Dispatches from the Creation Wars

Seemingly oblivious to the fact that his own policy advocacy and campaign staff has helped make her life immensely more difficult, President Bush says he’s happy for Mary Cheney and her partner:

“I think Mary is going to be a loving soul to her child,” Bush said in an interview with People magazine. “And I’m happy for her.”

Bush was asked about Mary Cheney’s pregnancy in light of his previous statements that a child ideally should be raised by in a family headed by a married father and mother.

Well, sure, you like Mary Cheney. And all the rest of those gay parents in the country who are loving souls? To hell with them. Who cares that you’ve spent the last few years running on a platform of anti-gay referendums that have made the lives of those loving souls more difficult and deprived them of the most basic rights and protections that you and I can take for granted (it was Rove who pushed in 2004 and 2006 to have anti-gay marriage propositions on the ballots in states, on the theory that it would motivate the base and drive up the votes for Bush and the Republican Party).

White House press secretary Tony Snow said on Friday that Bush has not changed his mind.

“But he also believes that every human life is sacred and that every child who comes into this world deserves love,” Snow said.

“And he believes that Mary Cheney’s child will, in fact, have loving parents.”

Asked if Bush believes that children who are raised by gay and lesbian parents are at a disadvantage, Snow said, “He does not make comments on that and nor will I.”

Oh, but he already has made comments on that. He’s built his entire electoral strategy around demonizing gays and pronouncing them unfit for marriage and parenthood. It’s a little late to be coy just because it’s become social inconvenient for him because it affect someone he knows. As long as it was in the abstract, and good for his political future, he had no problem selling Mary Cheney and her partner out. It’s too late to make nicey nice now.

Comments

#1 mark
December 18, 2006

Perhaps Bush is afraid if he says anything bad about Mary Cheney, her father will shoot him in the face.
#2 doctorgoo
December 18, 2006

Mark, I think we’re all afraid of that! Who do you think is next in line for the presidency?
#3 MJ Memphis
December 18, 2006

“he had no problem selling Mary Cheney and her partner out”

Well, since MC was already a sellout herself, no harm done.
#4 NonyNony
December 18, 2006

Well, if Cheney were to shoot W in the face, I’d imagine Nancy Pelosi would be next in line for the Presidency. That should keep Cheney’s trigger finger from getting too itchy, I would think.

W’s whole gay parent rhetoric is false on the face of it – he was never the violently anti-gay firebrand that his supporters painted him as. He toed the line because it got him votes, but if the votes would have come from signing legislation to legalize gay marriages, he would have been perfectly happy signing that too. He’s just an opportunist of the worst variety and is willing to sell people’s lives down the line to get what he wants.

And I shed no tears for Mary Cheney and her partner, both of whom have actively worked to make sure that the current policies are what they are. Any problems they have in the coming decades will be because of things that they have done to themselves and to their child – I hope they stay up late at night and think about the damage that they’ve done. But they won’t, because they’re rich enough and powerful enough to be able to get around the laws that folks without their means run up against.
#5 GH
December 18, 2006

That is nearly unbelievable. It’s almost satire. Make policies and promote them to win elections and then come around and obviously conclude exactly the opposite of what you promote.

I mean I agree with Bush here but what a hypocrite.
#6 raj
December 18, 2006

The fact that Bush ignored MCheney’s partner Heather Poe in his statement was not missed by more than a few gay people.
#7 jeffk
December 18, 2006

I liked Dan Savage’s take on this the best:

“My son has two fathers, but Heather Poe’s left labial lip is butcher than both of us put together. Even if Mary and Heather planned on raising their child on a deserted island somewhere, their kid wouldn’t want for masculine role models. And if things get too girlie at Mary and Heather’s place, Grandpa Dick can always take the kid hunting.”
#8 Barron
December 18, 2006

They are all so happy for Mary, but they never even mention her partner. From all we can tell from their comments Miss Cheney is a single mother ala Murphy Brown. I can only assume this is a chosen spin to make the pro-family “love their daughter” statements without having to acknowledge the reality of her life and relationships.

Seriously, has Miss Poe been mentioned by any of the well wishers in the administration?