Old Duggar Newspaper Articles

[Jentacular]

I've been reading here quite a bit since January, and I finally decided to register because of this thread. I have access to some databases I thought might yield interesting articles ... and I found 3. Of course the Golden Snitch would be the campaign song, but no such luck yet.

This AP article was the result of a Jim Bob press release:

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

April 9, 2002, Tuesday, BC cycle

Duggar seeks support for Senate bid

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 273 words

DATELINE: CONWAY, Ark.

State Rep. Jim Bob Duggar emphasized the importance of his Christian faith Tuesday in starting off his political campaign for the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat.

Duggar, a real estate businessman from Springdale, told a group of about 200 people of his commitment to his wife Michelle and their 13 children. "We really believe that God is the owner's manual of our lives," he said.

Duggar is challenging incumbent Sen. Tim Hutchinson. Democrat Mark Pryor, the state attorney general, is seeking the Democratic nomination. The primary is May 21.

Many in the group were children, and six of the Duggars' clan sang the official campaign theme song, "Won't You Please Vote For My Daddy."

Duggar said he would work for a strong national defense, reduced health-care costs and lower taxes. He said the federal government should be more family-friendly in creating jobs inside the country, instead of overseas. But he also said it was important to reduce the size of government.

Duggar said he favors a constitutional measure to prohibit the federal government from going into debt and he supports the elimination of the "marriage penalty" and taxes on Social Security.

Duggar's campaign manager, Dr. Doty Murphy, said the campaign would be run by word-of-mouth.

"It's not right to ask for millions of dollars to run for any office in this state," Murphy said.

Murphy said the campaign would not focus on character issues such as divorce. Hutchinson was divorced after several years of marriage, and has since remarried to a former staff member. Murphy said Duggar prays for those who have been divorced.

LOAD-DATE: April 10, 2002

[Jentacular]

This is a Knight-Ridder wire story that had some interesting details, I thought.

LENGTH: 2009 words

SPRINGDALE, Ark. - Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are baby boomers.

They may not fit the age profile of the post-World War II generation, but the numbers don't lie: They have 16 children.

Ten boys, six girls. Together, as a couple. All theirs, biologically.

And they may have more, Lord willing.

"We never dreamed we would have 16 children," said Mr. Duggar, a soft-spoken, 40-year-old former state lawmaker, as he surveys what Michelle lovingly refers to as their home's "serene chaos."

Now, he said, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

As a couple, the Duggars' approach to family planning is simple: They are born-again Christians who view the Bible as their life's manual - and the Bible describes children as a blessing from God. They will cheerfully accept as many blessings as God ordains.

So far, the blessings have added up to more children than all but a tiny fraction of American families have.

Life with the Duggars in the hills of northwest Arkansas is part "Little House on the Prairie," part "Yours, Mine and Ours" - except the only blending in this real-life family occurs with restaurantlike precision at mealtime.

The girls - and their 39-year-old mother - don skirts or dresses (no pants) and white socks. The boys - and their father - dress most days in the same colored polo shirts and slacks or jeans, with black socks. The sameness of their attire helps with laundry and organization.

The girls embrace a similar hairstyle, long and pulled back with a clip, flowing to near their waistlines. The boys' hair is closely cropped, often cemented into position with gel.

The girls do most of the cooking, though they've been taught to change a tire and check the oil. The boys are trained to fix the cars and make home repairs, though they cook occasionally - mostly on the grill.

The U.S. Census Bureau's latest figures, for 2002, reveal that 0.3 percent of women ages 15 to 44 have given birth to seven or more children. Moreover, the number of U.S. women birthing seven or more children has declined steadily since the government began tracking the demographic in 1976.

In an era when the ideal family is widely viewed as two children - one girl, one boy - the Duggars are an anomaly, attracting worldwide media attention.

For two years, the Discovery Health Channel has chronicled the family through a series of documentaries. When Johanna Faith was born Oct. 11, the network's cameras captured footage for the series' next installment, to be aired in March.

In the weeks after their 16th child arrived, the couple appeared on CBS's "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today." Mrs. Duggar did about 75 radio interviews. And the family has welcomed a steady stream of foreign journalists, including a recent visit from a three-man crew with the Korean Broadcasting System.

Inquiring minds want to know: How do they make it work? The answer: It's all about faith, finances and family. It's a system developed over their two decades together, and still evolving today.

The Duggars met as teenagers. She was a cheerleader at the public high school here. He attended a private Christian school.

They first crossed paths when he and a friend were visiting prospects for their church, First Baptist of Springdale. She had just become Christian. They didn't see each other again until much later, when she was hired to work in a frozen yogurt shop that was managed by Mr. Duggar's mother, Mary.

The couple married just after she graduated from high school. He was 19, she 17. Neither went to college. Together, they launched a used-car business, then towing and real estate businesses. Both are licensed real estate agents.

The Duggars didn't start out to have 16 children - or more. Early on, she took birth-control pills. After their first child, son Joshua, was born in 1988, Mrs. Duggar began taking them again. Before long, she suffered a miscarriage they believed was caused by the birth control.

