Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is going “Full Quayle” on Natalie Portman. The young’uns might not get that reference, but for those of us who were kids when Bush Sr. was in office, we remember the Murphy Brown incident. Vice President Dan “Potatoe” Quayle gave some kind of major speech where he attacked the show Murphy Brown (starring Candace Bergen) as promoting single motherhood because the character had a baby out of wedlock and didn’t die of shame. Well, Huckabee is making me nostalgic for that controversy, because at the very least, Dan Quayle got the basics of the (fictional) situation correct. Mike Huckabee sounds like he doesn’t really know what’s going on in Natalie Portman’s life, or how annoyingly smug she is, or that she seems to be campaigning for America’s Princess. Here’s how Huckabee attacked Portman:
She won over the Academy, but Natalie Portman doesn’t have a fan in presidential prospect Mike Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor and Fox News Channel host attacked the best actress winner, 29, who’s currently expecting her first child with fiance Benjamin Millepied.
“People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, ‘We’re not married but we’re having these children and they’re doing just fine,” Huckabee told radio host Michael Medved on his show Monday. “I think it gives a distorted image. It’s unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of- wedlock children.”
Calling Portman’s pregnancy “troubling,” Huckabee went on to say that many single parents don’t have the resources to hire help, the way someone like the Black Swan star would.
“Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care,” he said. “And that’s the story that we’re not seeing.”
In her acceptance speech Sunday night, Portman thanked Millepied, saying he gave her “the most important role” in her life.
Medved quipped back that Millepied “didn’t give her the most wonderful gift, which would be a wedding ring!”
[From Us Weekly]
Ugh, there are so many things wrong with this. First of all, can you really criticize a woman for being an “unwed mother” when she’s engaged to be married? When her pregnancy announcement came packaged with an engagement announcement? That was Natalie’s intent, you see – she wanted to avoid the “unwed mother” criticism by showing us that she did indeed have a man and a ring to go with her baby.
Second of all: What does Huckabee suggest all of those pregnant women do when they (or their prospective baby-daddies) don’t want to get married? HAVE AN ABORTION?!?
Third: Huckabee seriously picked the wrong target in general. There are plenty of single, unwed mothers who wear their independence proudly, and would be much, much easier targets for this kind of cheap, headline-grabbing, anti-woman diatribe. Natalie’s message over the past two months has been everything that Huckabee’s evangelical base could support – she’s gushed about motherhood being “the most important thing” in the whole world, and her basic implication is that she feels so honored and privileged to be conceiving the conception with such an amazing Ballet K-Fed. Her whole deal is: Motherhood, Fiancée = The Best. Career & Independence = Not Important.
Fourth: There are just as many screwed up kids that come from two-parent homes as those who come from single-parent homes. And where is the outrage for the baby-daddies again?
Ugh, I can’t believe I’m defending Natalie like this.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’d take these family values conservatives a lot more seriously if they weren’t constantly being caught with their mistresses and rentboys. It’s easy to score cheap shots off of women; it’s not quite as easy to practice what you preach.
F**k you Mike Huckabee – it’s not 1950 anymore! Also f**k you for making me defend Natalie Portman!
I bet he is telling all those young fluzzies the same thing when he is having his down low affairs. We will soon see how holy you are.
well naturally hell is full of un-married mothers, and heaven is full of gun-toting god-fearing hillbillies=p
I agree with this guy. First of all, ‘engaged’ does not mean ‘engaged to be married’ anymore, can’t you see? Engaged couples do not take the commitment seriously, most of them break up before hitting the altar. So no, she gets no slack for being ‘engaged’.
Secondly, he did not mention abortion, stop exxagerating. Of course, the ideal situation is to wait until you are married to have sex, but if you don’t, use protection. Abortion is like the thrid level, but I guess ‘bitches’ will skip to level 3.
Huckabee’s not going after Portman. He’s using Portman’s situation to make a not so veiled slap at the not-so-virginal daughter of a political rival, Sarah Palin.
He’s playing to the evangelical segment, hoping Sarah will rise to the bait and make herself an object of fascination.
..now signing off to read Sarah’s tweets and facebook posts as she flies to Portman’s defense… :))
It’s always woman’s fault, the men who impregnate them have no responsability.
Misogyny at its finest.
I don’t get America and those who vote for ass***** like this idiot.
Your economy and health care is on the same level as some 3rd World countries yet all the conservative politicians care is abortion and gay people.
They are awfully intevested in controlling the most intimate part of your lives.
Arkansas is the most backward state in the USA
Charming, try. And just where is the guy’s responsibility for not keeping it in his pants?
Ok…in some ways I agree. He has a valid point in the fact that young girls idolize people like Portman and will follow her lead. And yes…there’s nothing wrong with being married before you have children. It’s too bad that people no longer see that as an ideal situation.
Republicans want USA to go back to the 1950’s. Women in the kitchen, stuck with children, no education.
White men working while the minorities are exploited.
“Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care”
shut the f*ck up, you ignorant jack ass.
Well, I can’t stand her either but Huckabee is just wrong.
Here I am thinking Natalie was being smart by not actually marrying her K-Fed Jr.
And I am more stunned that Sarah Palin hasn’t come out swinging. Cause this is also a back handed slap at her own daughter.
@TheProcastinator
Of course the guy is equally responsible, did I just refer to women? No.
First of all, yeah, I don’t want to be defending Natalie Never, but she’s in a relationship with the father, that’s NOT a single mother.
Also, Mike Huckabee was totally supportive of Jamie-Lynn Spears keeping her baby, as a single mother.
So 30-year-old women shouldn’t be single mothers but 16-year-olds can.
Hmm..
Step back and look at statistics. Single moms, who are not rich super stars, have a very hard time economically. It should not be glamorized, it’s not ideal, it’s a very hard life.
Bill Cosby has criticized his own community for the number of babies born out of wedlock – 70% and he criticized the boys and men, which was great.
The message is a good one, single motherhood is a very hard road.
what an ignorant idiot.
“People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, ‘We’re not married but we’re having these children and they’re doing just fine,”.
Whose “children” does N.Portman boast about? I think he confuses her with someone else.
Not all of us Republicans echo Huckabee’s sentiments, trust me.
This man hops on a PR scheme every time a camera is on. He supported Jamie Lynn Spears (SINGLE. MOTHER.) but hates Natalie Portman, although as far as we can see, Portman plans to co-parent and marry with her baby’s father.
He should’ve stuck with the low-hanging fruit that is Teen Mom. At least then he’d have a point about misguided kids looking up to them and emulating them… to get on TV and be rich. The rest of what he says is just ignorant trash. Yes, many single mothers struggle financially (not at all related to the current economic crisis we’re in… *cough*) but many do not. Some women actually get pregnant, on purpose, while single! (Egads! Gasp! Clutch Pearls!)
Although, his little comment excites me. You’ll have a few from the liberal side that will tear him down for his very, very shortsighted views, and then you’ll have Mrs. Palin from the right to swing it and be all indignant on Bristol’s behalf. This is gonna get good, y’all. Grab some popcorn and sit next to me.
Every issue is complicated and I do not agree with everything he is putting forth here. But I do believe that children grow up best when their parents are lovingly married to one another, honor their marriage vows, and provide that irreplaceable example of commitment, dedication, forgiveness and understanding.
This is what I grew up with. And I know that I will not accept less for myself or any future children I might have.
Huckabee is a major whack job. And I’m a Republican, saying that. Sheesh.
I agree that this is really about bristol palin. Bring on the 12 election stuff now.
But what does he expect? First off she hasn’t been all gushy about being single and doing it on her own. Second, you find yourself pregnant at 30 and what does he expect? She ivy league educated, rich, and getting married. He picked the wrong Target on this one, but the guy is a idiot.
What a dick he is, what the hell would a man know? He’s ignorant, and proud to be.
I’m defending Natalie too in this.
Scary that anyone would think to defend this idiot. This is the biggest hypocrisy of Republicans. They always complain about ‘Big Brother’ and keeping the government out of our lives but see no problem in dictating a womans’ uterus. It’s none of his buisiness WTF she does or whether or not she marries ballet K-FED. She is a grown ass woman with her own GD money. He needs to STFU.
Yes, Mike, it’s totally the mother’s sole responsibility to ensure her baby grows up with two parents. It’s always her fault when she can’t get a man to stick around long enough for the birth (a better scenario, actually, than the man who leaves when the child can remember it). And what of the proud single mothers, even the mothers who conceive, proudly, without a man in their life? Those are the women who can handle it financially and psychologically. That’s WHY THEY DID IT. There is no logic to any of his arguments.
But he is a Republican, after all.
I understand the currents of today’s commentary will eventually cut an oxbow into unintended areas but these threads of anit-semitism, free speech, Damon’s Obama, and conservative politics leave me in a funk that negates what little humorous wit I have. Hope the tide goes out on these topics and we can get back to the more serious issues of botox, celebrity studpidity, and shoes.
Dumbass needs to mind his own f*cking business.
Yeah the guys is an idiot. Not worth getting worked up about.
But I don’t think that just because Natalie is excited about her baby and fiancée that she thinks her career and independence are not important. The two are not mutually exclusive, sorry to break it to you.
I will say however that when you have a child it is more important that you thought your career ever was.
What’s wrong with discussing an important social issue? Why is that an “attack” on Natalie Portman?
The reason is because because Huckabee’s a Republican and that’s generally how liberals use language to neutralize a topic they’d rather not discuss, so they change the subject so all of you are discussing Huckabee.
But Portman’s a public figure making public statements on the topic, so she’s a logical reference.
The point is not to denigrate single mothers, but to point out to young women that they have the ability to plan for their life and their children’s lives in a way that will maximize their chances for stability at minimum and success at best.
In fact, stable marriages are a key element contributing to a stable society, from which we all benefit.
And so what if Dan Quayle misspelled potato. That doesn’t neutralize every other point he’s ever made. And I suppose all his critics never misspell anything. How about a little forgiveness.
Lord Obama declared that we have 57 states in America.
@Vee. In total agreement.
Yup, he’s a jerk in more ways than one!
Agree that the real target is the Palins. Sarah Palin always pulls the “you can’t pick on my children” card, even after she threw them all into the national spotlight to make her look good.
The more we learn about the Palin kids, the worse they sound. I think everyone is hoping cute little Piper will somehow be a miracle and turn out OK.
@Try…I think what Kaiser was trying to say with the abortion comment is that, if a woman finds herself pregnant and unmarried, if she shouldn’t be a single mom, what is her alternative? She wasn’t advocating abortion. Reading comprehension is fundamental.
@The Porscha I heart you…marry me. LOL.
@mln76…totally agree.
In all the reports I’ve read on this story, only Micheal K has pointed our Huckabee’s bs double standard/hypocrisy:
This is from Dlisted:
But wait, back in 2007, Mike slow clapped for Jamie Lynn Spears, because she chose to have her baby.
