The election is history, but the war between a Cheney (Mary) and a Kerry (John) lives on.
In her new memoir, Now It’s My Turn, Cheney’s lesbian daughter calls Kerry a “son of a bitch” and his running mate, John Edwards, “total slime,” for mentioning her sexual orientation during the campaign debates.
Watching Edwards during the veep debate, Cheney allegedly mouthed the words “Go F*** Yourself.” Months earlier, the Vice President had told Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy to do the same. Like father, like daughter.
Of course, it was no secret Mary was gay–she’d been out of the closet for years, even working as Coors’s liaison to the gay community–but that didn’t stop Republicans for trying to paint the Democrats as anti-gay. Needless to say, the attack was one of the odder, and more hypocritical, moments of the campaign.
As our own Richard Kim noted at the time, “It’s not like Mary Cheney’s been quietly pursuing lesbianism by playing softball and raising cats in Northampton. She has devoted her entire career to providing cover for lesbian-hating organizations, corporations and political parties.”
Today, Kerry spokesman David Wade fired back and took The Nation‘s line. Dick’s daughter, he said, “flacked for the most anti-gay administration in history.”
Added Wade: “She’d be more credible if she pushed dad’s administration to support hate crimes legislation and equal rights for gay Americans.”
Instead, she gave daddy credibility as his campaign gay-baited a victory in Ohio.
(PS–Be on the lookout for a full-length piece of mine on Kerry tomorrow.)
