Talking of Cheney's daughter speaks about Kerry

[JohnnyCougar]

Who is this Benedetto fucker. I'd like to know his e-mail address.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/benedetto/2004-10-16-benedetto_x.htm

TEMPE, Ariz. — One of the most revealing moments in last Wednesday's final presidential debate came when moderator Bob Schieffer asked President Bush and Sen. John Kerry if they thought homosexuality was a choice.

The question was a loaded one. For years now, a debate has raged over whether homosexuality is genetically driven, just learned or a preferred behavior. A lot of people have opinions, but no definitive conclusion has been reached.

Schieffer said asking the question was an attempt to get the candidates to more fully explain their positions on same-sex marriage. But in asking the question to Bush, it seemed more like a trap to get him to come down on the side of many religious conservatives who believe homosexuality is a sin, and not genetically driven.

So you could almost hear the collective gasp of the audience of 1,200 that packed the Gammage Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State University as it awaited the president's reply.

[JohnnyCougar]

1. here's my e-mail to the author

I'm sorry, but I found this piece very offensive and short sighted. Dick Cheney routinely uses Mary as an example of how the Republican party is tolerant of others. Bush, however, routinely uses homophobia to secure votes on his side of this "gay" issue. If you would stop being a mouthpiece in the echo-chamber of non-issues the media consists of today, you would realize that absolutely ZERO gays and lesbians were offended by Kerry's remarks compared to the bigotry of the current Republican platform. You would also realize that Cheney has said nothing when Alan Keyes said earlier that his daughter was a "selfish hedonist." How you can buy into obviously fake outrage and Rush Limbaugh's talking points, yet still have a column in a major newspaper is beyond me. It shouldn't take the readers to point out gaping logic holes in your argument.

Sincerely,
XXXXXXXX

[TaleWgnDg]

4. Excellent reply . . . K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) . . .

although the intro line "I'm sorry" is unnecessary.

Why? Because no apology from you is necessary.

After all it was NOT you who did the faux pas. Instead, it was the author of the article who should apologize because it was he who assumed this and that about gays, and it was he who accepted the "shame" of the religious right, and it was he who accepted the false allegations from Cheney's etc for being "upset" re their "tawdry" hypocrisy.

In other words, Dick Cheney, Bush and Company continue to suck up to the sick-o religious extremists, all for their vote next month! Simple really. And it's a deflection away from Dumbya's sucky job in THREE DEBATES!

It's all politics. Cheney is using his own kid for politics.

Mary Cheney is O-U-T. Mary Cheney had a job w/ Coors Brewery as the company liaison for/to the gay community! Mary Cheney now works for the Republican Party and/or Bush-Cheney 2004 to get out the vote to the gay and lesbian community. She's says this campaigning for Cheney and Bush, hellooooooooooooooooooooo???

Nobody is "outing" Mary Cheney! Nobody is saying anything about Mary Cheney in which she, herself, hasn't said in public.

So much for Gannett Press and USA-Today and this author. Stupid. or Gullible. or biased reporting.

. . . .

*************************************
"I believe that it points up the fact that we
need common sense judges who understand
that our rights were derived from God. Those
are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench."
— GWBush, June 27, 2002, explaining his litmus
test for federal judicial nominees.
*************************************

[Born Free]

2. The only people that were offended were the right wingers

In their fantasy world they don't want to face reality, they believe in myths and insist the world is still flat. Most people have no problems with the issue, they believe people should live their own lives but the right wing believes everyone should do and think as they do or they are evil - that is why they see this statement as evil, because they believe Cheneys daughter is evil and don't like being reminded of it. On the contrary democrats see Cheney as evil not his daughter, his daughter is only trying to live her life with the cards that God dealt her whereas Cheney want to destroy innocent lives to make a profit.

[Kenergy]

3. I agree Jonny & BF

This is r/w spin and is a bullshit argument on their part for the
benefit of the fundies.
Christian fundies are just KKK in disguise.

[saracat]

5. This is my letter to the editor

To the Editor,

I found Richard Benedetto's column "Talking of Cheney's Daughter offensive in it's blatant hypocrisy.

The author contradicts himself when he states"It has long been public knowledge that Cheney's daughter, Mary, is a lesbian. Her parents have spoken publicly and movingly about their acceptance of her and their love for her. The vice president has also publicly differed with the president, who supports a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Cheney says the matter should be left up to the states" then goes on to state in the next paragraph"Yet, for many people, Kerry's mention of Mary Cheney's homosexuality was the first time they had heard of it. It is not widely discussed in the media. So in effect, Kerry's debate remark was an "outing".

It is absolutely impossible for something to be of public knowledge and yet be unknown by the majority of the people listening to this comment. Sen.. Kerry cannot be held responsible for "outing " Ms. Cheney when she and her parents have previously acknowledged her sexuality to the public

Sen..Kerry's statement that she is a lesbian is a matter of fact. He might just as well have stated she is a blonde ,which is also a fact. The mention of her name in the context of the question asked was appropriate.

It would seem that Mr.. Benedetto would, as would the Bush Campaign, like to both utilize the sexuality of Ms.Cheney when convenient to further their own image, and to take offense at that same sexuality when it is mentioned by an opponent. If the Cheney were really accepting of their daughter's status they would have been no more offended by Sen.. Kerry's remark than if he had described her as a blonde.

Sen. Kerry was not the one who was"out of line". It is Mr.Benedetto.

[TomClash]

6. Many missed the point

. . . including Benedetto. He's just shilling for the GOP, trying to keep the "issue" alive.

Kerry's point was that Cheney treats his daughter like a daughter so the rest of us should treat gays and lesbians like we would treat anyone else. Is this really so hard to grasp?

[kskiska]

7. Lynne Cheney is ashamed of her daughter, just as Elizabeth Edwards said

Their daughter Mary is an out of the closet lesbian. Until May of 2000 she was the lesbian/gay corporate relations manager for the once-notoriously anti-gay Coors Brewing Company However in July of 2000 when Lynne was asked by ABC's Cokie Roberts about having a daughter who has "declared she's openly gay," Lynne responded: "Mary has never declared such a thing. ...I have two wonderful daughters. I love them very much. They are bright; they are hard-working; they are decent." The comment immediately drew fire from a number of gay rights activists. Human Rights Campaign spokesman David Smith said about Lynne Cheney's comments: "They were horrible. She said she is proud of both her daughters, but there was definitely a sense this was one aspect of who her daughter is that she was not proud of. That came through loud and clear." Cheney revealed her sense of shame about her daughter's sexuality again in comments reported in an Associated Press news article on October 14th 2004.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Cheney

And this, from a Salon article from 2000

(snip)

Friends say Mary Cheney came out to her parents at some point in her 20s, and that her father seemed to take it better than her mother. Father and daughter are known to travel together, enjoying hunting and fishing, but Mary Cheney is said to be less close to her mother.

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