Archive

Don’t Quote Me: Mary Cheney’s Baby

“I’m delighted I’m about to have a sixth grandchild, Wolf. And obviously I think the world of both my daughters and all of my grandchildren. And I think, frankly, you’re out of line with that question.”

– Dick Cheney to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Jan. 24, in response to a request that he respond to harsh criticism from conservative Christian group Focus on the Family of Mary Cheney’s pregnancy.

“This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.”

– Mary Cheney on Jan. 31, while pointing to her midsection and speaking at Barnard College .

If you take a road called Entitlement and follow it past five Vietnam War draft deferments, two DWI’s, one Halliburton multi-billion-dollar no-bid contract to rebuild Iraq, one accusation by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of cronyism regarding the Halliburton contract, one “go f— yourself” (to Leahy), one Plame Affair/Scooter Libby trial, one “hunting accident” (after which gunshot victim Harry Whittington apologized to the vice president for the trouble the shooting had caused him and his family), and thousands of bodies resulting from a bloody war no one wants to take responsibility for, you’ll eventually come to the home of Vice President Dick Cheney.

It’s a lovely home that resembles many others that dot the American landscape, except Cheney’s house boasts a lavender glow so brilliant that it can be seen from miles away. Yet, strangely enough, those who live in the house from which it emanates go to great pains to avoid discussing the source of the light: A very pregnant lesbian dancing in a bubble of privilege and singing “U Can’t Touch This.”

Super-freaky. Yow.

What the hell is in the water at the Cheneys’ house? It’s certainly not integrity.

After years of listening to Dick Cheney sidestep or half-answer legitimate questions about how he balances his anti-gay politics and close relationship with Christian conservatives with his supposed love and respect for his lesbian daughter, Mary, and after years of watching Mary dodge her portion of responsibility for the anti-gay state of our union, I’m still not sure who I blame more for the public’s ignorance with respect to their combined hypocrisy – the Cheneys or the media.

At the root of Dick Cheney’s “I make the rules, but don’t have to follow them” attitude are the beliefs that he and his sweet, innocent (wink, wink) daughter are above reproach and that the majority of Americans are complete idiots. It’s a deplorable view for a leader of a great country to take, but, judging by the way Wolf Blitzer coddled the vice president in a recent interview on CNN, it appears that Cheney’s beliefs are correct. It is also apparent that the vice president taught his daughter the valuable media lessons he has learned.

While participating in a Glamour magazine-sponsored panel discussion at Barnard College on Jan. 31, Mary Cheney put all those lessons to work, saying that her unborn baby “is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.”

According to the New York Times, after being asked during the discussion how she feels about conservative Christian groups criticizing her pregnancy, specifically her feelings toward Focus on the Family’s James Dobson’s distorted research on the matter, she said, “Every piece of remotely responsible research that has been done in the last 20 years has shown there is no difference between children raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents; what matters is being raised in a stable, loving environment.” She also added that Dobson is “not someone whose endorsement I have ever drastically sought.”

Sing it with me: Liar, liar, pants on fire!

The bizarre and sordid history of cooperation between Mary and Dick Cheney and Christian conservatives is very well documented, as are the effects that their love triangle has had on American politics and, more to the point, Americans. Now Mary wants us to believe that she’s never sought endorsement from Dobson?

Excuse me while I fight off the killer tomatoes that have just marched into my backyard.

Mary might not have asked for Dobson’s permission to get pregnant, but she certainly counted on his endorsement in the past, as did her father. The Cheneys have been playing politics with Christians at the expense of gays and lesbians for years, treating us as if we are, collectively, a commodity — and it’s long past time for us to tell them that the game is over.

It’s also past time that journalists, especially those of Wolf Blitzer’s caliber, ignore Dick and Mary’s newest motto — “What happens at the Cheneys’ stays at the Cheneys'” — and stop worrying about their privacy. Dick Cheney is the vice president of the United States, for crying out loud, not a contestant on I’ve Got a Secret. And Mary Cheney gave up her right to privacy when she entered the political arena and ran her father’s 2004 re-election campaign.

