Comments on: Mary Cheney

By: mona

mona — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 13:41:07 +0000

If Bush had said, when Kerry was condemning the outsourcing of jobs from the U.S., “Hey, why don’t you get your wife to stop outsourcing 60% of the Heinz operations overseas?” That would have been a personal attack, right? The Dems would have been outraged. And that outrage would have been hypocrite too, because that criticism would have been a fair point. Theresa is even more part of the political campaign of her husband seen as she could be the next First Lady. She has spoken in public even more than Mary Cheney. And matters of business practice are even more of a political issue than sexual orientation. Maybe the style of that hypothetical attack could be a bit better than “hey you why don’t you tell your wife to do that”, but the point is relevant. If, when they were discussing healthcare, Bush had brought up that preventive care would keep Americans healthier and if he had said “Hey, I noticed that John Edwards wife Elizabeth has a big ol’ fat ass. Not only is he an ambulance chaser, his wife is a big fat diabetic risk.” There again…personal. That’s different, that kind of attack would be stupid, rude, insulting, etc. because having a fat ass is, as far as I know, not a matter of political debate and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with obesity and healthcare. The problem is that Kerry’s remark was neither the former kind – relevant, overt, explicit exposure of opponent hypocrisy – nor the latter – stupid, trite, insulting. The problem is also that sexual orientation should not even be a matter of political debate. But that’s another story.

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By: enthymeme

enthymeme — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 03:19:11 +0000

http://www.crookedtimber.org/archives/001928.html “Not in our name Posted by Ted “Left-of-center bloggers, could I have a quick word with you, before this becomes a problem? “(huddle) “Barbara and Jenna Bush are going to join their father’s campaign. There’s going to be a fair number of stories about them. They’re out of college, and many are going to consider attacks on them to be fair game. We shouldn’t.” So Ted, may using Mary Cheney to make a political point be construed as an ‘attack’? Is she fair game? Does your May 28 post preclude using Bush’s daughters to make a political point? If not, are they fair game too? “They make right wingers* look like cruel, petty people who attack the loved ones of their political opponents.” Sure do.

By: Nichole

Nichole — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 18:22:07 +0000

Ya know, I couldve sworn that Pres. Bush and Dick Cheney were the ones we needed info about. I don’t recall Mary Cheney running for Pres. Kerry’s remark was a low blow, and a tactic to get the republicans to switch votes. He brought up the race issue and failed and now he trying for some more “dirt”. I’m a republican, I am proud for who Mary Cheney is and what she stands for, her sexual preference is no concern of mine and won’t make me change my vote for Bush. She has nothing to be ashamed about. Just because you don’t agree with someone’s lifestyle DOES not mean you should slander it. Kerry needs a mannerism check. That man is no man, he is evil, a liar and cunning. My opinion, thats my freedom of speech.

By: Nichole

Nichole — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 18:21:10 +0000

By: bummer

bummer — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 06:32:50 +0000

Kerry puts foot in mouth again. Bushism’s don’t kill people, Kerry’s stupid remarks kill people!

By: garblog

garblog — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 05:08:54 +0000

Of course Kerry was trying to make a point with his mention of Mary Cheney, BECAUSE she’s the daughter of the vice president. Her parents aren’t ashamed of her. If the whole B/C 04 ticket were ashamed of her, why would they have her working in the campaign? She’s openly gay, and obviously has no problem with her father’s political choices. Her mother is upset because it was obvious that Kerry was using her daughter’s name in front of the entire nation to prove a political point on gay marriage. Lynn Cheney doesn’t agree with Bush on this issue, but HE’S THE BOSS. Kerry was trying to put them on the spot USING HER DAUGHTER’S NAME. Any mother would be outraged that her daughter was shamelessly used for campaign fodder. If Bush had said, when Kerry was condemning the outsourcing of jobs from the U.S., “Hey, why don’t you get your wife to stop outsourcing 60% of the Heinz operations overseas?” That would have been a personal attack, right? The Dems would have been outraged. If, when they were discussing healthcare, Bush had brought up that preventive care would keep Americans healthier and if he had said “Hey, I noticed that John Edwards wife Elizabeth has a big ol’ fat ass. Not only is he an ambulance chaser, his wife is a big fat diabetic risk.” There again…personal. YOU JUST DON’T DO THAT, and for all of you pointy headed idiots who think it’s ok, you’re just disingenuous as hell. I’m a lesbian, but I’m not blinded by the hypocrisy which is the Democratic party. You people should just go back and read your tripe. By the way, I bet John Kerry has noticed that BLACKS are born that way too.

By: Smooth Melon

Smooth Melon — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 01:11:54 +0000

Sorry about the multiple postings. I don’t know what I did wrong.

