Right-wing politician has 18 kids

Jim Bob Duggar and his wife Michelle are media celebrities who are now welcoming their 18th child.

I wouldn't judge someone just because they have 18 kids. Whether the Duggars have 30 children or zero isn't the real issue here.

The real issue is that Jim Bob Duggar is a rather, uh, interesting character - and that the media has yet another double standard.

When I say Jim Bob Duggar was a conservative politician, I don't say it to judge. I say it because it's a fact. Most articles don't mention the fact that he was a Republican legislator in the Arkansas House several years ago.

According to the Wikipedia articles about the former lawmaker and his family, the Duggars "endorse the Quiverfull movement." Some of Quiverfull's own advocates have stated that the movement's purpose is to have as many children as possible in order to produce a generation of right-wing leaders to someday dominate positions of influence.

Again, I'm not judging the Duggars. I'm just stating the facts about Quiverfull as reported by its own supporters.

The omniscient Wikipedia also says the Duggars back the teachings of Bill Gothard, a speaker and writer known for his goofy claim that the Cabbage Patch Kids are possessed by demons.

Now what about the media's double standard? Well, just look at how the media (especially rightist talk radio) acts about other families who have only 3 or 4 kids. If most people - including married couples - have that many children, some in the media unfairly brand them as irresponsible. That's because most people aren't right-wing politicians like Jim Bob Duggar was.

Imagine if you can what the negative reaction by the wingnutosphere would be if I was the father of 3 or 4 children, even if this was in the context of marriage. But the Duggars have 18 kids, and cable channel TLC gives them their own TV series for it!

In short, the media treats ultraconservative professionals like Jim Bob Duggar much more favorably than it treats everyone else. There's no denying it, and it's time we bring the issue to the fore, even though this isn't an easy entry to write.

And that's not really the Duggars' fault. That's the fault of the conservative media culture for having such an obvious double standard that favors conservative families such as the Duggars because of their views.

The media judges. It judges folks for supposedly having too many kids - if they don't share the Duggars' ideas. I'm sincerely trying not to judge the Duggars, for they are certainly entitled to their beliefs. But I'll certainly judge the media and the right-wing blogosphere for practicing doublespeak and phony populism.

(Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/121908dntex18thbaby.2c95770.html)