"We were just shocked," Mr. Duggar said. "We consider ourselves pro-life. We thought, 'What have we done?'"

They decided to let God determine the size of their family. Fifteen children later, Mrs. Duggar remains healthy and willing to keep having children. None of their children has health problems, and only one wears glasses.

The Duggars live temporarily in a 2,200-square-foot rented house along a busy street, not far from Interstate 540 in this town of about 50,000. They are building - debt-free - a 7,000-square-foot house in nearby Tontitown.

They don't adhere to a rigid schedule, but in an often-frenzied world with 18 people living in such tight quarters, there are daily imperatives: a midmorning Bible reading with Dad, home-school lessons with Mom.

"This place is like Grand Central Station," said Mr. Duggar's mother, Mary, a real-estate broker who often lends a hand.

Indeed, it seems solitude is a precious, elusive treasure. But it is a house of smiles. There are squabbles. But amid the chaos, there is a vibrant rhythm to life.

There are rambunctious little boys chasing one another through the house, climbing onto furniture.

"It's like going to a 10-ring circus," Mr. Duggar said. "It is just fun all the time."

On a recent morning, the family gathers in its spartan living room, most sitting in a circle on the light tan carpet, their legs crossed. Opening a black leather-covered King James Bible, Mr. Duggar reads a chapter from Proverbs, then stops to drive home the meaning of verses that exhort truthful speech.

"What would you think if I said, 'We're going to go to Silver Dollar City tomorrow' - then the next day, I told you, 'No, I've changed my mind; we're going to stay home and do laundry'?"

The youngsters giggled at the thought. It was no contest: Silver Dollar City, any day. And it wouldn't have been acceptable for Dad not to make good on his word.

"Some day," Mr. Duggar said, "you guys are going to have your own family. Make sure your words are accurate."

They joined hands for prayer. Joshua thanked the Lord for Scripture and their family.

The Duggars aren't unusual simply because they have so many children. They also live a frugal existence that permits Mr. Duggar to spend most of his days, right now, with his older sons, putting the finishing touches on their new home. Mrs. Duggar is a stay-at-home mom who takes the lead in home-schooling the children.

Greeting the media has become commonplace since the birth of the Duggars' 16th child. They don't have a precise budget, Mr. Duggar said, but it takes about $5,000 a month to operate their household. They live off the rental income from commercial property they own debt-free.

They have no house or car payments and no credit cards. They purchase their clothes at a thrift store that benefits the homeless in northwest Arkansas. They eat out occasionally but take advantage of the dollar menus at fast-food restaurants or the 49-cent children's meals at AQ ("Arkansas Quality") Chicken, a local favorite once frequented by former President Bill Clinton. The three older girls give the boys haircuts.

It's the fruit of a financial freedom seminar Mr. Duggar attended years ago.

"We haven't had an overabundance," he said, "but God's always met our needs."

For example, when the family moves into its new home, TLC television will be there to film a program akin to the home-makeover reality shows. Sponsors are donating food for the pantry and appliances, such as washers and dryers. Then, Discovery Health is sending the Duggars on a trip west to Disneyland and a dude ranch.

Though thrilled with the help and the trip, the couple's oldest daughter, 15-year-old Jana, said her family isn't welcoming the cameras because of the freebies or because the spotlight is coveted.

"We're able to share with others about Christ and what he's done in our lives," she said, stressing the family's primary message: "Children are a blessing and not a burden."

In the Duggars' temporary home, there is no Christmas tree or garland, no wrapped presents. It's not a protest against holiday commercialism. It's a practical matter: They must vacate their rented home by mid-January. Their new home must be inhabitable. And every extra dime they have is being poured into the new house.

"I told the kids the house is going to be our Christmas," Mr. Duggar said. "We didn't want them to think Christmas is just about gifts you're going to receive, but it's about Christ coming to earth."

The Duggars may be swimming against society's tide with such a large family, but it's clear children - lots and lots of children - are at the core of their social network. They are members of a home church that numbers about 100. They are active in a home-schooling network. Their friends all seem to have lots of children; one family has nine, another six.

And there almost seems to have evolved an unofficial, loose-knit network of large families that home-school their children and attend in-home churches. Some even have volunteered time to help the Duggars complete their home by mid-January.

For example, a St. Louis family with six children recently traveled to Springdale for the weekend to help the Duggars paint the interior of the two-story, white home with green metal roof. And they planned to return to help stain cabinets throughout the house.

Joshua, the Duggars' oldest son, finished high school at age 16. He passed the state's test for a general equivalency diploma, or GED. He is considering applying to a California law school that permits distance learning. His goal: to enter politics.

His political interest was stoked during the two terms his father served in the Arkansas House. The Duggar family relocated to Little Rock during the sessions - and young Joshua often went to the Capitol with his father, where reporters dubbed him "the governor."

