Reading Rebecca Traister’s article about the soon-to-be infamous Bristol Palin interview, I couldn’t help but think the whole thing might be further evidence that Sarah Palin in the wave of the future for the Republicans, and thank the Disco Ball for it. The injection of the person of the pregnant Bristol Palin in the ongoing debates over sex and whether or not women are fully human was a divisive thing—-it separated the wingnut base from the rest of us who don’t have the energy or desire to obsess over forced pregnancy as the ideal way to get women in line. Bristol, to put it plainly, is red meat thrown to the base, and in such an obvious way that it served to horrify the rest of the nation. Abstinence-only had been sold to the country as a teenage pregnancy prevention program, but the right wing reaction to Bristol made it clear that it was a teenage pregnancy inducement program, and Bristol was the poster child for its intended effects. And what are those?
But Van Susteren was determined, in this mother-and-child-worshiping world, not to lose sight of how blessed and happy Tripp’s very existence is. “I realize what joy a child brings to a family,” Van Susteren continued delicately, “but was there any sort of sense that maybe this would happen a year or two from now?”
Okay, I have to take a break to point out that Van Susteren is feeding a right wing delusion that the rest of the country finds repugnant—-okay, don’t when you’re 17, but full speed ahead when you’re 19? She isn’t even trying to hide that this is all about making sure young women are mothers before they have time to be themselves, much less get things like college educations and careers and partners they met when they were fully formed adults, instead of partners they will eventually grow apart from.