Most of the recent media coverage of Joy-Anna Duggar has surrounded her courtship with Austin Forsyth, but it seems the 19-year-old daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle has plans for her future that go beyond her love life.
According to the Duggar’s official blog, Joy-Anna recently began an internship Arkansas State Capitol.
Her younger brother, 18-year-old Jedidiah is also interning at the capitol building, but fans are more focused on Joy-Anna, because a Duggar female being permitted to work is practically unheard of.
In a post entitled “Joy and Jed Interning in Little Rock,” the Duggars (or whoever manages the Duggars’ website) had this to say:
“The Duggars have deep roots in politics, with Jim Bob Duggar serving two terms as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives following the 1997 election and various other family members taking interest in the political realm over the years.
“The family has also helped multiple political candidates campaign for office.”
We don’t know if “helped” is the right word, but the Duggars do have a long history of involving themselves with politicians:
Yes, the family is probably hoping that any alliances Joy-Anna forges play out better than the ill-fated Handsy Josh and Lyin’ Ted partnership.
These days, conservative politicians probably aren’t rushing to align themselves with the Duggars, what with the multiple sex scandals and all.
Amazingly, Mike Huckabee defended the Duggars even after news that Josh had molested five young women, and we’re not saying that’s one of the many reasons he fared poorly in last year’s GOP primaries … but it certainly didn’t help.
So yeah, a Duggar endorsement is no longer much of an asset, and it’s possible that Jim Bob believes the next generation can help repair the family’s reputation by getting involved in politics.
There was a time when we would’ve thought those efforts would be in vain due to the magnitude of Josh’s crimes.
But hey, if TLC was willing to give this family another chance, then we suppose anything is possible.
After all, politicians might be the one group on the planet with less integrity than network executives.
Watch Counting On online to marvel at the fact that these people are still allowed on TV.