Mr. Duggar said he sensed God encouraging him to run for the U.S. Senate in 2003, but he lost. He now believes God's purpose was fulfilled, he said, in a most unexpected way: When he and Michelle went to vote, with 14 children in tow, an Associated Press photographer was present. The family photo appeared the next day in the New York Times.

Mrs. Duggar was contacted by Parents magazine to write a story on parenting. Discovery Health Channel then arranged to shoot the documentaries. There were more children and reporters to chronicle the new arrivals.

"This is an opportunity to share and hopefully encourage other families, not only here in America, but around the world," Mr. Duggar said.

"A lot of people are amazed to see that you have 16 healthy, beautiful children that are intelligent and all work together as a team. A lot of people are struggling with one or two."

---

THE DUGGAR HOUSE RULES

Posted in the Duggars' dining area:

Always use soft words, even when you don't feel well.

Always display kind actions, even if you have been mistreated.

Show joyful attitudes even when no one else is looking.

Have sincere motives with no thought of self-gain.

Think pure thoughts.

Always give a good report of others. Never talebear unless physical harm will come to someone. Use Matthew 18.

Never raise a hand to hit.

Never raise a foot to kick.

Never raise an object to throw.

Never raise a voice to yell.

Never raise an eye to scowl.

Use one toy/activity at a time.

Never let the sun go down on your wrath. (Don't go to bed angry or guilty.)

Amendment J.O.Y. - make serving your family a priority - put Jesus first, others second, yourself last.

STANDARD FARE

The monthly grocery bill runs from $1,500 to $2,000, including diapers and paper products.

GO FIGURE

7 Grocery carts the family can fill on a trip to fill the pantry.

4 Gallons of milk consumed every three or four days.

7 Loads of laundry each day (9 when they wash bedding).

2,200 Size of their rental house, in square feet.

7,000 Size of their new house, under construction, in square feet.

THE FAMILY FLEET

1997 Ford 21-passenger shuttle bus, purchased for $2,100 from a local transit company in a sealed-bid auction.

1998 Ford 15-passenger van

1986 Chevrolet crew cab pickup truck

1998 Oldsmobile Achieva

1996 Crown Victoria

The oldest son, Joshua, also owns three vehicles: a 1997 Saturn and two Mazda pickups.

LOAD-DATE: April 19, 2006

[Jentacular]

And last but not least, this one caught my eye because of the denominational and family tie-ins.

Palestine Herald-Press (Texas)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

October 1, 2009 Thursday

Reality TV stars to visit Jacksonville

BYLINE: Palestine Herald-Press, Texas

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 574 words

Oct. 1--Reality TV stars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar from TLC's reality TV show "18 Kids and Counting" will visit the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary's Jacksonville campus for the 10 a.m. Sunday chapel service.

The Duggars, from Tonitown, Ark., are known for their 18 children. The couple announced on Sept. 2 that they are expecting child number 19. The Duggars have confirmed that the new baby will be given a name beginning with the letter "J," just like all of the couple's other children. Currently the couple has 10 sons and eight daughters, with their ages ranging from eight months to 21 years.

Michelle Duggar, named the 2004 "Young Mother of the Year Award" in Arkansas and her husband Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative (and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002), are a Southern Baptist family who believes children are a blessing of God. They also are a talented family, in that most members of the family, know how to play both the violin and piano.

As a family project, the Duggars built a 7,000-square foot home debt free. Both Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are licensed real estate agents. They often host and facilitate the Jim Sammon's Financial Freedom Seminar. Jim Bob served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003 and was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2002.

BMATS Academic Dean Dr. Philip Attebery said the Duggars have a connection to the seminary.

Jim Bob Duggar's great-uncle, the late Dr. John W. Duggar, served as president of BMA Seminary from 1973-1983. The Duggar Annex also was built and dedicated in Dr. Duggar's honor as an addition to the BMA Seminary library in 1980.

The Duggars have authored a book and travel extensively sharing their story of family values throughout the world. This will be the first visit by Jim Bob, Michelle and their children to BMA Theological Seminary.

"The Duggars are exemplary in many ways. They are well organized, live within their means and are committed to serving the Lord. They have an obvious passion for family and are eager to help others," Attebery said.

The Duggar family has been featured on several TV talk/news shows such as NBC's "The Today Show" and CBS's "The Early Show." They also have been featured in magazines and newspapers around the country.

In addition to the Duggar's brood, in April, eldest son Joshua Duggar, 21, and his wife, Anna (married last September) announced they are expecting their first child, due on Oct. 18. The parents-to-be say they plan to leave the number of children they have in "God's hands" and name them with a theme, but no word if they will continue the "J" tradition.

To date the Duggars have been blessed with 18 children: Joshua, Jana and John-David (twins), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah and Jeremiah (twins), Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer and Jordyn.