“Apparently, she’s going to have the child, and I think that is the right decision, a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it. I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action. But at the same time I’m not going to condemn her. It’s a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life.”
So, 16-year-old having a baby = OK! But, grown ass woman with a fiance having a baby = MORAL KILLER! Okay, I will update my files.
This is not about wanting Natalie Portman to have an abortion. Women are more able than ever to control when/if they conceive a child. It does not just “happen”. How hard is it to use birth control effectively?
Single motherhood is (from everything I’ve ever heard) the hardest road. Why not discourage girls and young women from taking this unnecessary, difficult and costly path?
The Hell? Natalie Portman is a 30 year old woman with a career and plenty of financial resources to care for a child. Plus she is in a relationship with the baby’s father. She is not a teenager who drops out of high school after getting carelessly knocked up by a guy who isn’t going to stick around, ala Republican darlings Bristol Palin and Jamie Spears. Personally, I’m not crazy about single motherhood either but going after successful, adult, unmarried mothers like Natalie Portman or the Murphy Brown character is ridiculous.
BTW, I LOVE Natalie!
I really wishthese old rich white men would stay out of people uterus
What a fucking moron. Natalie’s life – and her ability to provide a solid, loving home for that baby – is 1000x better than a big chunk of conservative married America. She’s excited and in love and has the means to support a family.
Fuck you, Mike Huckabee. This story makes my blood boil. He is everything wrong with extreme right wing Republicanism.
Luckily, most Republicans wouldn’t back this guy’s sentiments up. Hopefully, he doesn’t get very far in the 2012 race.
Um, @Tess, not to belabor a point, but he specifically named Natalie Portman. Hence, personal attack. Yes, his agenda was a social problem (to disguise a veiled attack on the daughter of a political opponent?), but the problem runs deeper than women having sex without protection (or, heaven forfend, protection that fails). Why is it that no one speaks of the equally important social problem that so many young men don’t feel the need to live up to their obligations? That they don’t feel the need to “pay for their mistakes”? Why is cutting and running glossed over in importance?
Sorry, I’m just so tired of hearing about unwed mothers, single mothers, teen mothers, blah blah blah… when it takes two to tango, make a baby, and provide support for it.
And THIS: >>>>The reason is because because Huckabee’s a Republican and that’s generally how liberals use language to neutralize a topic they’d rather not discuss.>>>> is the kind of purposely incendiary sweeping generality that I find completely unnecessary in any kind of debate. No matter what side your opinions fall on. Thank you.
So the conservatives put the blame for so many divorces and broken relationships on women?
All the single mothers are responsable for being single?
The men leave them with children because their manly needs weren’t satisfied?
He and all who defend him can f*** off.
America is Christian Afghanistan.
Okay, though this angers me greatly, I have to step back and realize the crazy we’re talking about here. He also said that Obama grew up in Kenya and therefore must hate the British.
So, the Portman comments are just another pile of b/s this guy has to resort to to get a rise out of a certain part of the population. Which unfortunately exists in this country and will eat this s#$t up with a spoon. THAT is the sad part of this story.
P.S. Don’t pounce – I’m not the biggest fan of Obama myself (though a Democrat), but come on!
What do you expect from a dude who doesn’t believe in evolution.
At least he picked on a “real person”. Unlike Dan Qualye, who picked on “Murphy Brown” for the exact same reason.
This is an example of a politician who is barely competent to makes coffee at starbucks.
The thing that bugs me about this kind of statement – it just gives fuel to the fire that ALL conservatives/Republicans feel this way. I’m a conservative Southern Republican and Mike Huckabee does not speak for me, nor will he ever speak for me. He will never have my vote. This is the same man who said the Obama was raised in Kenya a few days ago. He is an idiot who is trying to get press for his run for President. Thanks for giving it to him! Grrr …
I am just going to say, VERY CALMLY, that I am a single mother to a beautiful, amazing little boy, Emerson. We have never been broke, lived on the streets, etc. I have never used government or state funded financial aid, WIC, Food Stamps, Section 8 Housing, what have you. I worked waiting tables and was a full time student and I will graduate in May, 1 week after my wedding. I have a great salary job in an accounting firm as well. Mike Huckabee comes to my state, Louisiana, quite often. When he comes back, I think I will tell him all of this. Oh, and that is a douchebag who doesn’t know SHIT about being a single mother, and he can kiss my big white ass.
Excuse the cursing, but this pisses me off.
Wow.
So what about all the dudes in Hollywood who have kids with their girlfriends out of wedlock?
And does a marriage certificate really make a family any more valid or healthy?
@Samigirl
You’re my hero!
“Your economy and health care is on the same level as some 3rd World countries yet all the conservative politicians care is abortion and gay people.
They are awfully intevested in controlling the most intimate part of your lives.”
well, I wouldn’t go so far as “3rd World”, but other than that, I agree with you completely.
it’s pretty ridiculous what the extreme right concerns itself with, ain’t it? I’m convinced that they’re so concerned with OTHER people’s sex lives because either 1)they never get any or 2)their OWN sex life is so depraved that they need to “out” others’ to cover up their own indiscretions.
I find it’s always those who point the fingers and scream accusations the loudest that are usually the most guilty.
EDIT: “They always complain about ‘Big Brother’ and keeping the government out of our lives but see no problem in dictating a womans’ uterus.”
*golf clap*
EDIT 2: “In fact, stable marriages are a key element contributing to a stable society, from which we all benefit.”
then perhaps all of these Republicans who extol the benefits of stable marriages and family values should PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH, and NEVER get divorced. or have affairs with gay prostitutes. or have children out of wedlock.
“And so what if Dan Quayle misspelled potato. That doesn’t neutralize every other point he’s ever made.”
Dan Quayle once made a point?
isn’t this Mike guy one of those politicians who called for Julian Assange’s illegal assasination on fox news? , yes i think he is , so i wont even bother to comment on whatever he says about anyone because someone who calls for any human being’s illegal assasination on tv should be in jail or in the nuts house
Off topic, but that yellow brown dress she’s wearing is one of the most heinous outfits I’ve ever seen…
My mom became a single mother when she left my abusive dad. My sister and I grew up to be college educated, both still on our first marriages (my sister for 33 years, me for 18 years and counting), and we’re both mothers of successful children. Mike Huckabee can go screw himself as far as I’m concerned.
@ operagirl
I agree with you about the fathers who skip out on their repronsibilities. We should be talking about that issue right along with the unwed mothers.
It’s a horrible siuation for the children and our society in general.
And of course there are exceptions, like Emerson’s mother.
But this is a growing problem and as adults, we should address it.
I think “CrankyChica” hit the nail on the head. This is a veiled slap at Sarah Palin. If Palin responds, she has to either defend arch liberal Portman or slam her own daughter. Machiavellian politics at its best. Also slamming a Jewish person from Hollywood is always good business in the Bible Belt.
Haha, like ‘not believing in evolution’ is a bad thing.
Feeling sorry for you now.
Ok, Mike Huckabee is an assclown for sure, no doubt. Him using Natalie is an awful example of what he was trying to say. But he makes the valid point that being a single mother is very hard. When my mom and dad were divorcing (which took forever) we had to live with my grandma, my mom, who had no education besides a high school diploma and some air force training, had to take a job as a waitress. We didn’t have health insurance, we didn’t see our mom at night because she was working, she couldn’t afford a car and had to “rent” my grandma’s. Life was f*cking hard. Almost no one has the kind of resources Natalie will surely have, so she shouldn’t be his poster child here. But it doesn’t invalidate the multitude of statistics that prove the heart of his point, being a single mother puts you at almost the biggest disadvantage in America. It doesn’t mean that any of those single mothers would trade places if they could. I was happier to see my mother single and happy though, than married to my dad and being abused.
I disagree with him attacking her, but those are facts he stated. I’m a child and family development major and the majority of single moms are poor working class, poorly educated, and have few marketable skills. But single dads, though fewer of them, fair much better.
It kinda isn’t fair, to say that, maybe that should be part of his political campaign, to help single moms, think I think now around 35% of U.S. births are to unwed moms( and most of them not teens)
Number 34:
‘Reading comprehension is fundamental.’
YOU ARE DELUSIONAL. I have never said or thought that Kaiser was advocating abortion, hello? Glue your sarcasm on your forehead.
Samigirl – I applaud you. You and women like you make this country great.
Oh, and Huckabee did not say that it was “hard” to be a single mother. He said, “Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care..” VERY DIFFERENT.
Of course, it’s hard to be a single mother. Hell, it’s hard to be a parent in a two-parent family! Parenthood is f-cking hard! But to claim that most single mothers deplete public resources and live in squalor is disgusting.
BTW, my mother-in-law was a single mother for many years. She raised three children before she was married to the father of the younger two. She NEVER received public assistance, and she and her children always had health care, food, and a place to live. All three received an education. My husband is a lawyer, and his two younger siblings are equally successful, fully-functioning and contributing members of society. And THAT is a story that we are not seeing enough. Suck it, Huckabee!
@Rita….ITA!
I’d like to think this is really about the Palins, but don’t think we can give the Huck-ster that much credit. While I don’t hail from Arkansas, I do live in the south in a very, very Christian conservative area. So here’s my take. Portman is “fancy.” She’s ivy league & big city. People here hate that because they’re certain she’d look down on them. Also she’s annoying, so it’s pretty easy to take a swipe at her and get a “Praise Jesus” from the crowd. Bristol Palin is “folk.” She’s not fancy, a salt-of-the-earth type and uneducated. Just like all the good Christian girls who get knocked up out of wedlock around here. So less threatening. The real question is when is the Huckster announcing his presidential candidacy.
Rant away at Huckabee.
But he is NOT the issue. The issue is the kids without responsible parents in their lives— and we should be paying attention to the issue.
For the record, I’m not a fan of his, but he raises an issue we should address.
@justez: maybe that should be part of his political campaign, to help single moms
His message seems to be that all those single moms are burden to society since the state has to help them raising their kids.
@justez: the majority of single moms are poor working class, poorly educated
Did they CHOOSE to be single moms? Or their baby daddies just have abandone them/they had to run from them because of abuse? The statistic I’ve seen gives big YES to the last question. So may be it shouldn’t be “simgle moms” problem but “absent dads”. Why not call spade a spade?
I’m sure he mentioned her name for the sheer sake of publicity. Regardless, it not anyone’s business. Natalie is old enough to make her own decisions, and marriage is not guarantee that a relationship will last.
@ N.D., Yeah I’m not sure about why they’re single moms, it was just statistics I’ve recently learned, and why I thought he went after single moms more so than single dads, because single dads fair better off, because single dads are more likely to have a co-parent. I never got why, but I’m sure I could ask around.
I don’t think being a single mother is a bad thing at all, it’s just facts I’ve recently learned.
No one should be punished for reproducing, and being poor is no crime in my opinion, so I think if he is going to point it out, he should be doing so to help them, not embarrass.
