Bristol Palin posts diatribe against gay marriage, Obama and media
A controversial blog post attributed to Bristol Palin appeared on a “faith” website called Patheos.com in which she criticized President Barack Obama for his pro-gay marriage announcement.
The May 10 post was entitled “Hail to the Chiefs — Malia and Sasha Obama,” and in it, she let out her harsh feelings about the President, the press and gay families. Obama had told Robin Roberts of ABC News that:
“Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and, frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.”
Palin responded to the President’s words by claiming that her mother, Sarah Palin, and other Christian, Republican, female politicians are routinely criticized as being “submissive” to the opinions of their husbands. She then contrasted this misguided notion with Obama’s family dinner conversations. Most notably, Palin seemed to add that heterosexual couplings alone create the ideal family structure, and that there is no room for same-sex spouses due to religious traditions:
“So let me get this straight – it’s a problem if my mom listened too much to my dad, but it’s a heroic act if the President made a massive change in a policy position that could affect the entire nation after consulting with his teenage daughters?
“While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads. In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage. Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home. Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview.”
She even criticized the very gay-inclusive TV show Glee, a frequent target of derision by social conservatives:
“In this case, it would’ve been nice if the President would’ve been an actual leader and helped shape their thoughts instead of merely reflecting what many teenagers think after one too many episodes of Glee.”
A torrent of criticism and support were posted in the comments section of her blog and her Facebook page.
Bristol Palin’s own status as an unwed teen mother raised eyebrows because her mother, Sarah, was once a socially conservative politician who promoted abstinence-only education. Since giving birth, Bristol Palin has become something of a reality TV “star” and gone on paid speaking engagements in which she promoted abstinence, as well.
Last September, she was caught on camera confronting a gay man who had publicly called her mother several nasty names. Though Palin repeatedly referred to the man as “a homosexual,” it was not certain at that time what her personal beliefs were about gay people. Perhaps this outburst makes that all too clear.
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