There's Nothing About Mary

I think it sucks to Mary Cheney.

It sucks because she is reviled by both the Right and the Left, and the only reason she is reviled is because she is the daughter of the Vice President, Lord Vader, I mean Dick Cheney.

Now, I don't like Dick Cheney. I think he has done tremendous damage to American democracy with his belief in an almost Imperial Presidency. I think he should be properly criticized for not saying anything as the GOP gay-baited in order to win votes.

That being said, I don't get all the venom that comes particularly from gays about Ms. Cheney. Andrew Sullivan, who seems to bounce from supporting Ms. Cheney to reviling her, supports
Dan Savage's latest rant which was pointed at Ms. Cheney. When Cheney says that her soon to be baby is not a "political statement," Savage retorts:

You’re a Republican, Mary, you worked on both of your father’s campaigns, and you kept your mouth clamped shut while Karl Rove and George Bush ran around the country attacking gay people, gay parents, and our children in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. It’s a little late to declare the private choices of gays and lesbians unfit for public debate, Mary.

So, because she worked on her father's campaign and she's a Republican, she doesn't deserve any privacy. Well, I wish she had said something, but I didn't expect her to. Why? Because it was her father. In the case with most political families, if there are any disagreements, they are usually kept away from the public. I mean, it's public knowledge, that Pappy Bush isn't happy with Bush Junior. But you don't see Senior saying anything publicly. You might not like that. I might not like that. But that's what happens in the world of politics.

What bothers me here is that we somehow expect Ms. Cheney to denounce her father and to have spoken out against the far right way back in 1989.

As I have said, I have no truck for Ms. Cheney's father or his boss. But we need to leave her alone. If she wants to support her dad and support anti-gay campaigns, then that's her choice. I may not like it (and I don't,) but it's her choice. She is the daughter of the veep, not the spokesperson for gay America.

In my view, some of the criticism that comes concerning Ms. Cheney is more about the fact that she is a Republican. I think for a lot of people, it is hard to see someone who is gay also belong to a party whose leaders are so anti-gay. As someone who has been part of Log Cabin Republicans for five years and has spoken out against bigotry, I am still viewed as someone who supports anti-gay politicians because I tend to vote more for people who have an "R" behind their name. Like some on the Right, some gay people can't let Mary Cheney be herself.

I know that some will get angry with my views, but let's just leave Ms. Cheney alone. Let her have her baby in peace with her partner. In time, I hope she will become more forceful and more willing to step out, but let that happen in her own time.

As the bumper sticker says, I will focus on my own damn family. My partner and I will live our lives. I will allow Ms. Cheney and Ms. Poe to live their own.

Two other voices for leaving Ms. Cheney alone can be found here and here.