I think what should be desired is a stable, consistent home for children. Many, many women are basically single parents anyway – they do all the child-rearing – even though they are married. The only difference between them and an actual single parent is the symbolism of marriage and the potential for additional income. Marriage does not two stable parents make, and I do not think it is a necessity. It is one of many choices people have, and we should all have the option to make our families in whatever way works best. There is no one right way to do this.
I am a child of a single parent, who chose to raise me on her own. My mom was 32 when she had me, and I was planned – and she and my father both agreed that she would raise me on her own – before she conceived. She is very educated, and I am the third generation of women in my family to have a graduate degree, and the first to have a PhD. It was hard for my mom, no doubt – but this out of hand dismissal of non-traditional family types is antiquated and insulting.
@ justez, Yeah I’m not sure about why they’re single moms, it was just statistics I’ve recently learned, and why I thought he went after single moms more so than single dads, because single dads fair better off, because single dads are more likely to have a co-parent.
Again, how is it women’s fault? Unless they insist on rejecting marriage or co-parenting proposals left and right I don’t see how they could be held accountable.
What do you mean a co-parent? Step-mothers? Or birth mothers that don’t get a custody? How is it women’s fault again that men have it easier in our society – better wages, better chances to re-marry and so on?
Kind of off topic, but in Arkansas it’s easier to get government assistance when you’re an unwed mother.
If I could do it over again, I would’ve been one of those unwed mothers. We would’ve just LIVED IN SIN! 🙂
Wasn’t his mom a single parent?
try:
You are right, screw the evidence of the evolution. When the Bible says dinosaurs walked on the Earth while Adam and Eve frolicked in the Garden of Eden then it’s damn true.
How can anyone dismiss biblical proof?
@ N.D.
Whoa, I think may have stated something wrong, or what I wrote was misinterpretted.I’m in no way blaming the women. It’s not their fault.
I was just stating, that what he said, no matter how rude, and not true for every single mother out there, as some people on here have pointed out from their own experience. Is that most single moms are poorly educated, have few marketable skills, and are considered to be poor.
I don’t have all the statistics if that’s the government’s fault or their own, I’m sure every story is different.
There is nothing wrong with being a single mom, but facts are facts, and I hope that single moms should be helped due to those facts, not attacked in any way.
And co-parent has a variety of meanings, but generally just means someone who takes the part of the “mom” in the parenting relationship, it can be a girlfriend, boyfriend, step parent, aunt, and so on.
@try, MOST engagements are broken off before a wedding? This isn’t true in “regular-people world” and definitely not true for celebrities. They almost always make it to a wedding and then just get divorced.
@ Chris,
Did I say anything about the Bible? You don’t even know my religion, or my beliefs.
FFS! It is 21st century. Marriage (in the civilized world at least) has become strictly a matter of personal choice. Some people feel about it differently than others and that`s how it should be. Everyone should be free to act upon her/his convictions and beliefs, (within the law, of course)without being judged by a bunch of archaic losers. His comment is so incredibly sexist and degrading to all women that is makes me sick and also – happy to be Canadian.
Ugh. While I don’t agree with his politics and would never vote for him, I always kind of liked Huckabee as a person – he seemed like a nice guy who was at least always willing to talk to people he disagreed with. His comments of late have really changed my opinion of him though.
I think you guys may be on to something with the swipe at Palin, but who knows. His use of Natalie as an example is ridiculous, he doesn’t even seem to know the facts of her situation, and his statements in general are so off base, ignorant, and hypocritical.
ITA with whoever upthread mentioned certain politicians yelling about evil big government and Big Brother, but then feeling they have a say in others’ reproductive rights and how they choose to have a family. That makes NO sense to me.
i’m pretty sure this man is more immoral than than the word ‘immoral’. he’s a ‘politician’, for crying out loud… they lie for a living. Jesus said ‘there is no sin, too great or too small…’ in other words, humans are not supposed to be weighing each other’s sins. who made him God over us?
@ Isa
Your comment is NOT off topic. It’s part of the issue. How is government policy contributing to single motherhood?
Well, when you facilitate behavior you encourage it. We are making it easier for unwed mothers and giving men a rationale for skipping out on their children.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynahan (Democrat, NY) wrote about this and so many other serious issues years ago.
Turns out he was both precient and brillant.
What an idiot, and I am a dyed in the wool Christian. I agree with the poster who pointed out that he is a misogynist – the pregnant woman is the traditional target of old. I’d like to see these cranky old self righteous bastards go after the sperm donors with half the vitriol they display to the woman who makes the decision to carry the baby.
@try: “Haha, like ‘not believing in evolution’ is a bad thing.
Feeling sorry for you now.”
The theory of evolution has nothing to do with ‘belief’ or ‘faith’. The fossil record (and now emerging DNA techniques) are pretty damn good evidence that the theory will stand the test of time. When Christians try to argue the fossil record, they just end up looking like idiots and it’s embarrassing for the rest of us. God said He created the Earth – He just wasn’t totally specific about how. I look around me and see a creation. That’s all I need to know.
1) I’m fine with marriage but it’s not for everyone… there not one solution for all…
2) Divorce rates…
3) Signing to the mention of mistresses and rent boys…
4) Pompous asses (this probably goes with #3)
5) Doesn’t want abortion, criticises single motherhood (even though Ms Portman’s not technically single)…
6) It takes two to tango but if guys paid a little more attention and didn’t piss off so much there may be less (truly) single motherhood (as opposed to unmarried parents)…
Well he is wrong to say that ‘most’ single mothers are living in poverty–it is actually about 1/3, which means the majority 2/3 are not. However 1/3 is a HUGE problem. I can’t stand Huckabee but I don’t think anyone can disagree that single motherhood is not the ideal to strive for. Though it is unfair, the responsibility for birth control ends up being more important for women simply because nature dictates that we have to have the babies. The dudes can just take off if they want. I do not think single motherhood should be glamorized, but I don’t think it’s Natalie Portman’s responsibility to go hide in a closet and pretend she’s not pregnant so as not to influence any potential single moms out there. She made a choice that’s right for her and she’s rich and can handle it so good for her. Huckabee was a minister before so that’s where he’s coming from. The Rebubs didn’t even want him for prez obviously…even though he hung around and refused to drop out of the race for a ridiculous period of time.
This is a huge mistake for Huckabee. Presidents could maybe get away with dissing the morals of some groups of people such as murderers in general, but NEVER would they single out a single citizen and publically shame them.
Has the “curse of the Oscar winner” struck Portman?
Just say thank you to this man for giving you something to be offended over. Some of you folks could have gone an entire DAY and not have found something to become offended by.
Meh. Dude said something stupid. I do not want to vote for him because I do not feel he represents my interests. This is a very nice component of the American system of government. Elected officials represent the interests of their constituents on a state by state basis. Anyway, all of these yahoos, Republican or Democrat, say dumb stuff on the regular. Tune into CSpan2 once in a while, it’s better than Cartoon Network.
America is a Christian Afghanistan? Holmes, learn more about Afghanistan. I mean, yay for getting indignant!
@justez Sorry, I didn’t really mean to attack you personally.
I meant to point out that this “single mom” centered rethoric is really faulty and wrong because it makes “moms” the target, the wrong party. And they come out being at fault for everything at once – that they are single, that they are uneducated, that they are poor, that they have no family to help them and so on and on. And if they’ve opted for abortion then they’d be murderers on top of that.
To me that’s a very unproductive way to talk and think about this issue because, first of all, hardly any of the above is their choice, the only way for them to not be a single mother seems to be not becoming a mother at all. Are we going back to compulsory sterilisation of the poor that was practiced in US in early XX century?
Plus it’s not like they’ll become more educated or get better chances on the job market if they’ll get that damn ring so how is it even relevant there?
As usual, it’s the woman in this situation who is slammed. I don’t see him going off on Natalie’s fiance and calling him shameful or any of the nonsense he’s fired at Natalie. It’s all her ‘fault’, is it? I see. The guy played NO part in it. Right.
Oh go away, you sad, smug little self-righteous man.
The Bayern minister- president Seehofer had 1 or 2 years ago a daughter with his young flame despite being married for over 20 years. And he is ULTRA conservative. Every time I hear something extreme I begin to wonder where the skeleton is…
Disgusting hypocrits like that don’t care if people die in the streets or of the bubonic plague, should if break out again.
But when a financially independent woman gets a baby, it is the end of the world for them.
Trash like this man bring contribute nothing but stench to the world.
Why doesn’t he attack Bristol Palin who is making a living off having a child out of wedlock?
Anonymous@57, ITA.
I’m so extremely tired of politics in this country being reduced to aiming the target shooter at one particular demographic.
For WI, it teachers and their unions, for Mike Huckabee today, it’s single mothers. Most of the time, when people take aim at their target, they have (or don’t publicly admit to) little to no real knowledge of the lives and circumstances of their target.
I’m the product of a single parent. My father died when I was nine and even before then, my mom did the vast majority of the child rearing and home maintenance. I have two siblings as well. Out of three kids, 2 of us have at least a college degree (myself in engineering and my brother in urban planning). My mom also adopted her two young nieces when her brother failed to take care of his responsibilities.
Huckabee’s comments and others like them are infuriating for so many reasons. The major reason is that the vast majority of single moms should be viewed as strong people making the best out of a difficult situation. This group includes mothers who were unmarried at the time of their children’s birth, and also divorced and widowed moms. The vast majority of them did not choose to embark on a life of single parenthood, but given a set of limited options, they chose to try to do what is best for them and their children.
This particular target is also infuriating because so often (95% of the time), the blame falls solely on women. You’re a slut for having pre-marital sex, you’re a horrible person for not using contraception, you’re a horrible person for considering an abortion. But, some of these same politicians advocate to outlaw abortions and for all health insurance plans to not only NOT cover abortions but NOT cover any contraception prescriptions or to require getting a husband’s or parent’s approval before granting the prescription to the woman. It’s a never-ending cycle of shame and reproductive control that attempts to get women to submit themselves to their male betters.
It’s very true that a lot of kids that come from single parent homes fair worse as compared to their counterparts from two parent homes. But, there are a lot of very complicated reasons for this, not the least of which is that the child’s father (from the single-parent home) chose to walk away from his responsibility. But, also because our society preaches that parenthood is the ultimate great thing, but our laws and workplace norms make it extremely hard to be a parent at all with little to no paid leave, increasing expectations for higher worker productivity for the same or less pay (more productivity at work = more time at work & less time at home = lowerwork/life balance). But it’s just a lot easier to single out the easiest target at her most vulnerable time. Being pregnant with your first child [married or not] is exhilarating, exhausting and terrifying all at the same time, so go ahead and take aim, she can’t move too quickly.
Queue unspeakable depraved Mike Huckabee sex scandal in 5, 4, 3
On the most fundamental level, his argument is bleeding and on life support.