For more information about the Duggar family, visit http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/18-kids-and ... amily.html or http://www.duggarfamily.com

To see more of the Palestine Herald-Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.palestineherald.com/. Copyright © 2009, Palestine Herald-Press, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

LOAD-DATE: October 2, 2009

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

[DGayle]

Several years ago (it was either when they announced they were pregnant with Josie or Jubilee; can't remember) a local TV anchor mentioned that when she was an anchor in Little Rock, the Duggars sent out a press release for the birth of #10. JB was pimping his family pretty early on, it seems. How else would a paper in New Mexico know about a large family in AR? There are large families all over the U.S. Why did they have a piece about this one in particular? Because Boob's a fame whore. :evil-eye:

When I was in high school, my local news, a time zone away, mentioned a story about a woman who just gave birth to #9, and the catch phrase was, "She gave birth to a whole baseball team!" They were pimping themselves out even earlier than #10.

[DGayle]

I guess what I am saying is that in this day and age, people who choose to squeeze out 19 kids need to put the time into raising them and that it can be done if they actually put the work in.

Almost anyone can raise a dozen and a half kids, but keeping them alive, and nurturing them, isn't the same thing. I have no doubt I could raise a couple dozen kids, but what about the time to nurture them? Let them be individuals? Either they fit into a mold, or they'll be strangers you're keeping alive until they flee.

[DGayle]

But I am curious what made him as a Republican candidate decide to challenge a Republican incumbent for US Senate. That seems like a suicide mission.

So he can claim that his loss is the devil at work, to make himself out to be a victim of family-hating liberals disguised as god-fearing conservatives?

That article is a gold mine. I'm so filled with joy over how spot on it is and confirms what we've known about that freak.

[DGayle]

Edit: Oops, I saw someone else found one of these articles. I missed that reply. Sorry for a dupe.

I found out why JB thought he could win!

http://articles.philly.com/2002-05-19/n ... bob-duggar

It is Arkansas Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson's 1999 divorce and his remarriage to a former aide. In the morality play that Arkansas politics can be, careers can hang on questions of sin, forgiveness and redemption.

Once a hero to Christian conservatives, Hutchinson, 52, is being challenged in Tuesday's primary by State Rep. Jim Bob Duggar. Duggar, 36, is a Christian who says God called him to run. He travels the state with his wife and nine of their 13 home-schooled children, and they proudly announce at each rally that their 14th is due around Election Day.

"The divorce is the reason for the challenge," said Janine Parry, a political scientist at the University of Arkansas. "The marital problem and the allegations of hypocrisy make Hutchinson more vulnerable."

That's also why he pimped his kids so hard. Look what a good daddy he is! Supporting child labor and all!

[DGayle]

Here they are stumping for Todd Akin, by singing a bastardized version of Edelweiss.

[bBvideo 560,340:38lesano]

[/bBvideo]

[Hera]

JB's been trading on having lots of kids since #9? That's truly deplorable. He's literally created his own cheerleading section that he can trot out to have perform for whatever pet project he believes is going to benefit him the most.

Can you just imagine having to go on the campaign trail and pretend to be the perfect little family values fundie family while, at the same time dealing with the fact that your brother has been molesting you and/or your sisters for a year and no one is doing anything about it? Or being forced to play the role of godly son while you're struggling with urges you know are wrong and your parents refuse to get you help?

What a hell of a thing to do to your kids.

[happy atheist]

Is "reversal baby" a post count title? If not it should be :lol:

Done!

[DGayle]

JB's been trading on having lots of kids since #9? That's truly deplorable. He's literally created his own cheerleading section that he can trot out to have perform for whatever pet project he believes is going to benefit him the most.

Can you just imagine having to go on the campaign trail and pretend to be the perfect little family values fundie family while, at the same time dealing with the fact that your brother has been molesting you and/or your sisters for a year and no one is doing anything about it? Or being forced to play the role of godly son while you're struggling with urges you know are wrong and your parents refuse to get you help?

What a hell of a thing to do to your kids.

It went through my mind that, while those girls were begging for votes for their dad, that sick fuck was doing nothing about the known abuse that they were going through. At least Hutchinson wasn't touching anyone against their will. This is another way JB&M were hypocrites. Hutchinson's bad for family values for his affair, but molestation is fine.

[MisUndrstd]

There's a lot wrong with having as many kids as this. Before reliable birth control, there wasn't a choice. People had kids because abstinence was the only prevention, and social security didn't exist and having no kids meant you were fucked when you were old. But also families weren't as big as you think. According to the US census, in 1900, the average household size was 4.6, and you can't blame that on grown kids not living with their parents anymore since those kids would be married with kids of their own.

Kids in very large families don't get much, if any, personal time. They're just another mouth to feed, more hands to put to work. Talking just 10 minutes a day to each of 19 kids is over 3 hours. That many kids don't get to be individual. There are too many kids to remember who does what activity, so violin for them all. Homesteading isn't common anymore, and isn't always possibly like it used to be. The median household income is just enough for 19 kids to starve on. The Duggars got lucky financially. That doesn't mean they know their kids.

