The Mary Cheney issue has been settled by Andrew Sullivan

[troublemaker]

The dog that didn't bark...

Whatever the hell Andrew Sullivan is, he is unquestionably the foremost homosexual conservative pundit. He blogged the debate extensively and it never crossed his mind to mention the Mary Cheney reference. It's not that he was out of the room or anything; gay marriage is his signature issue and he discusses that exchange at length. But the name reference clearly never even crossed his mind... it just wasn't noteworthy.

http://www.andrewsullivan.com/

ON EDIT: He did address it quickly after Bush/Cheney started making it an issue - see first reply below

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. He did now...here it is

SOMETHING ABOUT MARY: I keep getting emails asserting that Kerry's mentioning of Mary Cheney is somehow offensive or gratuitous or a "low blow". Huh? Mary Cheney is out of the closet and a member, with her partner, of the vice-president's family. That's a public fact. No one's privacy is being invaded by mentioning this. When Kerry cites Bush's wife or daughters, no one says it's a "low blow." The double standards are entirely a function of people's lingering prejudice against gay people. And by mentioning it, Kerry showed something important. This issue is not an abstract one. It's a concrete, human and real one. It affects many families, and Bush has decided to use this cynically as a divisive weapon in an election campaign. He deserves to be held to account for this - and how much more effective than showing a real person whose relationship and dignity he has attacked and minimized? Does this makes Bush's base uncomfortable? Well, good. It's about time they were made uncomfortable in their acquiescence to discrimination. Does it make Bush uncomfortable? Even better. His decision to bar gay couples from having any protections for their relationships in the constitution is not just a direct attack on the family member of the vice-president. It's an attack on all families with gay members - and on the family as an institution. That's a central issue in this campaign, a key indictment of Bush's record and more than relevant to any debate. For four years, this president has tried to make gay people invisible, to avoid any mention of us, to pretend we don't exist. Well, we do. Right in front of him.

[troublemaker]

2. Damn, that was quick! I feel silly, but my post was valid two minutes ago

At least he confirmed my assumption. It seems he had to be alerted by email to even know there was a controversy.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. I hope you don't mind, but I am ripping off your post and putting that

part of his blog in editorials....I want DU to savor it for a few days..if we leave it here, it will be in the archives in two hours

[troublemaker]

7. ha! two MINUTES more like it tonite

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

11. No shit man...even Skinner's stuff is in the archives already

and he owns the place :shrug:

[annxburns]

3. ROTFLMAO

This just backfired on the repukes.

DOn't agree with this guy much but man he shows how outof touch republicans and pundits are ....

[girl gone mad]

10. Not sure how to say it..

but as a friend of many GLBTs, it offended me that the media pundits took so much offense to Kerry's statement.

Calling someone a lesbian is not an insult.

[Cha]

12. I never thought I would agree with sully on

anything but I'm glad he's coming out with this..it's true!

[Booster]

6. Wow, he has an opinion and he just expressed it brilliantly.

[JusticeForAll]

9. I don't read him

but, dang, what an awesome totally cool response! His statement sums it up totally. The conservative straight pundits have it totally wrong on this one!

[Bush was AWOL]

4. Just and FYI: Andrew Sullivan has abandoned Bush

He seems to think Kerry is a lock to get elected. I've been reading his blog a few times a week.

[Neshanic]

8. Wow, Sully throws me for a loop on that one. Nails it.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

15. Sullivan nailed the whole night. Clear eyed analysis

.

[truthpusher]

13. SOMETHING ABOUT MARY...the whole quote from Sullivan...

SOMETHING ABOUT MARY: I keep getting emails asserting that Kerry's mentioning of Mary Cheney is somehow offensive or gratuitous or a "low blow". Huh? Mary Cheney is out of the closet and a member, with her partner, of the vice-president's family. That's a public fact. No one's privacy is being invaded by mentioning this. When Kerry cites Bush's wife or daughters, no one says it's a "low blow." The double standards are entirely a function of people's lingering prejudice against gay people. And by mentioning it, Kerry showed something important. This issue is not an abstract one. It's a concrete, human and real one. It affects many families, and Bush has decided to use this cynically as a divisive weapon in an election campaign. He deserves to be held to account for this - and how much more effective than showing a real person whose relationship and dignity he has attacked and minimized? Does this makes Bush's base uncomfortable? Well, good. It's about time they were made uncomfortable in their acquiescence to discrimination. Does it make Bush uncomfortable? Even better. His decision to bar gay couples from having any protections for their relationships in the constitution is not just a direct attack on the family member of the vice-president. It's an attack on all families with gay members - and on the family as an institution. That's a central issue in this campaign, a key indictment of Bush's record and more than relevant to any debate. For four years, this president has tried to make gay people invisible, to avoid any mention of us, to pretend we don't exist. Well, we do. Right in front of him.

[DemBones DemBones]

14. Never thought I'd say "Good for Andrew Sullivan"

but he's saying the right thing here.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. HEY! Sullivan has TWO FACES on his site!

[geek tragedy]

17. I'm more outraged by the outrage.

Sullivan is in one of his lucid moods tonight.

[Andromeda]

18. This is the redemption of ...

Andy Sullivan. He has seen the light, finally.

[Skinner]

19. Thanks for pointing this out.

And thanks to nothingshocksmeanymore for the update. This "controversy" is complete BS, IMO.