Natalie Portman is a piss poor example of what he’s trying to get at. The beauty of our nation (and often the downfall as well) is that people exist on ALL different levels of income, religion, education and relationship status. Saying that an ivy-league educated millionaire movie star is providing a poor example by choosing to have a baby before marriage is like arguing that athletes who buy Bentleys are demonstrating irresponsible financial practices to low-income families. You are comparing two completely different demographics with completely different expectations out of life. It also is EXTREMELY belittling to women who are struggling to make ends meet because their circumstances are less than ideal. He really thinks that they’re going to look at some big shiny movie star and decide to go and birth some babies because gosh, that looks like fun?
Gross.
Slow clap @JustBe…what an excellent comment!
@Justbe: I totally agree with you. A lot of American nowadays can only spit vitriol at women, even if they are utter crap themselves. Everything is blamed on women, even if a woman completely conforms to society’s harsher expectations of her, and he just slacks through life.
Huckaheehee did a great job of stirring the pot. The very sad fact is that right now our “leaders”, and believe me, I use that word …loosely…
our leaders are more interested in discussing moral issues than economic ones.
I guess we don’t get as whipped up over jobs, deficits, and taxes as we do over telling other people how to live.
Go figure…. 🙂
@Crash2go2
“Dyed in the wool Christian”
Cool!!!!
Glad you didn’t say “Died in the wool”
LOL, morning honey.
@JustBe Excellent comment, bravo!
Agree with @Isabel #87 et al This argument doesn’t have legs. It’s silly. It should fizzle away, unless his target really is Palin. She’ll keep it alive.
Ha-ha-ha-ha! Did Mikey just step out of a time machine? Picking on a popular, beautiful, excited Mom-to-be is just a smokescreen for the below.
Not to muddy the waters, but Mike commuted the sentence of a convict in Arkansas who was probably a paranoid schizophrenic. Let’s call him Jim to avoid pronoun confusion. Jim came to Washington State, had a couple run-ins with the law here (although saying Jesus told him things in front of a judge wasn’t enough for anyone to think “psych evaluation”). In November of 2009, Jim woke up, got dressed, and went to a coffee shop in a Seattle suburb and shot and killed three cops while they were having coffee.
Mike is just blathering to cover up his BIG mistake. Stuff happens (quoting Rumsfeld, another Repub fave of mine); but, if you remember Dukakis and the Willie Horton ads that HW Bush ran, Republicans don’t like that particular kind of “stuff”.
@Justbe bravo!
First off, Natalie’s kid has not yet been born out of wedlock. If she marries her fiance before the kid is born, the child will be born in-wedlock.
Secondly, I’m assuming since Huckabee is so distraught over uneducated single mothers, he will be pushing for increasing funding for education and restoring funding for Planned Parenthood so these women can get the education and health care to help them rise out of poverty. Why am I assuming that’s not what he’s actually going to push for, though?
Over the years I have watched Huckabee because I think he will make a serious run for office and while I disagree with his views on many levels I always thought he seemed like a relatively stand up fella… until lately, he has been pandering to some very knee jerk groups (birthers, etc.)and it is very disappointing. You simply can not yell from the rafters for less gov’t intrusion and a smaller government and then have the gov’t intrude upon the most basic rights of women to make decisions about their reproduction.
As for Portman, not a fan of hers, but she is an adult and made a personal and legal choice to have a child. Not to mention if you want to go after a person people admire that have children out of wedlock why not Pitt and Jolie, they are far more influential than Portman.
Little disappointed that it’s been nearly 24 hours since Huckabee issued a statement and Palin has yet to respond. . .
Maybe her staff has been busy through the night researching pop-culture references from the early 2000’s to craft her impending facebook diatribe?
Ditto Rubenesque. I, too, live in an ultra-conservative Southern state & I completely agree with your take on the Huckster.
And awesome comment JustBe 🙂
@try: Whether or not she is engaged and whether or not the engagement actually ends in marriage, the bottom line is this: She is a grown woman making her own money — quite a lot of it — and capable of making her own decisions. Huckabee needs to butt the hell out of her business.
This is what bugs the bejesus out of me about Republicans: they insist on the “sanctity of life” BEFORE babies are born, but they don’t give a damn what happens to those babies AFTER they are born.
P.S. not being married does not equal single. at least outside of the USA…unmarried is either single, or in a relationship. it is scary how some people hang on to outdated concepts with blind violence and vitriol.
Considering how many marriages actually work out these days the odds are greatly leaning towards them probably not being together for the duration of this baby’s life anyway. If her baby’s Daddy is a responsible loving guy who will be there for his kid no matter what I think he/she will be fine. Mr. Huckabee needs to go to bed and wake up in this century.
@#2 Jazz .. I think that sums it up perfectly!!! I agree!!
I’m a little confused by his statement since he praised Jamie Lynn Spears for having her baby back in 2007?
“Apparently, she’s going to have the child, and I think that is the right decision, a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it. I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action. But at the same time I’m not going to condemn her. It’s a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life.”
As MichaelK put it: So, 16-year-old having a baby = OK! But, grown ass woman with a fiance having a baby = MORAL KILLER! Okay, I will update my files.
Doesn’t Mike Huckabee think she’s going to hell anyway because she’s a Jew? Might as well get knocked up on the ride down to Hades.
Huckabee is a douche bag and this attack on Portman will hurt him in ways he never knew. I do not typically defend her but now I am and will continue to do so. Huckabee is an embarrassment to men and politics. He has terrible advisers and should be pulled from running for office.
Silver lining: it’s nice of Huckabee to be working actively to alienate 50% of the vote this early.
These guys just hate women as independent human beings: whatever choice women make on their own is terrible. The only acceptable choice according to old farts like Huckabee is to marry and let a man do all the deciding for you.
Is she wearing a tanktop under that shirt!?
Ok I know your PC liberals and tolerant and all that BS. But really your going to throw a tantrum because he said something you didn’t like? People are to overly sensetive these days 😛 I mean hell can someone say anything without PC liberals and republicans saying no you can’t say that just cause. Its freedom of speech :)And please stop being whinny babies 😛 It makes you look bad getting offended just because someone has a opinion you don’t agree with cme to think of it makes you look really foolish and immature. What will you flip out about next?? Glenn,Rush,Sarah,Foxnews so please stop being so PC.
@Rita: Haha… love it.
in most states a child is made legit by the subsequent marriage of their parents.
SO SUCK THAT HUCK.
I’ll preface this by saying I’m a life-long dem, and my father would disown me if he knew I was defending Mike Huckabee-but these comments are taken out of context. He wasn’t coming at this from a morals stance. He was discussing how most children born out of wedlock are born into poverty and by women who don’t finish their educations. He was saying that Hollywood glamorizes single motherhood, and that is not the reality.
I wonder what he has to say about Bristol Palin.
anyone that makes me defend portman [its not rape rape] and bristol palin is a DOUCHE in my book
how about when he grows a vagina and uterus, he THEN tells us how he feels? asswipe
JustBe: YOU ROCK
Ari – was wondering that myself. REALLY doesn’t go with the dress
It almost ruins dong Friday having to defend her. Almost.
Eh, this is the same man who said that Obama was born and raised in Kenya. He’s an idiot and more than anything right now, enjoying this attention to get his name out there even more bf the elections. He’s a politician, this is just how it works
You know, while I might not agree with a lot of what he does or says I DO agree that with teen pregnancy being such a problem that we shouldn’t glorify pregnancies outside of marriage. Engaged or not, the best way to teach teenagers to not get pregnant before marriage is to not make it look okay. When it DOES happen we’d be wrong to give single mothers any disgrace (which should go without saying) but to glorify unwed pregnancies just simply adds to the problem of teen pregnancy. Anyone who says otherwise is simply unaware of the facts of what all plays a roll in the decisions teenagers make. So sadly, I must agree with him on this one.
“Its freedom of speech”
having freedom of speech does NOT equal freedom from repercussions OF that speech.
you have the right to say whatever you want in this country…but other people ALSO have the right to react and respond with their OWN free speech.
no one is saying that he’s not allowed to say what he said. seriously, I hope he says things this stupid (and polarizing) throughout his (inevitable) presidential campaign. it’ll just make him easier to beat.
it’s called “giving someone enough rope to hang himself”.
Does anyone else hate Natalie’s yellow dress as much as I do? WHAT was she thinking?
The reason male responsibility in the whole baby-makin’ process is often overlooked is because most politicians and those in power in general are males. It’s in their interests to point the finger at women and lay all the blame on them. Modern Christianity and conservative values go hand-in-hand, so it should be no surprise that the whole “Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit” attitude permeates the political sphere as well.
I’m confused.
Didn’t he write a statement in support of Jamie-Lynn Spears when she gave birth out of wedlock at 16? So a teen screwing around and getting knocked up is something to support, but a grown ass woman that makes enough money to support herself, the kid AND her husband is a glorified hussy because she became pregnant out of wedlock?
I do NOT like Huckabee, but I think he is correct in his assessment of this situation. Teenage pregnancy is epidemic and very costly to the children and also to society as a whole.
@JustBe
*standing ovation*
i don’t see him attacking unwed mother bristol palin, who has literally made a career out of being an unwed mother.
I hope someone can clear up my confusion. I’m of the impression that you wonderful people of the States have 2 governing parties, the Dems and the Republicans. Where does the Tea Party fit into this scenario? Do you now have 3 parties to choose from at election time?
And on a side note, my country elected its very on Huckabee to lead us. Cannot wait to see the end of Mr. Keep women barefoot, poor, pregnant, and uneducated Harper.
Yes, Chucklehee. Women and girls get pregnant all the time, without any help from a male penis. We deserve to be damned to hellfire.
But what about the Y chromosome participants? Don’t they deserve to be damned to hellfire? Particularly when the majority of the Y chromosomes choose to abandon the very demons (I mean women) they impregnate and the children they create?
God, I can’t believe it’s 2011 and women are STILL being demonised for things like pregnancy.
I apologise, Chucklebee, for being the Succubus that I am.
@ JustBe – And those politicians and health “care” providers will be the first to advocate prescriptions for Viagra. BOOM!
It’s 2011; still sexist politics/policy makers; and I’m still disgusted!
Um, there are two parent families that cannot afford to have children but do. And there are single mothers who can afford to have and support children. It goes both ways…
This guy should STFU before some tabloid decides to check up on him and finds some skeletons in his closet.
Not much to say on the main point of the story (Huckabee is an idiot) but holy crap does pregnancy suit Natalie Portman. She is even more glowing/beautiful than usual. Damn her.
Ok, I have a question: Who, exactly, is glamorizing single parenthood?
If, as people are stating, that is the crux of Huckabee’s statement, then who is he referring to? How has NP contributed to glamorizing single parenthood? She hasn’t had the baby yet, so she isn’t a single mother &, if everything she has said is true, she intends to get married either before she has the baby, or right after. How is that glamorizing single parenthood? (please notice that I didn’t say single motherhood, there are plenty of single dads out there too & that is hard as hell too)
Anyone who actually thinks that single parenthood is glamorous is flat f*cking wrong, no matter how famous the parent is.