DGayle, I think you are trying to look at the cons of the big family, but trust me there are many great points of being from a large family. I think the Duggars mistakes can't be reflected on all large families. I'am a member of a family in the double digits and when I look back on my childhood, I have fabulous memories. It's true that parents of a great number of kids don't have a lot of time to devote to their children or they have to think up creative ways to get to know their children. But I believe most parents with a large number of children do very well. We weren't poor by any means, but my parents were very resourceful. We had a huge garden and raised chickens, all of the kids helped. It wasn't slave labor, it was learning how to work in a team and how to be responsible not only for yourself but other people as well. As far as being individuals, we were very individual, there were things that we liked to do together and there were things that also separated us. My parents were not hover parents by any means, but we were not neglected either. If we had a problem we knew our parents were there for us, they were always there to lend an ear or offer advice. But the most influential people in my life without a doubt were my siblings.. and I don't consider that a bad thing, the longest relationships we have in our lifetime is our relationship with our siblings. My older sisters were not required to be sister-mom's but they did help my mother if she needed them to, we all did. We all worked at a very young age, I took my first babysitting job when I was 12.. we all learned to be hard-working, to get the things we wanted. I meet kids now days who are out of high school that haven't even had their first jobs yet. My brother's were the newspapers boys for years.. as one or two would go on to bigger or better jobs they would hand down the newspaper delivery business to the next brother(s) or sometimes sister. We always had fun, no matter what. Our vacations did not involve thousands of dollars and trips to Disney World.. we headed out to nature, camped, canoed and told ghost stories around a camp fire, we even camped in our backyard regularly. My father was the best story teller of them all. There were two TV's in the house one in my parents room and one in the family room and my parents hardly ever watched TV in their room (unless it was late night Johnny Carson).. we all sat around the "main" TV and watched Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley.. we'd have to jockey for position nightly to see who would get the couch or comfortable chairs. As far as individuality, we are all different, we are all our own person but we also have this magical sense of belonging, as well. My oldest sister was studious she loved to read, play the piano and sing, my oldest brother loved the guitar, cars and camping (he still does), my next sister was into theater, singing and dancing, my brother after her was all about baseball, cars and joined a volunteer FD at 18 and is now a fireman in Chicago, my next brother loved Hockey, baseball, cars, guitars and drums... etc.... I have one sister who is a beautiful figure-skater and went on to win many local and regional competitions as a teenager and I hate ice skating and I was never forced to do it. I like softball, theater, volleyball and the saxaphone... So even though our parents were not hover parents or always "there" for us, they were there when we needed them to be, it is true we were not coddled, but we learned early on to stand on our own two feet. Not one of us has landed in jail nor have any of us had a problem with substance abuse, now that we are adults we all lead our own lives but still make time to get together and to be a family during holidays, weddings, funerals, a niece/nephew graduating.. etc. I'm not saying there weren't rough times, we had to drink powdered milk because it too expensive to buy real milk for such a large family. There were no snacks in the house, there were 3 meals a day.. breakfast, lunch and dinner and my mother didn't raise picky eaters.. if you didn't like what she made for dinner, she was not going back into the kitchen to make something just for you.. you ate what she put before you or you ate cereal. Sometimes money was thin and birthday parties involved a home-made sheet cake and very little fan-fare, you didn't always get what you wanted but you got what you needed. If it was your birthday and you needed shoes for school then that is what you received.. We used our imagination to play games, but we never lacked for playmates. Sometimes there were fights and our parents didn't always get in the middle of the fights, they told us to "work it out". If the fight was physical then that was different, that required a parent to become involved. We were never spanked, but we had punishment and after a few times of sitting in your room by yourself while you siblings were having fun snowball fights or playing in the tree house taught you a pretty good lesson. Now that my parents are older and have numerous health problems, the responsibility of helping care for them doesn't rest on just one or two people. My parents have an army (figuratively) of help. Even my brother in-laws or sister in-laws step in to help as well as several of my nieces or nephews.

My parents were far from the Duggars and to lump all large families into a Duggar mold is just not right. Looking back on my childhood there are many more pros than cons and I can easily say now as an adult that my childhood was the best part of my life. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

[Nic]

Yet another example of that fine Duggar work ethic - get your kids to do all of the parenting and campaigning for you! :roll:

It was part of their homeschooling. Besides the obvious civics lesson, the singing to beg for votes was their music lesson.

But you'd think with all the showmanship the kids learned they could come up with a better act for Alive festival.

[purple_summer]

Well I've been inspired to do some digging on my own... Edited for length (and relevancy)

Source: CongressDaily. 04/16/2001, p11. 1p.

Document Type: Article

Arkansas. GOP state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar announced Friday he will oppose Sen. Tim Hutchinson in the 2002 GOP Senate primary, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Duggar, who is allied with Christian conservative groups, said Republicans need a strong candidate - and the best way to have one is to give voters a choice. Most GOP sources consider Duggar's chances of upsetting Hutchinson very remote. But they are concerned that Duggar, with his Washington County (Fayetteville) base, could pose enough of a challenge to make Hutchinson appear weak going into a general election. The concern is heightened by the backlash Hutchinson has endured among religious conservatives for obtaining a divorce and marrying an ex-staffer last year. However, Duggar said he was committed to running a clean campaign and avoided comment on whether Hutchinson's divorce prompted him to run. Sources said Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee attempted to talk Duggar out of the race. And President Bush is coming to Little Rock late this month to attend a Hutchinson fundraiser where Republicans are expecting to raise between $700,000 and $1 million. Duggar may be best- known for his family of 12 children: He, his wife, and the children form a gospel singing troupe well known in northwest Arkansas.

