Mary Cheney Deserves the Negative Criticism
Posted on | May 26, 2006
With the release of her book, criticism of Mary Cheney has spiked with activists and blogs ripping her up one side and down the other for continuing to work with the Bush-Cheney campaign in spite of both George W Bush and her own father Dick Cheney declaring their support for a constitutional amendment forever barring her relationship from ever being recognized legally in the United States. While she faced this criticism for years, it has really heated up since the publication of her book Now It’s My Turn. I have largely stayed out of the debate because frankly I was getting sick of hearing about her. However I ran across an editorial in the Washington Blade writing by Kevin Naff, the Managing Editor stating how we should be more understanding of Mary. He states a few situations in his life that every gay person has probably had to deal with in some way or will have to in the future. But in all of the personal examples Kevin listed I failed to see one that would apply to Mary Cheney. Not bringing your boyfriend to family reunions to "avoid the stress", or having one person hang out in the lobby to get a hotel room to avoid the front desk commenting on there only being one bed, and other such things have nowhere near the magnitude or consequences as collaborating with someone who has openly declared war on you.
I beg to differ with Kevin over the issue of bashing Mary Cheney. Naff says that gay people should look to themselves before chastising her as many have in the wake of her new book. He agrees that gay rights activists were justified in their anger with Mary Cheney when she continued to work for the Bush-Cheney campaign when it was using the demonization of her sexuality and her relationship with Heather Poe to mobilize the rabid neo conservatives on the far fringe of the right wing. But in the end he excuses her because, according to her book, she did all for her father. I am sorry but that just does not cut it with me and several other people.
Kevin states that his parents supported Bush in 2000 and again in 2004, yet he still speaks to them. A lot of us probably do have family members who supported Bush. My brother voted for Bush as did my maternal grandmother and I am still speaking to them as well. Family is family, right? So what makes Mary Cheney any different? Easy, supporting Bush from the electorate is a more passive support. It is the vocalization of ones own values. Now whether or not we agree with those values is beside the point. In this country one is entitled to have and express whatever values they choose regardless of state or popular approval. When my brother and grandmother voted for George W Bush, they were making the statement "George W Bush is the candidate that represents me the most" which is what we all do when we vote. However what Mary Cheney did was allow herself to become a tool on which to force those values onto others which, besides being antithetical to the very principals upon which this nation was founded, is much more a heinous act. What Mary Cheney did was analogous to an African-American helping candidates who were in favor of passing the Jim Crow laws.
Another thing that makes Mary Cheney different is that she has also made a living off of her sexual orientation. In spite of her mother Lynne’s assertions during the 2000 election that her daughter "never declared such a thing" Mary Cheney was, as some activists have called her, a paid lesbian for the Coors Brewing Co. from 1994 to 2000. Her job was to improve the image of Coors to the gay and lesbian community and end a boycott of the brewery. While some insist on continuing the boycott because of some positions of the Coors family members and the activities of the Coors Foundation, which the brewer has repeatedly stated they have no connection with except for the Coors family founding both entities, Mary’s efforts were fairly successful. Coors Brewing Co. now has domestic partner benefits which began in 1995.
The other issue I have with Mary is how she blasts John Kerry and John Edwards for using her sexuality as a cheap political stunt but yet keeps her mouth shut when the entire party she is working for is using her relationship as an even more vile political tool and proclaiming her relationship along with every other same-sex relationship to be the herald of the end of western civilization. Just today John Aravosis posted on how the Family Research Council is using Mary Cheney and her relationship in a negative light in order to whore themselves out for money. How will she respond to this?
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2 Responses to “Mary Cheney Deserves the Negative Criticism”
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May 26th, 2006 @ 1:43 pm
“…in spite of both George W Bush and her own father Dick Cheney declaring their support for a constitutional amendment forever barring her relationship from ever being recognized legally in the United States…”
This is inaccurate. Her father, Dick Cheney, does not support the amendment.
May 26th, 2006 @ 2:07 pm
Cheney was quoted, in response to a question about the Federal Marriage Amendment, during the 2004 election as stating that he supports the President’s feelings on the amendment.
He has said before he is not in favor of the amendment, true. But his “where George W Bush leads I follow” attitude on the issue says the opposite.
Cheney’s in a relatively safe position since his voting powers in the Senate will not come into play at all since there can be no tie.
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