Bodhi – I’m a single parent and I have to say, my life is a nonstop rollercoaster ride of cocktails, massages, leaisurely shopping trips (to the high end dept. stores, of course!) and occasional cuddles with my never sick, never grumpy, always photogenic daughter.
Want a life of riches and leisure, ladies? Breed without a man!
hahahahahaaaahahaha
I will never understand why people are so concerned when people choose not to marry. It just frightens me that I walk around with these people! So nosey and judgemental. My partner and I will be having childern soon, out of ‘wedlock’..
We’ve been together 8 years and love eachother very much. Even if we hated eachother, like some people who are married, what concern is it to anybody else!!?!
“I’m a child and family development major and the majority of single moms are poor working class, poorly educated, and have few marketable skills.”
@ justez: can you actually quote some studies/statistics to back this up since huckabee failed to do so? i love when politicians make blanket generalizations like this without any kind of source. also, remember than many people (even married couples) have less money after the initial birth of a child because it is so expensive to have one, but it is often just a blip and they get back on track down the line. but i’m sure you & huckabee have factored that into your statements.
Imagine how freakin’ embarassing it would be to be an American traveling abroad and have people ask you, ‘So how is President HUCKABEE?’
Sounds like a fuckin’ joke! Shudder to think if this moron ever got elected!
#117 (sorry can not read your name as it is over the #)
While I agree that it is best to avoid teen pregnancy and certainly not strive for it, I hardly think that Ms Portman is ‘glorifying’ teen pregnancy in any way shape or form. She is a responsible adult (30 yrs old), who is financially stable and simply chose to have this child in a way and time that was/is right for her.
Here is a guy who is prostituting himself by saying outrageous things solely to get votes, and he has the temerity to question the morals of others.
Ballet K-Fed. Oh I just love how K-Fed has made it to our dictonary lol.
A truly historical figure that will not be forgotten lol.
I didn’t even read his statement cause I don’t like too much negativity :).
This confirms my belief that the people who always judge those that have premarital sex are the same people that they can only get laid when its legally binding.
NancyMan: Does anyone else hate Natalie’s yellow dress as much as I do?
============================================
That dress was the subject of a previous thread. Various people said it resembled a melted, belted, chocolate-banana bomb pop and it looked like she vomited yellow marshmallows all down the front. Just call it an unmitigated disaster.
to YAY…I agree…a marriage license does not necessarily equal a stable relationship, a happy relationship, a lasting relationship, or good/healthy parenting skills.
my man and I have been together for almost 18 years now, with NO plans for marriage in the immediate future. and we’ve been together longer than almost all of my friends who are married. some are even on their second marriages.
but according to Huckabee (and a LOT of others), MY relationship would be the “unstable” one.
Whenever politicians try to make “examples” out of celebrities, it always makes them lose credibility on every level because obviously many celebrities have resources at their disposal others don’t. Why compare an apple and an orange?! Anyone who is going to use a celebrity to model their personal life after is a loser. Raise your kids to have enough of a sense of self to where they can make their own decisions and not model themselves after Hollywood. That said, I doubt many girls are running off to have babies unwed because of Natalie Portman, PLEASE. Such hypocrisy, at least she’s choosing to have the baby and not abort it, you’d think conservatives would be thrilled. Leave this woman alone, she’s obviously happy, in love, and will probably make a great mom. Politicians need to mind their own business. That said, for a group of people always touting how government should stay out of their personal lives, republican conservatives sure pass an awful lot of judgment on people’s personal choices that are none of their business.
He bette make damn sure that none of his kids are having pre-marital sex. He just sounds like an idiot. And screw him for making me side with the insufferable Natalie.
Wait… This man is actually politician, in America ? HAHAHA
And I thought we have bad politicians…
Maybe Huck has a point, Charlie Sheen the abusive, drug addled, unstable, drunk was married when he had his kids so they should be just fine, because the kids were born in wedlock… Unlike Portmans kid who will no doubt be a jail bound mess because they were born out of wedlock… to an educated, sober, mentally stable person.
I must say if my children were to pick a parental role model and their choices were married Sheen (or Brooke) or unmarried Portman I think the choice is pretty clear.
seriously, wtf is this? is he just looking for media attention or something?
This coming from a guy who used all of his connections to protect his son, who was accused of being involved in the hanging of a dog. Good parenting would have required holding the son accountable.
http://www.newsweek.com/2007/12/15/a-son-s-past-deeds-come-back-to-bite-huckabee.html
If a wedding ring is the most important thing in the world, why doesn’t he support the right of gays to marry? At least gays don’t run the risk of unwanted pregnancy ruining their lives and forcing them onto welfare.
And Natalie is the opposite of poor, uneducated, on welfare with no medical insurance. What the HELL is he babbling about? Really, if THAT is the extent of his logic and ability to reason, he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the White House.
@108 – So if I disagree with Mike Huckabee, I’m a whining PC Liberal. If I point out flaws in Sarah Palin’s argument, I’m a PC Liberal bully. Can’t a person just disagree with a statement? ugh
Also, if your child thinks it’s cool to become a teen mom because NP is pregnant, well..your child might have other deep-seeded issues.
I’m a fiscal conservative who wishes the GOP would stay out of people’s lives…
i know the old saying is why buy the milk if u can get the cow for free ive always thought why buy the cow before u try the milk it might be sour. i think its all in how you treat ur relationship marriage is just a piece of paper if u have no respect for it like john edwards or tiger woods
This isn’t the only thing he’s been sleazy about.
Some Americans vote for him because he keeps insisting that he is a Christian.
No one seems to care if their ‘leaders’ act like Christians or not. It’s just hugely important to say you are.
And among other things, it’s preventing actual solid and talented people from running.
lol@ KSGirl! See, I thought all that hullabaloo about single mothers needing help was all bunk! 😛
The saying is “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” but it always reminds me of that bit from Mallrats:
Brodie: My Grandmother always used to say “why buy the cow, when you can get the sex for free”.
TS: She didn’t!
Brodie: All the time, before she became a lesbian on her 60th Birthday, but that’s besides the point.
Sorry… everything reminds me of that movie… 😀
He is a complete imbecile living in the 16th century!
Sure 50 years ago many single moms were poor and/or uneducated but nowadays successful/educated women are choosing to have children on their own.
He just wrote himself off the next presidential ticket as his comments are deeply offensive and will turn off millions of voters to him.
His statement isn’t about Natalie Portman, as evidenced by all the info he got wrong.
The statement is about Bristol Palin, but he can’t actually say it is about Bristol Palin because he’d get a lot of backlash. So he says that “unwed mothers” who use as an excuse “the children are fine” are destroying America and he uses as an example a liberal Hollywood actress that his Republican conservative base won’t object to.
The hope is that someone else (maybe Sarah Palin herself, maybe Fox News) can turn this onto Bristol Palin- Mike Huckabee was SO RIGHT about Natalie Portman, and hey! it applies to Bristol Palin as well.
Mike Huckabee is a disgrace and I would rather vote for Obama than that idiot.
So Natalie Portman is a sinner for becoming pregnant while unmarried, but yet, how many other celebrities and Hollywood icons do the same damn thing? Kate Hudson is currently pregnant and unmarried, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have numerous children together, and they aren’t married. Kelsey Grammer knocked up his mistress who unfortunately miscarried, but they weren’t married yet. So out of all the people he chooses to rant about it’s Natalie Portman because she just won the Oscar? He’s dumber than I thought.
Oh, and for all of you doubting what a complete jackass this guy is, when he was governor, his son hanged a dog at an all boy’s camp. But don’t worry, Daddy Huckabee made sure the investigation was swept under the carpet. What kind of deranged psychopath harms a defenseless animal? Let alone hanging a dog on a tree. That son of his should be in jail and Huckabee should put a rest to any attempt at president, it’s not going to happen.
F*** you Mikey. It’s her life, she made her choice, deal with it. There are worse things happening in the country right now, maybe try to focus on some of those.
@TaylorB: EXACTLY! I agree with all you said.
I personally think all this slut shaming of women should cease and desist right now…..but he is a conservative old school republican so what can I expect?
BIRTH CONTROL and access to quality medical care and the continued funding of Planned Parenthood is the answer.
Not telling young women to not have sex.
That is so puritanical.
Women are allowed to have sex purely for pleasure whether married or not. To say otherwise is so wrong!!!!!! Women are allowed to express their sexuality and maybe that’s what he’s scared of. Women who know what they want and refuse to kowtow to his 1950’s thinking.
No wonder so many people have sexual hang-ups. They listen to this bullshit all day long. I would much rather have a sexually active teenage daughter than a son who would hang a dog.
PC much: Gee, I hope you Teabaggers will make better schools your first priority in the next election campaign. It’s “You’re”, not your, when used as a contraction for you are; sensitive, not sensetive, and “whinny” is a sound a horse makes. And careful with the run-on sentences.
I might piss off some people by saying this, but I agree IN PART with what he’s saying. There are many poor “role models” for teenage girls – those people who are careless about sex and get pregnant, or who deliberately get pregnant for the notoriety of it. I think there ARE people and “celebrities” who do this (Bristol Palin turned being an unwed teenage mother into her full-time career).
But Natlie Portman is not one of them. He picked the wrong target, and in the process made himself look like an idiot.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if it came out that ole Mikey has been following the example of some of his GOP buddies and was banging some little rentboy on the side?
@Mrs.Krabapple: Very well said. Co-sign.
celebrity role models? what a JOKE! I love how parents take no responsibility in how their children live. Your 15 year old daughter gets pregnant, it’s not your fault or hers or the person who impregnated her..it’s the lack of positive female celebrity role models.
Blamers make me ill..
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/the-fictions-of-mike-huckabee/?partner=rss&emc=rss
@taylorb Exactly! I mean, Bobby and Whitney were married when they had Bobbi Christina, and Lilo’s parent’s were married when they had her-and they turned out fine.
Well, he who pardons a murderer who goes on to kill four police officers quietly doing paper work in a coffee shop REALLY should be worried about Natalie Portman. Priorities are RIGHT in line here.
Ugh, eff this guy. No respect.
Pretty hard to be a presidential hopeful when you have the blood of the police on your hands. Good luck buddy.
Are most single mothers uneducated and poor? No.
Would most children belonging to single mothers starve if not for the government? No.
Are children much better off with two married parents? Not necessarily.
Let’s put aside the fact that he went after Natalie Portman for being unwed and pregnant despite praising the likes of Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin for.that.exact.same.reason.
Instead, let’s focus on what he’s saying about single mothers out there, as well as what he’s NOT saying. He’s saying that if you’re a single mother, chances are you’re an uneducated simpleton (most likely black or hispanic – you dirty browns) and that you can’t feed your kid which means you’re a bad, bad. shameful mother. Now, I know a LOT of single moms who are doing far better than even I am (with a husband, mind you), at paying the bills, rearing their children, and being good, hard working Americans.