By: Smooth Melon

Smooth Melon — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 01:09:21 +0000

Look, I think you and I are on the same side in this one. But your arguments don’t seem cohesive with respect to the facts. First, the information hasn’t been carefully hidden. Dick Cheney mentioned it himself. And if the anger is due to its exposure, it should have manifested itself when John Edwards mentioned it in the VP debate. It wasn’t. Why not? Did the Republicans drop the ball? Did they forget to be angry the first time? Or are they really not angry and trying to fabricate an issue? Yes, I think Kerry was wrong in mentioning it, but from a tactical standpoint. Of course it isn’t shameful, and I never argued that it was. Just because something is true doesn’t make it tactically wise to bring it up. Teresa Heinz Kerry is goofy. Jenna Bush may be a drunk. True, yes. Tactically helpful? No. If Kerry was trying to make a point about hypocricy, then he should have been forthright and make it strongly. He didn’t. So now he has a backlash, which is being unreasonably stoked by the Republicans. My point is that the Republicans ARE milking this for all it’s worth, and shamefully so. I personally don’t think the Republicans were hiding this at all. I think that, after the VP debate, the Republican campaign team got together and said, “They must be trying to make some sort of point, but are too timid to do it directly. If they try that again, let’s feign indignation and make it backfire on them.” The mistake Kerry made was being timid. He either should have attacked the issue or avoided it.

By: Smooth Melon

Smooth Melon — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 01:08:42 +0000

By: Smooth Melon

Smooth Melon — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 01:07:18 +0000

By: ap

ap — Sat, 16 Oct 2004 23:03:49 +0000

Well – mary cheney has not uttered a word because she is a liability to the party and they dont want to make her an issue. Kerry : Whatever his intentions were mentioning that Mary is a lesbian is not wrong. She is =, ins’t she. So why is that wrong ? Is it a shameful fact ? I think Kerry was trying to show up the Republican party’s hypocrisy. The republican anger was due to the fact that this information that they have so carefully kept in a low profile got relayed to millions of their homophobic base. I’d be pretty pissed if someone drew attention to something I did not want attention to be drawn to. This is the problem if the situation was reversed the republicans would have long ago milked the issue for all its worth and ruthless about it. The democratic party has a conscience and that is making then lose this battle. If the ends justify the means then this is a no holds barred fight. BTW I thought it was a joke but its not. Lynne cheney wrote a lesbian novel… Good for her! But she should not have tried to stop penguin books from republishing it. Here is a link from a concerned citizen who has put up the text of the book Sisters: A novel by Lynne Cheney Cover page: http://www.whitehouse.org/administration/sisters.asp Text: http://www.livejournal.com/~lynnecheney/ I swear this is not a joke!

By: ap

ap — Sat, 16 Oct 2004 22:54:26 +0000

By: Scott Lemieux

Scott Lemieux — Sat, 16 Oct 2004 17:35:31 +0000

I would just like to note that all attempts to protray this as a smear by Kerry are just question-begging. People are simply assuming as fact that Kerry was trying to appeal to homophobes; the evidence for this claim is extremely weak (and, moreover, if it works it’s only because there are significant numbers of Republicans who would vote Democratic except for their homophobia. If Republicans rely on these votes, well, your bed, you lie in it.) ANd, again, calling this a smear rests on heterosexist assumption, period. There simply isn’t a “smear” here. Mary Cheney is a public figure, who Dick Cheney has often cited as evidence of his toleance (despite the Bush’s belief that gays should be made second-class citizens in the constitution, and his (as governor of TExas) his support for a law that criminalized same-sex sexual behavior. These contradictions, which Republicans would prefer not to face for obvious reasons, are not John KErry’s problem. Finally, the obvious stupidity of this fake non-scandal can be seen in how is outraged. I see plenty of reactionaries, many with a long history of gay-baiting, but virtually no gay people. What does that tell you?

By: Smooth Melon

Smooth Melon — Sat, 16 Oct 2004 17:29:07 +0000

As a conservative who will vote for Bush/Cheney, I find this whole dust-up ridiculous. First, if Dick Cheney didn’t want his daughter’s personal life dragged into the campaign, he shouldn’t have dragged her into it. Second, if he is so indignant that his opponents brought her up, why didn’t he display his volcanic indignation after his debate with Edwards? The delayed explosion makes him look foolish, hypocritcal, and opportunistic. Isn’t that exactly what he’s accusing Kerry of? Whoever is advising the Bush team needs a reality check. This is yet another example of Bush/Cheney taking something out of context and twisting it in a lame attempt to gain points with voters. The whole “terror as a nuisance” thing is another shameful example. The voters are served by a serious discussion of the candidates’ differences on the issues. These types of “gotcha” games are a distraction, a waste of time, and an insult to our intelligence. My advice to Bush/Cheney: quit shooting yourselves in the collective foot. Every time you express righteous indignation, you’re putting your daughter front and center. Your phony protests are giving legs to this “issue.” My advice to Kerry/Edwards: stick to the issues. Even if it appears that you have de facto permission to do so, don’t mention your opponents’ family to make your point. And don’t ever allow a staffer to refer to a candidate’s family member as “fair game,” even if she arguably is, as a member of the campaign team. That only makes you appear ruthless. Drop the sideshow and stick with what the voters need to know about your platform. I think the only person who has behaved with dignity through this whole thing is Mary Cheney herself, who, to my knowledge, hasn’t uttered a word.