I have great admiration for Blitzer, but I think he was out to lunch when it came to balancing Cheney’s power and position with his own power, experience and most importantly, his obligations as a journalist. Blitzer put Cheney’s comfort level ahead of the public’s right to know how Cheney feels about being wedged by one of his own party’s wedge issues.

Instead of congratulating Cheney on having another grandchild after the vice president refused to respond to the criticism of Mary by a conservative Christian group, Blitzer should have said this: “I know you think the world of your daughter, sir, but you’ve made it clear to lesbians all over America that you don’t think much of them. You owe the entire gay community an explanation as to why you believe your daughter would be a fit mother, but support the belief that other lesbians and gay men are unfit to raise children.”

But he didn’t, and he blew it.

The question now is: Will anyone in the media besides Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have the guts to remind Dick and Mary of all the children and families their party has used as props in debates without any objection from them?

Good God, let’s hope so. And speaking of God, if He, in his infinite and divine wisdom and sense of irony, can deliver a baby unto Mary, the least we can do is offer up incense with the mirth.

And truth.

Although it’s not all that obvious these days, the main obligation of the media is to truth, not to people in high places who consider themselves above scrutiny and criticism. The media’s duty to the public and its role when it comes to deciding whether or not to intrude on the personal life of a public figure is clear. It’s even spelled out in the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists:

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues …

[Journalists should] recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy …

[Journalists should] be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.

You don’t have to be gay or lesbian to admit that in this case, “an overriding public need” justifies intrusion into the Cheneys’ privacy. You simply have to acknowledge that the Cheneys are, indeed, people ” who seek power, influence or attention” and that the entire country has been affected by their efforts — even if one or both eventually regrets those efforts or, as in Mary’s case, acts in contradiction of them.

Regardless of the Cheneys’ ability to ignore or conveniently forget history, we journalists answer to an authority higher than our egos. So when Mary reminds the media, as she often has, that both she and her father have said that they are against a Federal Marriage Amendment, we have an obligation to remind her that while that’s true, they did absolutely nothing to work against it.

I understand that White House protocol, not to mention common decency, dictates that those in the highest level of government, as well as their families, should be treated with respect, but so, too, should their peers and the people they serve.

If there is ever a golden opportunity for the media to speak to truth and press the Cheneys hard on an issue that illustrates, most ingloriously, the vice president’s hypocrisy and willingness to manipulate facts — not to mention Mary’s quite contrary-ness — it’s right now. I mean, it’s not like they can weasel out of this one and blame, oh, I don’t know, terrorists?

Don’t laugh; they’ve both tried it before.

Last year, in her book, Now It’s My Turn, Mary revealed that she privately opposed the Bush administration’s support of the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004, but remained silent because she felt that Bush was the only candidate capable of protecting America from terrorists.

We all know how well that’s working out. Perhaps now Mary’s plan is to give birth to her own private army, one little foot soldier at a time.

Until two days ago, I was able muster some sympathy for Mary, as well as for her partner, Heather Poe. While trying to help save the country from liberals and terrorists, Mary inadvertently sabotaged her own chances of gay liberation. Karma’s a bitch!

But now I only have sympathy for her unborn baby.

Due in part to her own efforts, Mary’s child will be born into a country where a large portion of the population has already written him or her off as unsavable. And that’s a shame.

The truth is, I don’t blame Mary for not wanting to talk about it — but she must. She needs to step out of her bubble and up to the plate. And she needs to speak without blaming the media, the gay community, seculars, liberals, terrorists or anyone else for talking about her child while reminding her of the damage she’s done. She only has herself to blame for that.

Kim Ficera is the author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: An Unconventional Life Uncensored. Her bi-weekly column at AfterEllen.com, Don’t Quote Me, is dedicated to all the folks in and out of Hollywood who talk without thinking or who don’t know when to stop talking. Email her at [email protected].

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button