A Storm Of Senate Campaign Ads.

Source: CongressDaily AM. 4/29/2002, p11. 2p.

Document Type: Article

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tim Hutchinson's most recent television ad focuses on seniors, saying that in the Senate he has fought for health care, a World War II memorial and Social Security. Brabender Cox Mihalke produced the statewide ad.

Hutchinson's primary opponent, state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar, released three radio ads in February, featuring his 13 children singing his campaign song. The ads say Duggar will cut taxes and fight against “Eastern liberals.â€

Hutchinson Defeats Duggar, Dickey Gets Rematch Against Ross.

Source: CongressDaily. 5/22/2002, p14. 2p.

Document Type: Article

Section:

POLITICS

Arkansas. Sen. Tim Hutchinson Tuesday defeated state Rep. Jim Bob Duggar in the GOP primary by a 78-22 percent margin, and now faces the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Mark Pryor, a highly competitive race in November. The Hutchinson-Duggar primary was widely seen as a test of Hutchinson's popularity since he divorced his wife and married a former aide following his 1996 victory on a family values platform. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette quoted Hutchinson saying that “the wide margin over Duggar should put the divorce issue to rest. We've moved on and so should reporters and others.â€

[OodOnTheLoo]

Wait. There was a song the children sang and the refrain was, "please vote for our Daddy"? And this was JimBobs campaign strategy? Oh god, it hurts. But, but, but...someone has to find footage.

[Seven Severn]

A couple of years ago, someone on FJ found an old article from when Boob ran for Senate (or maybe it was state rep.) and the writer pressed Boob about his money situation. Boob, reluctantly, confessed that he was a millionaire and had spent $200,000 of his own money in his run for office.

[Rescinded and Mended]

So I found this article, dated (or archived) in 2006. It's a critique of some of the earliest episodes of the show.

It also has the famous "Alice" post in the comments section, where poster Alice talks discusses the Duggar decay behind the perfect fundamentalist facade. if anyone wants to take a gander. Scroll about halfway down the page to find it.

Posting this because even though Alice's comment can be found on other places on Free Jinger, this is the first time I've seen the article that is paired with it.

www.ibiblio.org/bascha/blog/2006/03/21/ ... ment-36114

[lostfemme]

So I found this article, dated (or archived) in 2006. It's a critique of some of the earliest episodes of the show.

It also has the famous "Alice" post in the comments section, where poster Alice talks discusses the Duggar decay behind the perfect fundamentalist facade. if anyone wants to take a gander. Scroll about halfway down the page to find it.

Posting this because even though Alice's comment can be found on other places on Free Jinger, this is the first time I've seen the article that is paired with it.

http://www.ibiblio.org/bascha/blog/2006 ... ment-36114

Gosh, Alice made a lot of comments there. Almost everything she said has checked out. I wonder if the girls did get counseling as ordered by DHS, and TTH was checked every six months, or if the lawsuit stopped all that.

[FloraKitty35]

You do know it's 2015?

Queen Anne's only child not to die as an infant was Prince William, Duke of Gloucester. He died at the age of 11 years. His death is the main reason Elizabeth II is Queen today.

[Cleopatra7]

Queen Anne's only child not to die as an infant was Prince William, Duke of Gloucester. He died at the age of 11 years. His death is the main reason Elizabeth II is Queen today.

It might have been the norm for women to have many pregnancies in the past, but have them all live to adulthood would have been unusual. Even in modern countries with high birthrates, the average number of children is six, not anything in the double digits. Modern quiverfullers assume that all their pregnancies, assuming they don't miscarry early on, are going to result in a living child who will grow into an adult. We've speculated about how they might react to a woman dying in childbirth, but how would they manage if most or all of their quiver died as babies or young children? Given how much the miscarriages of J'Caleb and Jubilee messed JB and Michelle up, I can't imagine them having the emotional ability to deal with multiple infant or child deaths. This may sound morbid to some, but high infant mortality was a fact of life until quite recently, and in many countries today it's still a problem. The reason why the writer of Psalms praised the man with the "quiver" of children was probably because he was lucky to have so many children survive into adulthood, given how so many of them died prematurely.

[Nic]

This might be an unpopular opinion :nenner:

I don't find the giant brood of children to be their main problem. I am not even sure that it is a problem except for the ideological reasons that they give for having all these kids.

Reliable contraceptives only became available in the 1960s. Condoms were around for quite a while, but they were expensive and hard to get. It used to be the norm for people to have 8-12-16 children. Especially if there were twins involved. It was just a fact of life that women would have a large brood and possibly die from it. It was not that long ago that child birth came with a 30% risk of death. It still does in many parts of the world.