I’ve been married for 13 years. My children have been born into a loving environment. But that doesn’t mean that ALL marriages are like that. My mother was in an abusive marriage before she got out. Huckabee would have you think that THAT is far better than being a single mother. My mother, as a single parent, never once had to go to the welfare office, request financial aid, free-lunches, etc… She worked hard, made sure that I had clothes on my back and food in my stomach. And she did it all without my father’s help.
Which brings me to the point that Huckabee hasn’t even brought up: Absent fathers. Single mothers wouldn’t BE single mothers if fathers (you know, those men-type folk who got those girls pregnant in the first place) actually stuck around and did what they were supposed to do. If you’re going to hold women culpable, then by fuckall, you should damn well hold men accountable, too.
I am a conservative from AR and even i have to admit he’s a bit too much and i think most republicans would echo that. It’s like his own people want to see him flop. Why in the world would someone steer him towards Portman who has the means to care for a baby regardless of her relationship status instead of MTV who showcases immature teenagers that want to play house.
Also, he has too many bad points. He’s the one that signed off on Maurice Clemmons to be released from prison. A man who was facing 108 years in prison was released like it was no big deal. Clemons then went on to kill four police officers in Washington. He also provided clemency for Wayne Dumond who was a lifetime criminal and rapist. He went to Missouri and raped and killed again.
He just needs to stop getting involved.
I’m not a big believer in celebrities being role models; if they were more kids would be taking drama lessons and learning to play musical instruments rather than just watching DVDS and listening to iPods.
What i don’t get is why it is any of his business what she, or anyone else, chooses to do. Even if you do believe in all that bible/hell/damnation stuff, which I’m afraid i don’t, it still isn’t our right to tell anyone, even single mothers (shocking i know) what to do with their lives.
I don’t often say this but; Live and let live people!
I say this a lot more often however; Just because you have set of morals doesn’t mean they’re right, you live by yours and you’re a good person, you try to make others live by them, even if they come from a really old book, that is called oppression and oppression is normally considered immoral at best. But hey, who am I to judge, go ahead and have fun.
I am aware that this is the sentiment of most of the people present but i really needed to get that out of my system. ALL HAIL THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER
At least it gave Tess yet another opportunity to entertain us with yet more of her massive analogy fails.
crazy stuff…i`m agreeing with cheyenne AND defending portman:)
OH, wow! @Justbe – Perfect. 🙂
Unreal……OK….so only the women is to blame that she is a “single mom”. What about the men involved? What about all the deadbeat dads who don’t want the responsibility of kids and barely send a check? I am a professional single mother who makes a very good living and has never been on government assistance….. Huckabee your an idiot. Where was you when Bristol Palin was a teenager, single and pregnant? Don’t recall any comments about that.
the huckster is a lying scumbag; playing to an ignorant and fearful evangelical audience. he just didn’t expect to get called out on his noxious comments this week. that’s what is different this time — the obama/mau mau/madrassa b.s. really got some attention and he’s trying to change the topic to slutz — that’s always a winner with the teatards.
curious, no, that he didn’t call out the junior grifter from alaska….
@Justbe–I applaud everything you said and know a few single moms doing the best they can on their own due to loser ex-husbands. Except I have to take issue with this one part:
“But, some of these same politicians advocate to outlaw abortions and for all health insurance plans to not only NOT cover abortions but NOT cover any contraception prescriptions or to require getting a husband’s or parent’s approval before granting the prescription to the woman.”
I would love to know who advocates some of these things and where it is happening. I know people are trying to outlaw FEDERAL FUNDING of abortion..when was the last time anyone actually tried to outlaw abortion? There is a huge difference, thank God. Who is advocating this? Did Bush- no. McCain- no. Palin- no. Any serious conservative-no. Overturning Roe vs. Wade is never going to happen. A politician saying they don’t support the idea of abortion is not the same as trying to overturn it. The big issue is that people who oppose abortion on moral grounds don’t think they should be required to pay for what they consider to be murder of a child. And you know what, they are right! They shouldn’t have to PAY for someone else’s abortion. They don’t have the right to tell someone not to have one, but they shouldn’t be forced to pay for something they think is horribly wrong.
And I really want to know which health plan..please name one because I will call and protest myself…is saying a husband has to give permission for his wife’s birth control? Permission for an underage child to get birth control, maybe that I would believe.
I would not say I’m pro-abortion, but I am certainly pro-choice. I also don’t think my reproductive tract is anyone else’s business OR RESPONSIBILITY.
I don’t think anyone is “glamorizing” single motherhood. The reality of the world is, some women get knocked up. Even in Hollywood. Hiding it and being ashamed of it isn’t going to change the fact that there are loads of unwed mothers (and fathers) in the world.
Huckabee is an asshole. Read his beliefs and his opinions and it will make you want to spit if you have any sense of humanity or common sense. I don’t think any young girl is honestly looking at Natalie Portman and going “she’s a movie star I want to get pregnant too!” Sorry, give women some credit. Unless you WANT a baby, rarely do you strive to have one in a situation where you can’t handle it. It’s called an accident for a reason.
Huckabee responds in a statement to CNN:
Mike Huckabee is explaining comments he made earlier this week criticizing Oscar winner Natalie Portman for being pregnant and unmarried.
“In a recent media interview about my new book, A Simple Government, I discussed the first chapter, ‘The Most Important Form of Government Is a Father, Mother, and Children,’” Huckabee said in a statement obtained by CNN. “I was asked about Oscar-winner Natalie Portman’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Natalie is an extraordinary actor, very deserving of her recent Oscar trophy and I am glad she will marry her baby’s father. However, contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not “slam” or “attack” Natalie Portman, nor did I criticize the hardworking single mothers in our country.” …
Huckabee, a Baptist minister who ran for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, said when wealthy actresses have children without being married, they set a bed example for the rest of America.
“There aren’t really a lot of single moms out there that are making millions of dollars each year by being in a movie,” Huckabee said. “I think it gives a distorted image that not everybody hires nannies and caretakers and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and would not get healthcare.”
Perhaps if the GOP was really concerned about unwed mothers, they wouldn’t have attempted to crush Planned Parenthood, one of the few places to offer education & affordable contraceptives to the poor.
Jackass.
reading topics on twats like this makes me glad that i live in australia, where i can get birth control without my parents or partners permission and can have an abortion if i desperately need it.
seriously, america is insanely backwards if you honestly need to have your parents/husband’s permission just to get birth control. thats the only thing that really jumped out at me. terrible.
Umm ya it’s 2011
let me just jump in my time machine to the 1980’s when having kids and not being married was society’s issue.
I think in the last 20+ years people have gotten over it . . .
He’s now trying to backtrack and say it wasn’t a slam on Portman, of course saying the “Hollywood media” is to blame for distorting his words. Then he basically said the same thing about single mothers but instead said “society” glamorizes, not Portman.
His words seem pretty clear to me in both cases, so forget Portman, take her out of the equation, what he’s saying is still sexist, degrading, judgmental, and hypocritical.
There is a HUGE difference between poor, uneducated teen mothers and successful, educated, grown women chosing to have babies out of wedlock.
Perhaps this is what he meant and i agree shows like teen pregnancy and 16 & pregnant do glamorize pregnancy and are terrible for young girls to be watching/idolizing but he didnt clarify well at all.
I also think perhaps he is trying to get Sarah Palin to take the bait and respond but she shouldnt address it at all/dont give him the satisfaction.
He should concentrate on those from his own religion who are into multiple marriages, marrying (really raping) very young girls and getting them pregnant way before 16! (I know not all Mormons agree with poligamy but a large enough sect of FLDS does).
@court
You don’t need a parent’s or husband’s permission to get birth control in America. Most states have laws that allow adolescents (usually 16 years old I believe) to talk to doctors about/get contraceptives (pill BC or that stuff) without parental consent.
And condoms are always sold at stores…no photo ID or certain age required to do that.
I call alllllllll of these “republicans” like Mike Huckabee “pseudo-republicans.” They don’t represent me or my friends…and they don’t represent the original goals that republicans stood for. Instead, these pseudo-republicans talk about morals (while not actually practicing what they’re preaching) and thump bibles. Highly annoying.
“reading topics on twats like this makes me glad that i live in australia, where i can get birth control without my parents or partners permission and can have an abortion if i desperately need it.
seriously, america is insanely backwards if you honestly need to have your parents/husband’s permission just to get birth control. thats the only thing that really jumped out at me. terrible. ”
Seriously, Australia is insanely backwards if you honestly are learning about foreign countries via gossip sites. None of those things happen in America, one does not even need to be desperate to have an abortion.
Also, Huckabee is Southern Baptist, not Mormon. You’re thinking of Mitt Romney.
What a flippin’ loser Mike Huckabee is. What a cheap shot for political points with the lunatic right wing fringe. If he weren’t a Republican I’d say he should be ashamed of himself but why bother. They have no shame.
I have to say that politicians should shut up and mind their own business. Separately though, I do find Portman’s choice curious, and this relates to her religious beliefs/culture. I would have thought that she would have wed before having children for the simple fact of her being quite close with her religion and culture. Maybe her partner isn’t Jewish and didn’t or doesn’t want to convert and this is also the partial reason for her remaining unmarried?
Who knows?
Either way, it’s no huge deal, but I doubt it’s as simple as the stupid politician makes it out.
court-I live in America. I did not need my parent’s permission to get on birth control. Now that I am married I do not need my spouses permission either.
Also, I could get an abortion if I needed to.
Abortion is a hot topic in America, but they are still available. I’m not sure where the permission for birth control comes into play. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t that be a violation of HIPPA?
Anyway, I chose to get married before I got pregnant. He’s not calling out teen moms but unwed parents in general. But after seeing a lot of unmarried brag about the stuff they buy with their extra money from single parent scholarships, extra money from financial aide and income tax refunds I wonder why people even bother?
(I should make it clear that I’m talking about unwed couples and not single parents that probably need the assistance.)
Also, I think it’s funny the amount of posters on here that did fine as a single parent or was raised under a single parent and didn’t need any government assistance. I was married ans still recieved pregnancy Medicaid and WIC and I was still damn poor. Obviously, a marriage license is not the answer to everything! To those of you that did it without assistance, I am in awe.
I’m sure poor, uneducated since women look at Ivy League educated, millionaire Portman with her fiancee and immediately think, “Well if she can do this I can too!”
Maybe he could devote his energy to solving some of these problems with, let’s say, safe sex education?
@court: One doesn’t need permission from her partner to be on birth control in America. Where on earth did you get that impression?
@Shay, not everyone in a culture that is not yours behaves in the same way. Just like not everyone within your culture has the same values and beliefs.
