Mary Cheney and Partner Are About to Be Moms

Washington Post ^ | December 6, 2006 | Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts

[West Coast Conservative]

Mary Cheney, the vice president's openly gay daughter, is pregnant. She and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, said a source close to the couple.

It's a baby boom for grandparents Dick and Lynne Cheney: Their older daughter, Elizabeth, went on leave as deputy assistant secretary of state before having her fifth child in July. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild," spokesman Lea Anne McBride said last night.

Cheney, 37, was a key aide to her father during the 2004 reelection campaign and now is vice president for consumer advocacy at AOL. Poe, 45, a former park ranger, is renovating their Great Falls home.

News of the pregnancy will undoubtedly reignite the debate about gay marriage. During the campaign, Mary Cheney was criticized by gay activists for not being more publicly supportive of same-sex marriage. Her father said people "ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to" but deferred to the president's policy supporting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Cheney herself called the proposed amendment "a gross affront to gays and lesbians everywhere" in her book, "Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life," which was published in May.

Cheney has described her relationship with Poe -- whom she took to last year's White House dinner honoring Prince Charles and Camilla-- as a marriage. The two met in 1988 while playing ice hockey and began dating four years later. They moved from Colorado to Virginia a year ago to be closer to Cheney's family.

[snugs]

How has she taken a child from a potential parent that makes no sense.

Given her situation if medical procedures had not been gone into it would have just meant one less child because she would never have become pregnant.

[Blackirish]

But I find it fascinating that many (not all) anti-gay-parent folks here on FR are willing to give Mary Cheney a pass simply because she's the daughter of a favored Republican. If this were the gay daughter of Democrats they'd want to string her up and/or throw her out of the country, and/or say it was all the fault of her Democrat parents. Where is the condemnation they heap on the opposition? Why is this not Dick and Lynne Cheney's "faults" for how they raised their daughter? I sense some uneasy hypocrisy

---

No kidding .......if this was Chelsea Clinton this thread would be fire + brimstone and 2000 posts long.

[snugs]

It is sad the decline of fathers in modern society and the increase of weekend fathers or holiday time father or worse still no contact at all.

I suspect in this case there will be a great deal of male involvement with the grandfather and uncle to give the child a good concept of a male roll model - this is a close family.

[JedForbes]

My money is on the Cheney child to grow up far more positively.

I totally agree.

Fact is you can always find someone from a gay/abused/hippy/drug taking background (I'm not equating all these by the way) that is better adjusted and saner than someone from a "regular" mom & dad family (tho Spears etc are hardly regular).

That doesn't distract from the fact that two women having children together is plain wrong. It's doesn't matter if in this individual case they grow up "more positivly" - does that mean thinking two mommies is ok for example? Thinking that having two gay parents is as natural as having a mom and dad. I wouldn't think that's positive.

I have nothing against single-parent families at ALL so long as the parents at least tried to make something stable and conventional out of it. Two homosexuals cannot do that no matter how much they "love" each other.

Cheney should have distanced himself from this a long time ago - though in fairness he has done a pretty good job fending off the press on the issue. Personally I think he's being dishonest or has put family before principles on the issue.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Oh absolutely. I have no doubt that Dick Cheney can't wait to be a grandfather again.

[Blackirish]

Cheney should have distanced himself from this a long time ago - though in fairness he has done a pretty good job fending off the press on the issue. Personally I think he's being dishonest or has put family before principles on the issue

---

Was he sposed to disown her?....Gone on national TV and say bad daughter!!!?...What did you expect of him?

[dayglored]

> ...two women having children together is plain wrong. It's doesn't matter if in this individual case they grow up "more positivly" ...

Don't overlook my previous posts on this thread. I stated my belief very strongly that a man and a woman, married and committed to the raising of their child, are the best environment for a child.

The contrast here was between the long-term committed relationship of two 40-ish women, to the short-term utterly dysfunctional relationship of two 25-ish dolts. In that particular case, my vote goes to the Cheneys. Don't confuse that with the more general case.