It was also the norm for half the kids to die as infants. Queen Anne, for example had 18 children that were either stillborn, or died in infancy. My own Grandma had 6 children and 3 lived to adulthood. My Great Grandmother had 12 children. Mormons continue to have huge families--as do some Catholics.

Michelle Duggard is normal in the amount of children that she has turned out--she just happens to be extra fertile than avg and has the benefit of vaccines and other healthcare advances that serve to keep her entire brood alive. If this was 1915 instead of 2015, she might have been down to 10-12 kids by now.

So my point is: There is nothing wrong with having so many kids (unless you literally are unable to feed them, but there seems to be enough tater tot casserole to go around). There is also nothing special about having 19 kids because a lot of women can manage giving birth to that many. It was the norm to have babies every 1 to 2 years for millennia. It is just no longer the NORM to not use contraceptives and avoid pregnancies. We forget really easy.

So yeah, I cant blame them for having so many children. Its what happens when you don't use contraceptives. Its just their ideology that is the problem.

:stir-pot: :popcorn2: :)

The fact that ALMOST ALL of the board forums have QUIVERFULL as topic titles, shows that *most* of the users of this board have a grasp that the Duggars and their ilk are having high numbers kids based on their beliefs.

So to say that the number of kids isn't the problem, but their ideology is, misses the whole point.

The Duggars have all the kids BECAUSE of their ideology.

[roddma]

DGayle, I think you are trying to look at the cons of the big family, but trust me there are many great points of being from a large family. I think the Duggars mistakes can't be reflected on all large families. I'am a member of a family in the double digits and when I look back on my childhood, I have fabulous memories. It's true that parents of a great number of kids don't have a lot of time to devote to their children or they have to think up creative ways to get to know their children. But I believe most parents with a large number of children do very well. We weren't poor by any means, but my parents were very resourceful. We had a huge garden and raised chickens, all of the kids helped. It wasn't slave labor, it was learning how to work in a team and how to be responsible not only for yourself but other people as well. As far as being individuals, we were very individual, there were things that we liked to do together and there were things that also separated us. My parents were not hover parents by any means, but we were not neglected either. If we had a problem we knew our parents were there for us, they were always there to lend an ear or offer advice. But the most influential people in my life without a doubt were my siblings.. and I don't consider that a bad thing, the longest relationships we have in our lifetime is our relationship with our siblings. My older sisters were not required to be sister-mom's but they did help my mother if she needed them to, we all did. We all worked at a very young age, I took my first babysitting job when I was 12.. we all learned to be hard-working, to get the things we wanted. I meet kids now days who are out of high school that haven't even had their first jobs yet. My brother's were the newspapers boys for years.. as one or two would go on to bigger or better jobs they would hand down the newspaper delivery business to the next brother(s) or sometimes sister. We always had fun, no matter what. Our vacations did not involve thousands of dollars and trips to Disney World.. we headed out to nature, camped, canoed and told ghost stories around a camp fire, we even camped in our backyard regularly. My father was the best story teller of them all. There were two TV's in the house one in my parents room and one in the family room and my parents hardly ever watched TV in their room (unless it was late night Johnny Carson).. we all sat around the "main" TV and watched Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley.. we'd have to jockey for position nightly to see who would get the couch or comfortable chairs. As far as individuality, we are all different, we are all our own person but we also have this magical sense of belonging, as well. My oldest sister was studious she loved to read, play the piano and sing, my oldest brother loved the guitar, cars and camping (he still does), my next sister was into theater, singing and dancing, my brother after her was all about baseball, cars and joined a volunteer FD at 18 and is now a fireman in Chicago, my next brother loved Hockey, baseball, cars, guitars and drums... etc.... I have one sister who is a beautiful figure-skater and went on to win many local and regional competitions as a teenager and I hate ice skating and I was never forced to do it. I like softball, theater, volleyball and the saxaphone... So even though our parents were not hover parents or always "there" for us, they were there when we needed them to be, it is true we were not coddled, but we learned early on to stand on our own two feet. Not one of us has landed in jail nor have any of us had a problem with substance abuse, now that we are adults we all lead our own lives but still make time to get together and to be a family during holidays, weddings, funerals, a niece/nephew graduating.. etc. I'm not saying there weren't rough times, we had to drink powdered milk because it too expensive to buy real milk for such a large family. There were no snacks in the house, there were 3 meals a day.. breakfast, lunch and dinner and my mother didn't raise picky eaters.. if you didn't like what she made for dinner, she was not going back into the kitchen to make something just for you.. you ate what she put before you or you ate cereal. Sometimes money was thin and birthday parties involved a home-made sheet cake and very little fan-fare, you didn't always get what you wanted but you got what you needed. If it was your birthday and you needed shoes for school then that is what you received.. We used our imagination to play games, but we never lacked for playmates. Sometimes there were fights and our parents didn't always get in the middle of the fights, they told us to "work it out". If the fight was physical then that was different, that required a parent to become involved. We were never spanked, but we had punishment and after a few times of sitting in your room by yourself while you siblings were having fun snowball fights or playing in the tree house taught you a pretty good lesson. Now that my parents are older and have numerous health problems, the responsibility of helping care for them doesn't rest on just one or two people. My parents have an army (figuratively) of help. Even my brother in-laws or sister in-laws step in to help as well as several of my nieces or nephews.