J.K. Rowling said that she was really hurt when prime minister John Major (also a conservative) blamed single-moms for all society’s ills. 15 years on and now some Americans still sing this tune. At least the women still care about the children, unlike a lot of the fathers.
For some reason, a lot of conservatives are big on slamming celebrities, especially “Hollywood liberals”. It’s a weird obsession.
It may also be the case that it’s a veiled slap at Bristol Palin and by extension her idiot mom.
Isn’t she like, 30? I don’t feel he needs to use her as an example for very young girls concerning teen pregnancy or motherhood.
Is anyone really surprised that this ignorant attitude still exists in 2011? I mean after all, Viagra is covered by health insurance but birth control is not. Since the beginning of time men have been trying to prove that the penis is more important than the vagina and I don’t see that ending anytime soon.
Being a single mother can be harder, but it doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole to any and everyone who chooses that path. Plus as some of you have said, she’s not a single mother, she’s just engaged to the father of her baby. This is why people hate the conservative republicans. It’s like they try to control your life when they just need to get a life of their own.
“f**k you for making me defend Natalie Portman!”
As you said, but I won’t defend her, because I can’t stand her, this child rapist defender !
I don’t like single mother being criticized, but were I follow him, you must be a model yourself before lecturing the others.
“Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care,” he said. “And that’s the story that we’re not seeing.”
Well, he’s right ! And the ring remark is funny. I love some sarcasm in our sugary world, sugary to vomit some days !
@2asgard
Whoa when did birth control not get covered by health insurance? Because my health insurance still covers my bc (and has covered all of my bc for the past 8 years). Sure I pay like a $3 co-pay, but I also pay that same amount for my other medicines as well.
Seriously, Viagra is covered by health insurance? I don’t think so…
@JustMe: Lovely post!!
“she’s not a single mother, she’s just engaged to the father of her baby”
She’s changing her fiancés faster that her bras. She’ll be single mother in no time 😉 ! And she got pregnant with her French last toy very – too – fast.
Why are we still allowing old, stupid, white men to run the country?
@Try…you said “Secondly, he did not mention abortion, stop exxagerating. Of course, the ideal situation is to wait until you are married to have sex, but if you don’t, use protection. Abortion is like the thrid level, but I guess ‘bitches’ will skip to level 3.”
No one in the four comments before yours (yours was #5 if you want to check) mentioned abortion…so you had to have been referring to Kaiser’s mention of it in her article. I’ll glue my sarcasm to my forehead when you pull your head out of your hindquarters. 😉
Please do not put the South into this, we are not all uneducated inbred people. Talk about discrimination…. everytime I hear a movie, tv show or commercial with some idiot trying to dumb down, it seems to me they always have a southern accent. I have a southern accent and I have three degrees. Why is it as soon as a southern accent is heard it is assumed you are stupid? I guess because people like Huckabee represent us? I’m offended.
(Educated and Offended in South Carolina)
Uh, I don’t care for Mike Huckabee, but why did you throw in that “white” adjective? Or “old” for that matter? Are those bad things to be?
I’m not sure why anyone cares what Mike Huckabee says?
As long as people are raising their kids with love and kindness I don’t care about their marital status, orientation, etc.
She isn’t impoverished. If she ends up being a single mother she’ll be fine. Those less wealthy who try to be single mothers to “copy” her are stupid. That’s that.
@jc126: because they are the ones always getting a free pass, while critising others. Has anyone been condemned for the massive damage done by the crisis? No? Because they are behind it.
But they start bitching at the parent that DOES take care of the children.
Viagra was and is covered by most insurance providers. Birth control often is not (esp if you work for someone like Catholic Charities, though admittedly an obvious exception).
It is a little old, but I’m too tired to look up more articles: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91538
I am a right leaning independent. I think this guy is actually crazy. Not ‘mentally ill’, like he was born with a disorder he can’t help. But crazy.
His statistics seems to be wrong btw
http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-237.pdf
Less then 20% of single parents in US are unemployed.
Only 25% of single parents in US live in poverty.
Less then 25% recieve some kind of public assistance.
Only 35% have never been married.
Natalie Portman is rich & successful. She just won an Oscar. She is a public figure by choice, whether she likes it or not.
A lot of young impressionable girls who are uneducated & poor will be looking up to her & possibly try to emulate her. This is the point being made. STOP SPINNING SHIT AROUND!
And finally, if she is so in AWE & in LOVE with this Mr. Millepied, as she is always gushing about his awesomeness when given a public platform, then WHY THE F**K DID SHE NOT MARRY HIM ALREADY?
WTF IS HOLDING THEM BACK? They have the means & resources to do so. She made time & prepared herself for the Oscars, likewise should have done the same for her wedding.
These two are a couple of hipocrites, they had an ACCIDENTAL pregnancy, decided to co-parent together, BUT DO NOT LOVE EACH SO MUCH AS TO BE COMMITTED IN MARRIAGE.
Their careers come first, & want to fool everyone otherwise.
If she does eventually get married, it won’t last long, wait and see….
Most Hollywood actors are too vain, greedy & amoral to have meaninful lasting relationships.
It’s amazing to me that Republicans are operating under the delusion that what goes on in someone’s bedroom is anyone’s business… let alone covers the topic of homosexuality.
Even ‘polygamy’ shouldn’t be anyone’s business. (I don’t care at all for polygamy myself, but that doesn’t change that I, or anyone else, has a right to dictate the ‘propriety’ of what goes on between two adults. Who the hell are these people, spouting self-righteous arrogance as though it’s any business of theirs.
@Jazmin, the day married people no longer divorce, hate, cheat or commit violence on each other (and their kids) is the day when what you say stops sounding like hypocrisy.
Secondly, the conservorage!capslocks have not intimidated anyone since 2005, so you may want to come up with something new.
Also, on the off-chance you are a Christian; work on your swearing and raging first, before you start judging someone else’s choices in life.
@ Original Kate
Ok, once again. I’m no Huckabee fan, I’m saying that the majority of single mothers are poorly educated, have few marketable skills, and are considered poor.
I did not say they should be shamed, and I know there are two couple house holds, and single dad households that have the same struggle.
But the study, is in my text book. It’s called Choices in Relationships 10th edition. this information is on pg. 137 and 377.
Sorry if you don’t like the facts, but they are what they are.
It also dispells a lot of false statistics about single moms. Over 70% are 20+ years old, and not teen moms and so on.
And I think there should be help for this, because as I said, there is nothing wrong with it.
Seriously?? It’s fuckwads like that that need a good throat punch.
Every “old, white” man does not think that way; I just think it’s an overarching choice of adjectives. I know old, white guys who aren’t frigging tools.
Oh, and I almost forgot this one – Mike Huckabee’s son, at 17, KILLED a dog at a camp, and got fired from his job as a Boy Scout camp because a “Scout is kind”, and he wasn’t. I don’t take family values advice from a guy whose kid does that.
Some women are single parents by choice, accident and life circumstance. Natalie is an educated woman but that does not mean she is smart regarding relationships. The thing is having a child at 30 when you have money and are able to get help should not be compared to a teen having a child. there are many other examples Mr. Huckabee could have used that would have made better sense. Like that MTV show. Teen girls have been having babies long before Natalie walked the Red Carpet, and unfortunately it is not going to change.
Marriage is not for everyone. And for people to choose to have a child and not be married is not and should not be a issue. Children need parents that love them and respect each other. Parents that put the child first. That can happen regardless of a marriage licence. I would rather children be in a home with two unmarried parents giving them a healthy life, than in a home with two married parents that are not happy together. That to me is a terrible life for a child.
We all get to live the life we have the way we want. Why is that such an issue for others.
I have government health insurance and never once have they denied me birth control or made me pay full price for it. I haven’t had to fill a prescription for viagra though…so maybe they’d say no?
You realize that since Portman is a public figure, she should expect to be scrutinized for her lifestyle. What is wrong with her fiancee marrying her. What are they waiting for. We don’t need any more bastard childred running around. We have too many already on the dole. We taxpayers are supporting them and it makes me pretty sick!!
Men who support Huckabee and his ilk think back with longing to a time when white men worked all the white collar jobs, women were either their mistresses or their stay at home wives, black people knew better than to look them in the eye, and no one had seen a Mexican in real life, outside of a movie about the old west. When they say “traditional American values” this is what they mean. In their idealized America, Portman would hide away in a nunnery and feel shame for her “mistake.”
They’ll never get it back, and they are pissed.
If she was alright with being unwed, I don’t think her pregnancy announcement would have come with a but……we are going to get married. Just do it already if you are serious about it…or else shut up about it.
@Sailorbefore: What in the sam hill are you talking about?
Natalie Portman just won an academy award. She is 30 years old. She went to college. She makes millions of dollars.
And your thought is just damn the torpedos and get married just because you think it would make it all better?
And I highly doubt that Natalie will be going down to the welfare office to support her child.
What the hell are you smoking? What you wrote is just stupid and ignorant.
And even if we are talking about a less affluent woman, it’s really none of your fricking business what she does.
@sailorbefore: Huckabee picked the wrong target. Portman has more money than either he or you will ever make in your combined lifetimes. She can support as many children as she wants to have, in or out of wedlock.
@Jazmin: Why Portman and her fiance are not married already is none of your business.
@ justez: i agree that yes, single mothers tend to be more poverty stricken than others, but you need to factor in other considerations, like poverty exiting, poverty recidivism, the economy, etc. over half of single mothers exit poverty within 2 years and actually do better. some never get out of the welfare trap, and still others cycle in and out of poverty, especially after 2001. in the late 90s, unemployment was less than 4% for a national average, and single mothers fared better than they do now. after 2002-2003 the economy collapsed and unemployment skyrocketed, so of course they did much worse, and many were plunged back into poverty, as were many 2 parent families. many studies i have seen (cornell, temporary assistance for families in need, chapel hill, etc) have seen this same pattern.
it isn’t enought to spout numbers, you need to be able to know why they are the way they are. you need to look beyond the surface to see what is causing this, something someone like huckabee cannot do. he just plucks soundbites he likes (“unwed mothers are poor!”) without considering facts like yeah, many 2 parent families are now poor, too. just as he cannot cite these studies he obviously is unable to interpret the data in any meaningful way and make recommendations on how the situation can be improved.
it isn’t about whether i “like” the facts or not; but i dislike it when people use data selectively to attack a segment of society. my point is that there are reasons behind the numbers that need to be explored, and i don’t see huckabee using that information in any constructive way, just as a sledgehammer.
@justez: I’m saying that the majority of single mothers are poorly educated, have few marketable skills, and are considered poor.
That’s not true. I’ve checked official statistic.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-237.pdf
Less then 20% are unemployed.
Only 25% live in poverty.
Only 15% haven’t graduated rom high school.
Only 31,5% recieve some public assistance.
It’s a lot of people but that’s definitely not “the majority”.