As to Dick Cheney "distancing himself", I hope he does NO SUCH THING. That child will need a strong male figure, and in the absence of a father in the home, a strong grandfather is absolutely essential. I hope he chooses to be very involved.

And I don't think he's being dishonest at all. His personal beliefs are obviously not the same as his "official administration position" which is naturally to support the President's position. What he does at home is his business.

[dayglored]

> if this was Chelsea Clinton this thread would be fire + brimstone and 2000 posts long.

And who knows, maybe she's actually gay and we'll have the opportunity to prove your prediction accurate.

More likely, though, she's straight, and instead we'll have to pillory her for having a child out of wedlock or something. Gee, when Hillary becomes President we'll get to hash through all of Chelsea's adventures as a 20-something. Poor girl never had a chance...

[snugs]

Exactly imagine if he had cut her off, or disowned the press would have had a field day; not to mention the personal heartache for the whole family.

No one knows what has been said behind close doors, all we know is his official position which I know to a lot of people think he is being over tolerant and is inferring it is a legitimate lifestyle choice. He hardly would say anything else in public to say anything else would be portrayed as a rift in the family and the rabid left wing press would never let it go.

As I said before we do not need to agree with his position or his daughter's life style choices but at the end of the day I think the family deserve respect as to the classy and non confrontational way they have dealt with it.

She has been involved in his public life without it being shoved down ones throat such as the 9/11 commemorations this year

Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary Cheney (2nd R) and her partner Heather Poe (2nd L) hold their hands over their hearts as an honor guard with the U.S. flag walks past during ceremonies in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks for members of the Bush administration and White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington September 11, 2006

Vice President Dick Cheney, accompanied by Mrs. Lynne Cheney and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, attends a Service of Prayer and Remembrance at St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., Monday, September 11, 2006, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. White House photo by David Bohrer. Mary and Heather are in the row behind their parents in this photo - the profile family resemblance between Lynne Cheney and Mary is so noticeable in this photo.

[napscoordinator]

Thank God the child will have awesome Grandparents!!!!! They will be able to instill some of their values too.

[durasell]

The usual anti-gay parent folks are omninously silent. I suspect a sneak attack and blizzard of posts at a later date...

[snugs]

I agree they will post and run

[durasell]

A little disappointing. They were the only reason I came on to the thread.

[napscoordinator]

Cheney should have distanced himself from this a long time ago - though in fairness he has done a pretty good job fending off the press on the issue. Personally I think he's being dishonest or has put family before principles on the issue.


I would put my family first too. Are you kidding me? Principles are fine and he still has them but what did you want him to do kill her. Come on now. What would you do? None of us are guaranteed that our children won't turn out differently than we want them too. I know with my three we are doing the very best we can, but life does not guarantee anything!!!!!

[snugs]

:0)

Dont worry once the rest of us are finished with the thread and they are preaching to their own choir and back slapping each other they will appear here or start their own thread.

[dogbyte12]

No kidding .......if this was Chelsea Clinton this thread would be fire + brimstone and 2000 posts long.

Because most of us are hypocrites. Democrats decided they liked Clinton more than they believed in sexual harassment laws and rape laws. Conservatives like Cheney more than they hate homosexuals. If a Republican acted like Clinton, democrats would string them up. If a democrat politician had a gay daughter having a child this way, people here would be screaming with outrage. It's one of life's lessons that I have learned very well. My mother in law is convinced that Rush Limbaugh's 3 wives all married him for the money and he never took drugs and everybody was lying, including I guess Rush about it. She listens 15 hours a week. If Clinton had the drug problem, she would go on for weeks and months at a time about what a scourge he is. My liberal cousin continues to harp about Newt Gingrich getting some on the side, but it was ok with Clinton. Almost everybody is a hypocrite. It's reality.

[newzjunkey]

She took a baby from a potential mom and dad. bottomline.

TOOK??? Do you know something we don't? The details are not in the column.

[llevrok]

No human needs a Double Dose of those Dick Cheney genes.

Dick Cheney could take Chuck Norris.

[snugs]

Human nature but sadly you are quite right

[SeaBiscuit]

Well said.