Levi Johnson, a paid off spiv.

I have until now avoided comment on the Levi Johnson/ Bristol Palin break up, it’s a family matter and therefore private, or what passes for privacy in the ranks of the well known or well heeled. Regrettably that has ceased to be the case after recent developments in the media. The break up of the engagement was a non-issue to me as I personally feel that the reasons for the marriage were all wrong.

A couple of years ago I was at a barbecue and talking to one of my mates over a few beers, when he mentioned that his daughter was getting married the following day. After the usual good wishes he told me that she was eighteen and that he felt she was too young, and thought that she ‘had to’ get married. I mentioned that I thought it was a bad idea, as most guys in that situation end up thinking they were “trapped into marriage.” He replied, “Bloody hell, that’s right, I always felt like that.” It’s a pity, because until they separated I thought of them as a great couple who were made for each other.

The reason for my belief that it is a political issue is not simply that Levi Johnston is trashing Sarah and Bristol Palin on the Tyra Banks show, the female version of Jerry Springer, and anywhere else he can find someone to air his dribble. Toads like that exist outside the political world as well. If the show had paid him to do it, it would not be political, just a sleazy TV channel paying a slime ball to tell the sort of stories that the sort of people who watch it want to see.

The show however appears not to have paid him as Tyra Banks has denied compensating the family in any way for this trip. Bear in mind at this time, he did not go to New York alone, he was accompanied by his mother and sister. The estimated cost of the trip for three people plus accommodation would amount to at least ten thousand dollars, which is a lot for an unemployed kid to outlay, especially after buying his brand new red Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Its doubtful as to whether his mother had the wherewithal to pay for it from her now shut down drug pushing operation; she has some heavy legal bills.

So where is the money coming from?

The only people who would derive benefit worth paying for this is, firstly the television channel, (already denied), and the political enemies of Palin, the left. The left has already shown the world that it is prepared to smear the Palin children in order to get at their mother, so this seems to be the logical choice in this case.

I am not claiming that Obama, Axelrod, and Emanuel are making direct payments to the Johnstons; I doubt they would be silly enough to keep such activities at less than arms length. They have bagmen for that so they can keep it deniable. There is an incredible amount of money out there for the purchase of political favors, particularly given the enormous amounts the government is tossing around at the moment.

What would to the Johnstons seem a large amount of money would be piffling to the sort of people looking for bailouts, or large slabs of pork. For these people a small investment in the Johnstons could be returned by the government many times over. Levi would be well advised to hold onto as much of his ill gotten gains as he can, after all this source of income is only available while he can deliver the sort of stuff that his paymasters can use, and that has a shelf life.

There is more on this subject at Ron Devito's blog, and at Draft Palin 2012