"Mary Cheney's Gay -- So What?" from 2000

[Tansy_Gold]

I knew there had been discussion four years ago in the media about Mary Cheney's sexual orientation (ugh, I hate that word; like you go through some kind of "orientation" program and come out. . . .whatever).

A quick google revealed a whole lot. And I think Lynne and Dick really need to STFU before they get some more of their own words shoved down their hypocritical bigotted throats.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnists/tmoran/tm17.htm

<snip>
"But some are starting to criticize the way in which Cheney is handling his youngest daughter's sexuality. In case you haven't heard, Mary Cheney is openly gay. She lives with her "life partner," Heather Poe, in Colorado, and she wears a gold band on her left ring finger to symbolize her commitment. The problem, or so some have suggested, is that she and her family aren't talking about it.

. . .

And when ABC's Cokie Roberts asked Lynne Cheney about her daughter's declaration of being gay, she said, "Mary has never declared such a thing."

What does all this mean? Was Lynne Cheney trying to deny the fact that Mary's gay? Or are the parents simply respecting their daughter's privacy? An article in The Washington Post Sunday headlined "Daughter's Gay Life May Prove Awkward for Cheney" reported that the campaign "wants the issue to disappear," that Mary refuses to address the party's unwillingness to legalize greater freedoms for gay couples, and that the whole topic went "underground" the minute Cheney's name popped up in Bush's considerations. All of this could suggest that Cheney is ashamed of his daughter and that the GOP is avoiding the issue.

<end snip>

http://www.commondreams.org/views/080400-104.htm

<snip>
She is a lesbian, and she hasn't kept it a secret -- either to her friends or to her employer, Coors Brewing Co., where she is the gay and lesbian corporate relations manager.

. . .

But as Mary Cheney told Time magazine in some of her few public words to date on the subject, ``I love my father. I don't want to be a distraction.''

That the GOP is determined she won't became clear when Lynne Cheney was asked about her daughter being openly gay by ABC newswoman Cokie Roberts on Sunday.

Mrs. Cheney said her daughter is ``bright'' and ``hard-working'' and ``decent,'' and yes, she loves her. But, she said acidly, ``My daughter has never declared such a thing.''
<end snip>

http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/08/01/mary/index.html
<anip>

On Sunday, when ABC's Cokie Roberts started to ask the GOP vice presidential nominee's wife about having a daughter who has "declared she's openly gay," an irate Lynne Cheney shot back: "Mary has never declared such a thing." Cheney then blasted the media for its interest in the story, and chided Roberts: "I'm surprised, Cokie, that even you would want to bring it up on this program."


"I have two wonderful daughters. I love them very much. They are bright; they are hard-working; they are decent. And I simply am not going to talk about their personal lives," Cheney told Roberts.

<end snip>

It appears that they Cheneys, and perhaps especially Lynne, have a real problem accepting their daughter as a complete human being. They will accept her assistance on the campaign trail this year as they did in 2000, and they will "love" her as a daughter, but they will not accept her as a complete human being. So long as the "gay" part of her isn't in the picture, she's okay. But let's leave the "gay" part aside, let's not acknowledge that Mary is ALL of Mary, her brightness and her dedication and her spirit and her laughter and her gayness. It's all of a package, and if you don't like the whole thing, you don't like it at all.

Alexandra Kerry is tall, Elizabeth Edwards isn't a size 3, Teresa Heinz Kerry was born in Africa, and Mary Cheney is gay. Do we love Alex BECAUSE she's tall, or is her height just one part of her that we love? Would we love Elizabeth more if she lost 20 pounds, or doesn't it matter? Did Teresa CHOOSE to be born where she was, or is that just what happened?

A mother's love ought to be unconditional. In my humble opinion, John Kerry showed more respect, more affection, more unconditional love for Mary Cheney in one sentence last night than her hypocritical, self-righteous mother has in 35 years.