Also, frankly, I’d rather a woman have the choice to have welfare to help raise her kids than be forced to stay with an abusive husband or in a bad situation. If not taken advantage of, it is a great system. My aunt was a single mother who used it for a few years to help raise her son and keep him healthy while she was going back to school (and working). Then she got off and is now a home-owner with a good job. That’s precisely how it is supposed to work.
“Natalie Portman is rich & successful. She just won an Oscar. She is a public figure by choice, whether she likes it or not.
A lot of young impressionable girls who are uneducated & poor will be looking up to her & possibly try to emulate her. This is the point being made. STOP SPINNING SHIT AROUND!”
Jazmin, if that’s the case maybe these poor, stupid, impressionable girls would look to her and MAYBE STAY IN SCHOOL AND THINK ABOUT GOING TO COLLEGE AND GETTING GOOD CAREER!!!!!111111
See how that works?
Also, Natalie Portman is a college-educated woman. I’m not saying I’m a fan, I think she’s okay, but I don’t get the hate for her. I would THINK any young woman who looks up to Ms. Portman would be a lot smarter than the girls you describes. The ones you talk about look up to the cast of the Jersey Shore.
Second, why are you or anyone else on this board concerned about when or if she would get married? She’s not taxing taxpayers money (sailorwhoever, who I guess doesn’t think that married people aren’t on welfare either). She probably has enough money to support 20 single moms.
I’m not saying we should celebrate single parenthood, but our society needs a reality check if they think stable and well-adjusted kids only come from married families. Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan should give you guys a clue.
Agree with everything that has been said about this douche. But wanted to add something about the 16 and pregnant show. I don’t think it glorifies teen pregnancy. If you actually watch an episode or two you see how hard their lives are; it shows how they have to juggle school, work and taking care of a baby. There are confessionals with them crying over how hard their lives are.
Teenagers don’t watch this show and go “oh my god, how awesome. I want a baby now too”. I think it’s a wonderful thing MTV has done. It shows young adults what might happen if they don’t use protection. it’s a wonderful cautionary tale. People who think that a kid who sees another kid pregnant will decide to do the same don’t give kids credit. I’m an adult and watching that show makes me want to push having kids by a another decade. those teen moms have it rough, and the show doesn’t sugar coat it.
@sailorbefore: My sister is a single mother. She doesn’t collect welfare, food stamps or WIC and her daughter goes to private school. Your tax money doesn’t go to them.
My Best friend is a single mother of 3. Two kids are in private school, and the one in the middle goes to a specialized public school. She did collect SSI for her middle son while working on her college degree, but that lasted about a year and she is currently pursuing her master’s while working. Unless you live in NYC, you aren’t paying for the middle child’s public education, on anything else for that matter.
I have a friend that is a single mother of 4. She did collect food stamps for a short period of time, after her piece of sh*t husband left her, but once she completed her college degree about a year later, she was out of the system. She technically paid for herself, since she had worked since she was 16 and this occurred when she was 26.
Another one of my friends is a single mother in the military. Technically, we all pay for her, but since she risks her life for this country, I am sure you won’t complain.
I can go on w/this list. Don’t assume just b/c a woman is a single mother she collects anything other than a paycheck. It just makes you appear stupider than you sound.
Huckabee has scared me for years.
I am not in favor of abortion, but in favor of freedom of choice in almost every other aspect of life. And I apologize for saying this to those who are respectful, but I find it ironic that the uber religious types who preach tolerance for their fellow man are the most judgemental of the bunch.
And she isn’t a single mother. Laduy didn’t even give birth yet!
Plus, marriage doesn’t guarantee that you will not end up a single mother. All but one of the woman I mentioned above were previously married and the exes are not emotionally or financially supporting their children.
Nothing in this life is guaranteed.
Nothing.
@Delaney:
“Your economy and health care is on the same level as some 3rd World countries yet all the conservative politicians care is abortion and gay people.
They are awfully intevested in controlling the most intimate part of your lives.”
Could not agree more!!!
Thanks everyone who appreciated my rant, sorry it was so long.
But, I had to post again to all those who doubt some of the things that I said regarding the ban on abortions, limitations of insurance for abortions and contraceptives, etc.
Also, to directly dispute Huckabee’s point that his supporters on here are commenting about, check out this set of stats about poverty, children and single mothers:
http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
I will reiterate my opinion that the primary reason that children from single mother homes fare worse than their counterparts is that their fathers chose to walk away and not contribute financially to their children. This can happen to unwed moms as well as women who don’t become parents until after marriage.
To others who disagree about my argument regarding abortion, I will concede that there is no federal law abolishing abortions (today), but every year more than a handful of state legislatures introduce bills to outlaw abortions (just google ‘abortion ban’), and some bills are gaining ground. Abortion foes are also taking a different route, e.g in Virginia a law was passed to regulate abortion clinics in the same manner as hospitals which would force most clinics out of business because of the drastically increased cost of insurance and professional staff to meet the new regulations.
My comment regarding needing permission for some wives (and of course teenagers) to receive prescriptions for contraceptives was based on the fact that some pharmacists in predominantly conservative regions have been opting to not fulfill contraceptive prescriptions to a woman if she is unmarried, married and does not have proof of her spouse’s approval, etc. Where the govt comes into play is in creating legislation to protect such pharmacists.
As far as insurance, there has been federal as well as local legislation that has attempted to limit what Medicaid is allowed to cover. Federal legislation bills have also been introduced to limit what coverage private insurance carriers can provide as far as abortions, contraceptives if the insurers want to participate in government exchanges or plans.
Here is a blog post that summarizes pending legislation across states and how they may affect reproductive rights:
http://healthpolicymaven.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
If you live in a major city, like the majority of the US population, your reproductive rights, usually, aren’t hindered, but that’s not true for women in rural or very conservative districts.
Just read thru this thread and am amazed at the anger, vulgarity, and intolerance that some of the anti-Huckabee commenters so freely express.
These people, who undoubtably consider themselves liberals, unfortunately have lost track of the true meaning of liberalism—if they ever understood it.
get over yourself huckabee, its 2011. times are a-changin! 🙂
@Tess: the difference is that the intolerance being expressed by your boogieman ‘the liberals’ is for the intolerance people like Huckabee constantly express to people who don’t harm anybody, but don’t confirm to a certain mold, like unmarried women, or bastards (as someone so ‘nicely’ referred to their children) or -gasp- gay people.
They’d better take a look at who were responsible for the economic crisis, which actually did hurt almost every single person in the US and the world.
But what do they get worked up about?… Natalie Portman.
Realize how sick that is?
@JustBe and others w/similar stories: you are my heroes.
@Tess: oh stop it w/the liberal vs. conservative crapola. There were republicans on this board that weren’t supporting him either.
Sometimes, people disagree b/c it just doesn’t ring true regardless of their political beliefs. Just accept it.
@Mrs Odie 2
Awesome comments!
“Men who support Huckabee and his ilk think back with longing to a time when white men worked all the white collar jobs, women were either their mistresses or their stay at home wives, black people knew better than to look them in the eye, and no one had seen a Mexican in real life, outside of a movie about the old west. When they say “traditional American values” this is what they mean. In their idealized America, Portman would hide away in a nunnery and feel shame for her “mistake.”
They’ll never get it back, and they are pissed. “
No matter what you do, someone isn’t going to like it. Meh. Just be strong in your convictions and confident in your decisions and it shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
The pendulum will swing far to the left, then far to the right, and back again. But while it is swinging it spends most of its time in the middle. So again, meh.
JustBe–You raise really great points.
I’ve heard about insurance companies not wanting to cover contraceptives. And of course the abortion issue is constantly being debated. It is entirely possible that one day they may be deemed illegal again.
I’ve also heard of pharmacists refusing to fill certain prescriptions. The one I have heard the most of is the morning after pill.
I was just afraid of court getting the wrong impression. I just wanted him/her to know that the issues you discussed are not the case everywhere. 🙂
@sailorbe…I am a single parent who has worked steadily since age 14 until last year when I was laid off. When my son was an infant I collected WIC because I was an underemployed single parent. Once I was promoted and earned more money, I no longer needed to use it. I have worked steadily until October of last year, when I lost my job. I am collecting unemployment until I find a new job and I also get food stamps to help me feed my teenage son and myself. I’ve paid my taxes since I was 14 and as such, if I need assistance in taking care of my family, why shouldn’t I be able to use the government agencies that were established to provide me with it? I am DAMNED tired of sanctimonious people like YOU making people like ME feel guilty for needing and accepting help. I hope you are never in a position to need the help you callously criticize others for accepting.
JudyJudy – When the person who is saying these things is planning to run for presidency, it does matter what someone says.
The real issue gets into our country’s education system, availably of contraception and sex education, a livable minimum wage, and generational welfare. Somehow I doubt he will get into any real discussion or viable solutions. Just a guess.
Why is anyone here talking about teen pregnancy? As previously stated, Natalie Portman is almost 30 years old. Figure out what the man said first, then blindly follow him.
Mrs. Odie 2, well said.
Everyone refers to single mothers as an issue. Apparently it is still a “mans world”. Is it referred to as single mothers beacause the males do not take or feel responsible? Are these instances all immaculate conception? Males generally go on with their life while females sacrific theirs in a futile attempt to do everything. When males are required to pay an amount to “help” support these children, it is minimal and they generally do not do more because they are afraid that the women will benefit. This is ridiculous. Also, does anyone even think about how much it costs to hire child care. The mothers generally do this free of charge. My children have a father that has not parented them in eleven years. What human being even thinks this is ever a choice in life. Thank goodness for mothers.
@Jayne E: Best to you in your job search. One of the few things I like about America (right now) are the decent unemployment benefits. Take care~
Why don’t this guy Huckabee mind his own business.
“Natalie Portman is rich & successful. She just won an Oscar. She is a public figure by choice, whether she likes it or not.
A lot of young impressionable girls who are uneducated & poor will be looking up to her & possibly try to emulate her. This is the point being made. STOP SPINNING SHIT AROUND !”
Excellent post, Jazmin (like very often) ! These rich people, selfish and verdatile, trying to tell poor how excellent their freedom is, is disgusting. Poor women can’t afford this freedom, either change their mind about a child they can’t rise alone.
“I made a baby alone like Nathalie Portman and lost my job because couldn’t sleep and the kid has NO father. Shoot, I don’t have Nathalie’s billions !!! Who wants my baby ?”
@House Mouse…what the hell does your comment even MEAN???
The man makes a point. We glamourize the birth and the n we leave 16 year oldsto fend for themselves. She should not be celebrated, the affect on society is self-evidenct.
Republicans – how low can you go? Stay out of everyone’s business! Why didn’t he criticize Bristol Palin?
If he wanted to slam ubersexual mothers “16 and pregnant” would have made a much better Target.
Thanks, Crash2Go2.
that’s right, don’t defend a home wreker, she took Sean Penn so she deserves anything comes her way
the only good thing in her is that she cares about animals, after that she says going to leave showbussiness but it’s here until now, she likes fame and don’t do anything she promises
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