to comfortably support their family. I just question the priorities if Palin decides to run, or to remain indefinitely in the spotlight while Trig is so small.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

I'm not a perfect mom--far from it. (My children are not perfect, either, even though they're pretty great to me.) But since my daughter was born, I don't want to be anywhere else. I worry about her when I have to go somewhere--even for a few hours. I don't want to leave her--ever. I am happiest when I am with her, helping her and just having fun together.

That's just me. I can't help but think that Palin is missing out.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

Again, I have voted for Palin and will again, if I need to. However, I will not knowingly be the means of enticing people away from their children who need them so much. Hence, my lack of support for Palin in the primaries. I have to admit that I have other, political, reasons not to support her, as well.

I was not happy that Obama was running with such young children. I, of course, absolutely disagreed with his policies, but his poor children were another reason I could not be enthusiastic about his being President.

AZ

OhioJOE said...

Listening to Angela the other day was both entertaining and sad. She reminded me of a few people around here with PDS. Mr. Limbaugh was on to her quite well. The best part was that this supposed Danielsite accused Mr. Limbaugh of being to Pro-Romney (as well as being pro-Palin.) He took the opportunity to rip apart Mr. Daniels.

On the one hand I truly admire all of you who have chosen to spend time with your children, my wife and I have both scaled back our own involvement in both politics and our community in part so we could have more family time. However, the fact remains that we all have to support our family and serve our community in some fashion. That means that some people have a calling to politics. Yes, politics is a busy life and that takes away from family Life. Mr. Gingrich was not able to handle this, but others can.

While, in many cases, women (like my own wife) are called to stay own with the children, their are case where woman serve their family and community by working outside the home (like my own mother.)

On a sidenote, I am glad to live in a country where women can chose whether they work inside the home or outside our home. In much of the Middle East, women do not have the opportunies that American women have and in Europe, the economic structure essentially forces women to work outside the home.

Unfortunately, a close relative of mine is apparently in the Unites States from the Middle East and I feel obligated to at least go and see him. My wife wants nothing to do with it and said "it is a wonder he wants to see our daughter as well as our son." I thank GOD that I do not live in either the Middle East or Europe. In different ways, women lack freedom in both places.

Anonymous said...

OJ, great comment.

-Martha

OhioJOE said...

"I'm not a perfect mom--far from it" Martha, as humans, we are not perfect, for the record, I am far from perfect. What matters is that you do your best and from the sounds of it, you are doing your best at parenting. On a sidenote, while, my sister is not in the same catagory as Trig, she still has Special needs as an adult. As my mother's health is starting to be challenged, she worries about her.

Anonymous said...

OJ, yes, it is a big worry for me. I pray every day that the Lord will preserve my life, so that I can be with my daughter. Fortunately, my other 4 children are all committed to helping their sister in the future. I sure hope they all marry people who feel the same way. It is a big responsibility.

-Martha

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your comment, OJ, about the role of women in our society. I am also grateful that women have the option to work in our society, unlike many societies in the world, Japan included. Unless things have changed drastically, women in Japan could never make more than their male bosses. Many women there are destined to live dependent on their families for assistance, or to work at substandard jobs merely because they are not men. Thank you, thank you for reminding us of these issues.

I have tried to be very, very reasonable about Palin in all of my words. I cannot feel responsible for encouraging her, in her situation, to run for office, but it doesn't mean that I have no gratitude to her and other women in politics for pushing forward a pathway that other women may follow. I suppose this sounds like a paradox, but I have been grateful to have the opportunity to talk about my concerns for people's children who are in politics. Pablo, I hope you can see that on my side it isn't only about the women in politics, but the men, also.

AZ

OhioJOE said...

Thanks AZ. I also appresiate your fair comments.

Rob said...

I am in awe of mothers. My wife has made the decision to stay home with our children. It's not any easy choice. She is well educated and could make a lot of money if she chose to. Instead, she has decided to fulfill her divine role as a mother.

I agree with OJ in that I am grateful to live in a country where people have the freedom to live their lives as they see fit.

When Palin ran for VP, I found myself abhorred by the liberals who were all of a sudden for a mother's traditional role for political expediency. Yet, I also found myself thinking, that little boy has special needs, and he will need a mother and father who can spend a lot of time with him. I'm not going to judge Sarah Palin, this is America and she can do what she wants. But I will say I admire my wife a lot more than I admire her.

BOSMAN said...

I think parenting and parental choices are a personal decision.

There are households where both parents work and the children have turned out fine. There are others, not so much. There are some families where the mother is home and doesn't work and the results are both good and bad.

I think only Sarah Palin and her husband know if she is making the right choices for her family. As a civil society, we should respect those choices as we would hope others honor and respect ours.

More than likely, if Palin decides to run or not, her families safety and well being will be a major part of that decision.

marK said...

One of my favorite sayings is the following:

"No man on his deathbed ever wished he spent more time on his business".

A child needs both a mother AND a father. To only have one is not an ideal situation.

"My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

...

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then"

(Harry Chapin)

I once knew a man quite well who had a wonderful family, a beautiful loving wife, and a darling daughter. He was also a hard worker.

He once reiterated to me his busy schedule for the last three months. I think he was home all of two days. I said to him, "George, (not his real name), I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful woman. Her name is Susan (not his wife's real name). You really should get to know her."

He absolutely started, and looked at me in a very confused manner. He didn't say another word.

His hard-driving ways were eventually rewarded by him becoming an executive vice-president of the Fortune 100 company we were both working for. He had great worldly success. Prestige, power, all the money he wanted. But he had no family. Susan divorced him and had sole custody of their daughter. He was too busy for even occasional visits.

From Mary Poppins:
"You've got to grind, grind, grind at that grindstone,
Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve.
And all too soon they've up and grown, and then they've flown,
And it's too late for you to give."

Anonymous said...

I'm embarrassed by half of these comments. To think that I belong to a party of neanderthals really embarrasses me sometimes.

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

Yea, JR. I feel the same way sometimes ;)

David J Shedlock said...

"A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind."

Except that you have tried to have me banned from Race42012 just like you did from RightOSphere. Pablo, so many folks agree with my post, but you don't want to hear a different opinion. Come back to R42012 and debate.
You are welcome there. Just quit trying to get everybody banned.

"To think that I belong to a party of neanderthals really embarrasses me sometimes"

You, Palin, and Rush can call us names all day long, we are a significant portion of the GOP base. Like I said in my original post, this is no way to win an election.

" Closer To Home"

As a moderator at R42012, I approved your comment, even though you missed my point.

David Shedlock