Tansy Gold (who edited the headline for a really stupid typo)

[Wickerman]

1. excellent post

yet Lynne has no qualms exploiting that "life-style" to attack Kerry, or, even to glamorize her "choices" when she wants to get creative.

[joeybee12]

2. Abso-phucking-lutely!!!!!!!!!!

[sangh0]

3. Why are we talking about lesbians when bush* forgot he forgot about OBL?

Whenever someone mentions something about a lesbian to you, start talking about how bush* forgot about how he forgot about OBL. Don't talk about Mary Cheney. It's just a distraction. There's no votes in that. Talk about how bush* denied that he said he didn't think about OBL very much.

[Tansy_Gold]

5. But we've got the media covering the OBL thing.

They were on it almost as quickly as we were last night, airing the video of the instances where boosh clearly stated OBl didn't concern him any longer.

I'm offering information for those of us who want to refute the freeper claims that Edwards last week and Kerry last night "outed" Mary Cheney, and to show that both Dick's and Lynne's outrage this morning is as phoney as a six-dollar bill. And outraged parent will get a lot of sympathy; I don't think Dick or Lynne deserves any.


Tansy Gold, former romance novelist

[sangh0]

6. Bad idea

I try not to make a habit of depending on the media to do their job.

In addition, bush* made an incredibly paranoid remark about the media ("oh, never mind!"). The media is not talking about that.

[Tansy_Gold]

8. But they've already done it in this case.

It's not a matter of depending on the media or hoping they'll do it in the future -- they did it last night, airing the video clips immediately after the debate.

Besides, if someone brings up Mary Cheney and you throw the "I'm not concerned about OBL" issue back at them, they can always say, "Yeah, well, okay, boosh screwed up on that one, but it was still wrong of Kerry to 'out' Mary Cheney the way he did and hurt her parents."

There's no sense just always changing the subject; it hasn't worked for boosh, has it? At some point, the Mary Cheney issue has to be addressed, and I'm just offering some material, as are several others on DU.

I'm not gay, I don't have any gay children or siblings or parents, so I don't pretend to speak from any authority. But we do know that the Log Cabin Republicans aren't endorsing boosh, and maybe there's a chance that some who haven't quite shifted over to Kerry might be persuaded to do so if they see how deep-seated the hatred and hypocrisy are. Maybe not, maybe their interests are purely economic and social, but maybe they will come over to our side. I don't know.

But I do think there is merit in discussing the issue.

OBL is a slam dunk, if not the way some in the administration would have liked him to be. Boosh fucked up, big time, last night, and there's no way for him to spin it. That's why it isn't being spun. But the Mary Cheney thing can be and is being spun. We need to know how to counter it.

[sangh0]

9. They need to hammer on it

Most people need to hear something over and over before they pay attention. The media will drop this like a rock unless people show an interest in it. Instead, we're interested in lesbians.

If someone says "Yeah, well, okay, boosh screwed up on that one, but it was still wrong of Kerry to 'out' Mary Cheney the way he did and hurt her parents." you say "I'm sure none of the 3,000 victims family's were hurt by bush* saying 'It's not that important. It's not our priority.' "

OBL is a slam dunk

So let's talk about something else, right?

Boosh fucked up, big time, last night, and there's no way for him to spin it. That's why it isn't being spun. But the Mary Cheney thing can be and is being spun.

Mary Cheney is being spun to distract from all of bush*'s mistakes. OBL is a slam-dunk. We should be talking about that over and over.

[ronnykmarshall]

4. Thanks for finding this.

Lynn and Dick need to shove it.

[pelagius]

7. If Mary Cheney herself expresses "outrage" about Kerry's...

...comments, I'll listen. All others can just shut up now.

And I don't expect to hear from Mary anytime soon.

[IronLionZion]

10. I bet Mary strongly disagrees with her parents on gay marriage

she even wears a wedding band to show her commitment to her partner