In the first place, what Kerry said was not true and since he must have known that it was not true, it was a lie. Asked Wednesday night by the debate moderator whether homosexuality is a choice, Kerry said: "We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not a choice."
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Many news publications have referred to Cheney's daughter as "openly gay". It is true that there are many signs that she is a lesbian. She has lived for years with another woman. She wears a ring which appears to be a wedding band. She dresses, appears and acts in the manner of a lesbian. One could even say that it is beyond reasonable doubt that she is a lesbian. Nevertheless, she has never publicly declared herself to be a lesbian, and it is her right to remain silent.
The fact that Kerry referred to Cheney's daughter as a lesbian could not have been an accident. Three times in the last few days the Kerry campaign have brought this up. First, Edwards brought it up in his debate against Cheney. Then, Kerry brought it up in his debate with Bush. The following day Elizabeth Edwards said that Cheney's wife must be feeling shame over this. Finally, Kerry's daughter, Alexandra, is reported as having said on "Good Morning America" that Mary Cheney is "fair game".
The Bush campaign has not resorted to such tactics. Few voters seem to be aware that Kerry's two daughters are not from his current wife, Theresa Heinz, but are from a pervious wife, from whom he is divorced. Nor are they aware that Kerry's first wife was one of the richest women in America, in contrast to his current wife who is the richest woman in America.
The mention by Kerry of Cheney's lesbian daughter could not have been as casual as his campaign now claims it was. It was clearly calculated to turn conservative voters and gay voters away from Bush and Cheney. To verify this, one only needs to look at the Internet, where even before the debate there were more than one hundred websites attacking the Cheney Family over the lesbian issue.
These websites, mostly based in San Francisco, first attacked Richard Cheney for refusing to verify that Mary is a lesbian, claiming that he was keeping her hidden. When Mary Cheney did appear at the Republican National Convention along with her lesbian lover, all eyes were on the couple while ignoring the president, but then they complained that they did not get on the stage. At the conclusion of the Cheney-Edwards debate, both Mary Cheney and her companion, who by then had been identified as Heather Poe (her name had not been previously known) did get on the stage but now lesbian groups complain that Heather "should have been included in the conversation". It seems that they can never be satisfied. Meanwhile, Alexandra Kerry, on "Good Morning America", said that that Mary Cheney's sexuality is "fair game," telling the vice president's wife, "when you choose to be part of a campaign, you choose to make yourself public."
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More importantly, even gays and lesbians have a right to privacy. Mary Cheney is not running for election. Her father is. Mary Cheney has never stated that she is a lesbian. The Cheney family has been under tremendous pressure, bombarded with demands that they admit and publicly discuss Mary Cheney's Lesbianism. If there is any doubt about this, just do an Internet search under "Mary Cheney Lesbian" and see how many hundreds of websites pre-dating Kerry's outing of this have demanded statements from the Cheney Family about this issue. There is even a picture circulating around the Internet depicting Mary Cheney on a milk bottle.
Sadly, the initial reaction to Kerry's statement that Cheney's daughter is a lesbian has been pro-Kerry, especially among the gay and lesbian community. Let us hope that our gays and lesbians eventually see the light and realize what a louse Kerry really is.
Sam Sloan
Sam Sloan is a Candidate for US Congress