My parents were far from the Duggars and to lump all large families into a Duggar mold is just not right. Looking back on my childhood there are many more pros than cons and I can easily say now as an adult that my childhood was the best part of my life. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Many larger families are far removed from the Duggars but are dysfunctional. Marky Mark Wahlberg was one of nine and he frequently go in trouble. He talked about they raised themselves.Madonna was one of six and said she didn't get enough attention. Speaking of Michael Jackson, he was one of 9. Their father said once you have playmates already.

You may hear 'anomaly' stories, but for every one of them there are 4 or five more who hated growing up in large families. The large family is an entirely different culture. I find the majority of those who loved their big family are either the youngest or the oldest.

Often, kids in large families grow up with a poverty mindset. It is sad when fruit or is a luxury and I read plenty of comments from larger families who think one or two kid families are 'spoiled' just because they go to Disney or get a new pair of shoes. Many parents of large families often ridicule those who stop at 1-3 or decide to have none. You don't need a large family to learn values. Chores and responsibility yes but kids arent here to be a parent's servant. And children aren't insurance in your old age no matter the number. The bottom line is I stand by the mindset it is a struggle and maybe impossible to be there emotionally and physically for near double digit kids.

[anjulibai]

My mom is one of 9 kids. Not one of them had more than 3 children. Two had only one child. Believe me, that's not a coincidence.

[theinvisiblegirl]

Here they are stumping for Todd Akin, by singing a bastardized version of Edelweiss.

[bBvideo 560,340:nhpvgpty]

[/bBvideo]

When I was in my church choir when I was a kid, we sang this version once. Do the Duggars know that the *gasp* Catholics are also using this version? :lol:

[HWest]

My brother in law is one of 17 siblings in a very religious Irish/Catholic family all grown up with some siblings in their 60's now. Some of them are still in professional counseling. The parents were also from large families (the father was 1 of 21 and the mother was 1 of 14). Here are some statistics. Only 5 of the children married. Of those five children there are exactly 3 children. None of those children are married or have kids of their own. Both parents are deceased now. Even though 6 of the siblings settled nearby 4 of them did not attend either funeral. Only 2 attend church regularly. None of the children are drug addicts, homeless, did jail time or were unemployed.

Although personal happiness eluded most of this family all of them were high achievers. Homeschooling was not widely practiced in the 50's and 60's and although they were not permitted to bring any friends home or go to friends homes after school being in school was enough to show them that there were alternate ways to live. Also, most were blessed with very high intelligence and teachers took a personal interest in them.

There was a buddy system in place where older kids fed, bathed, dressed and cared for a group of younger siblings. In addition, they did all of the cooking and cleaning up after meals and other chores.

Only the father was a breadwinner and he was a very hard working brick layer but with that many mouths to feed they were dirt poor adding makeshift additions to their home. The big splurge was an above ground pool. All (even boys) were required to wear oversize T shirts over bathing suits due to modesty concerns.

In addition to all of the chores girls got baby sitting jobs at 12 and worked as au pairs like the poster above. Boys had paper routes and did odd jobs and mowed lawns. 90% of all kids earnings went to a "family pool". Vacations, like the poster above were at nearby campgrounds because several trips had to be made from the house to the campground (not enough vehicles to transport everyone at once).

Kids had to attend morning mass at 6 AM every day, go to school, do chores and/or work. There was no TV. The goal was to raise as many priests and nuns as possible.

It was school that set all these youngsters free. At 18 they did not walk out of the house - they ran. The first 2 to leave joined the armed forces. As soon as they had a little money they were the best buddies in the world to the siblings left at home and they moved them out and helped them get a higher education. Among these children are a doctor, a lawyer, some RN's, a sibling run catering company, career armed services etc. The older kids took in the younger ones and to this day they will fly across the country at the drop of a hat if one of them is in need.

They have a very grim opinion of the Duggars BTW. And I can see from the early press coverage that Jim Bob, his mother and Michelle are just expert grifters. JB, with his limited HS education and no political platform whatsoever expected to win a seat in the US Senate by dragging his kids around for a "dog and pony" show. WTF? It's easy to live "Debt Fee" when you run around the country begging people non stop for "love offerings" . Congrats to them for spawning a second generation of grifters (Jill and Derrick begging for money for their undefined "mission"). They will get donations too thanks to the notoriety that TLC gave them all. I do not care if I ever see a follow up story on who married, died or had a baby. I don't wish them harm . I do want them off TV. Their story is not typical of the realities of a very large family.