Dick, Lynne and Liz Cheney Throw Daughter/Sister Under the Bus on Gay Marriage

There are few people that I deem more foul than Dick Cheney who, in my opinion ought to be on trial for war crimes and facing the ultimate punishment.  The man has about as much empathy for the humanity of others as the Nazi death camp guards.  The man is vile and truly deserves to be compared to Darth Vader.  But the "foul stench" to quote Princess Leia also of Star Wars fame extends beyond Dick Cheney to his equally toxic wife Lynne and daughter Lynne who  have shown themselves only too happy to throw daughter/sister Mary Cheney under the bus  on the issue of gay marriage in the insane quest to see Liz Cheney elected to the U. S. Senate.  The Hill looks at the civil war of sorts that has developed within the Cheney family.  Here are excerpts:

As his two daughters publicly feud over gay marriage, former Vice President Cheney is stepping in to defend daughter Liz Cheney (R), who is running for the Senate in Wyoming.

Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, released a statement saying Liz has always opposed gay marriage and defending her treatment of her sister, who is openly gay.

"This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years, and we are pained to see it become public," the older Cheneys say in a statement.

"Since it has, one thing should be clear. Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. She has also always treated her sister and her sister's family with love and respect, exactly as she should have done. Compassion is called for, even when there is disagreement about such a fundamental matter and Liz's many kindnesses shouldn't be used to distort her position."

Dick Cheney supports gay marriage. 

Liz Cheney, who is running against Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), has been put in a tough spot on the issue. A socially conservative group has been airing ads accusing her of supporting gay marriage. She's insisted she's always opposed it. After she asserted that again on Sunday, both Mary Cheney and her wife took to Facebook to rip her for the stance.

"Liz — this isn't just an issue on which we disagree — you're just wrong — and on the wrong side of history," Mary Cheney wrote in the public note to her sister.

Adding to the fun, Mary Cheney's wife, Heather has not been one to hold her tongue.  Queerty has a sampling of Heather's response:

Apparently, this was too much for Mary and Heather, who took to Facebook to call Liz a hypocrite.
 
“Liz — this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree you’re just wrong — and on the wrong side of history,” Mary wrote, taking exception to Liz’s portrayal of their opposition as just a policy matter.

Heather was a lot less restrained in her Facebook post. ”Liz has been a guest in our home, has spent time and shared holidays with our children, and when Mary and I got married in 2012 — she didn’t hesitate to tell us how happy she was for us,” Poe wrote. “To have her now say she doesn’t support our right to marry is offensive to say the least.”

Heather also didn’t stop from hitting Liz on a campaign weakness: that she’s a carpetbagger in Wyoming. “I can’t help but wonder how Liz would feel if as she moved from state to state, she discovered that her family was protected in one but not the other.”

And just to rub it in, Heather added, “Yes, Liz, in fifteen states and the District of Columbia you are my sister-in-law.”

The postings made public a long simmering family battle over marriage equality that mirrors the one within the Republican party. Mary and Liz stopped talking last August after Liz came out against marriage equality.

Ever the politician, Liz tried to paper over the problem in a statement.  “I love my sister and her family and have always tried to be compassionate towards them. I believe that is the Christian way to behave.” Of course, the “Christian” is code that plays well with the right-wing base Liz is trying to attract.

Mary is having none of it. In an interview with The New York Times, she made it clear that this was a battle not just between two sisters but for the soul of the GOP.

“What amazes me is that she says she’s running to be a new generation of leader,” Mary said. “I’m not sure how sticking to the positions of the last 20 or 30 years is the best way to do that.”

The ultimate irony is that the Cheney family is ripping itself apart when Liz Cheney's opponent is 52% ahead of her in the polls:

Liz Cheney’s support has faded in Wyoming since the summer, according to internal polling conducted for a super PAC that’s been running ads against her and shared exclusively with POLITICO.

Sen. Mike Enzi (R) has expanded his lead over the former vice president’s daughter by 12 points among likely primary voters since August. The three-term incumbent was up 52 points, 69 percent to 17 percent, in a survey conducted by Bob Wickers of The Wickers Group at the end of October.

Read the rest of the article for the rest of the Cheney family batshitery.

Ex-Gay for Pay Stephen Bennett Trashes White House

As I predicted in my May 29th post, the fundies are going absolutely crazy over the White House acknowledgment of Mary Cheney and Heather Poe as the parents of Vice President Dick “Darth Vader” Cheney’s new grandson. The Life Site News web site has a lengthy discussion of the commentary of professional ex-gay Stephen Bennett (See:http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07053008.html). I hope they make Chimperator Bush's life Hell in a way only they can do. Here’s part of the story on Bennett’s diatribe:

Stephen Bennett, a pro-family advocate who left the homosexual lifestyle and now has a ministry to convince others of its dangers, expressed his concern about the White House’s decision to caption the photo this way. “What is extremely troubling is the official White House caption that appears underneath the photo on the official White House website,” said Bennett. Rather than merely stating that the child is the “child of their daughter Mary Cheney," the White House photo caption states, “... His parents are the Cheney's daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe.”

“Since when have two homosexual women been able to naturally procreate?,” commented Bennett. “Fact is Mary Cheney, the Vice President's daughter - in one way or another - received a male's sperm. She is the biological mother, parent number one, and some man, somewhere out there, is Samuel David's real biological father, parent number two.”

Of course, Mr. Bennett is anything but an objective commentator. He has made a career out of being an alleged “former homosexual” and operates Stephen Bennett Ministries which promises that: “SBM’S FIRM UNWAVERING STAND: NO ONE IS BORN “GAY” AND COMPLETE CHANGE IS COMPLETELY POSSIBLE. THERE IS REAL HOPE – DON’T SETTLE FOR OR BELIEVE ANYTHING LESS.” If you don’t believe me, check out his “ministry’s” web site: http://www.sbministries.org/. It looks to be quite a business operation and seeks "donations" to support the "ministry." A few years back, Mr. Bennett initially threatened to sue me when I contacted him and challenged his use of bogus scientific research put out by Paul Cameron (Cameron’s organization has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center). When I responded that I would welcome a a lawsuit and an opportunity to prove in court that the SBM claims were untrue, Bennett suddenly became conciliatory and claimed that he had no idea that the false information was on his website. Here’s his e-mail to me:

From :
Stephen Bennett
Sent :
Wednesday, October 8, 2003 4:51 PM
To :
"Michael Hamar"
Subject :
Re: Your Implied Legal Threats

Michael: I am aware of Cameron. News items are sent to us for publication on our news page and I personally was unaware this linked to Cameron. As a Christian, I am interested in promoting the truth - and you will never convince me otherwise - that homosexuals can change. Also, I come from an evangelistic standpoint, to share the gospel of Christ with all – homosexual or heterosexual. I speak the biblical truth on homosexuality - because God does. If the Bible never mentioned it, believe me, I wouldn't either. We base our ministry and beliefs on the Bible - and that will also never change. I sincerely appreciate you bringing this link to my attention and yes – that article/link will be removed.

Stephen Bennett

www.SBMinistries.org

Unfortunately, Bennett still associates himself with organizations that continue to cite Cameron's bogus research based on some of the recommended links on his web site.

Will the Fundies Go Crazy?

Note the following caption that appears on the White House web site with the above photo:

Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne Cheney, welcomed their sixth grandchild, Samuel David Cheney, Wednesday, May 23, 2007. He weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz and was born at 9:46 a.m. at Sibley Hospital in Washington, D.C. His parents are the Cheneys’ daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe. White House photo by David Bohrer