As liberal bloggers continue bashing Sarah Palin and her young daughter Bristol for actually living out their pro-life values in real life, many are questioning the result of the media free-for-all. Where is the restraint exercised when it came to Chelsea Clinton? Last year's DUI for Al Gore's son? Apparently such restraint does not apply to Bristol, a young mother doing what is best for her unborn child with the support of her parents.
Comments insulting Sarah's ability to lead and serve as a good mother are appalling. The double standard could not be more glaring. It's obvious that if Sarah were a man, these accusations wouldn't be flying about unchallenged.
In a Washington Post story detailing the deliberate rumor-spreading happening on the extreme liberal DailyKos blog site, its founder Markos Moulitas had this to say:
"I feel a little weird about the questions being asked," he says. "But
I also feel a little weird about saying, 'Shut up, people.' It takes a
lot for me to step in and squash what's on Daily Kos."
I'm as big a fan of free speech as anyone, even allowing the speech of those I disagree with, no matter how disconcerting it may be. But just because bloggers on DailyKos have the right to free speech, it doesn't mean their wild accusations deserve to remain unchallenged. No one asked Markos to censor his site -- but even after admitting his apprehension about the comments, he did little to respond to the matter.
The Post highlights his hands-off approach to questionable content:
"Our people are doing the vetting. Even if some of it is hitting dead
ends, other ones are striking direct hits," Moulitsas says. His role,
he adds, "is to sit back and let the citizen journalists do their job,
and I amplify the stuff that shakes out."
Unfortunately smear and unfounded rumors are perpetuated and amplified as Kos' "citizen journalists do their job." And I for one am horrified.
Update: Several GOP women leaders have stepped up in Palin's defense.
