[Screaming Eagle Red Leg]

Good! Now, to the larger question.

It was quite obvious that both Kerry’s and Edwards’ references to Mary Cheney in their respective debates were planned in advance and part of a strategy to accomplish something. WHAT WERE KERRY AND EDWARDS HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BY REFERRING TO MARY CHENEY BEING A LESBIAN?

[conserv13]

She is a lesbian! Everyone knows it. Why is this a big deal?

[elizabetty]

They think they are going to scare the religious right into not voting for Bush Cheney.

[Dems_R_Losers]

Good! Now, to the larger question.

It was quite obvious that both Kerry’s and Edwards’ references to Mary Cheney in their respective debates were planned in advance and part of a strategy to accomplish something. WHAT WERE KERRY AND EDWARDS HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BY REFERRING TO MARY CHENEY BEING A LESBIAN?

This was either:

1. A thinly veiled and poorly executed attack on Dick Cheney (for being a bad father who won't talk about his gay daughter and won't fight for her rights); or

2. An attempt to evade the gay marriage issue and avoid a direct debate on it, by sending the message to the Bush campaign that they will drag Mary Cheney's name into it every time the Bush camp tries to engage on gay marriage.

I think it was the former. Bill Kristol thinks it was the latter. But most people think it was an even worse reason, to try to get that oh-so-huge anti-gay bigot vote to stay home and not vote for Bush.

[BlessedByLiberty]

"WHAT WERE KERRY AND EDWARDS HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BY REFERRING TO MARY CHENEY BEING A LESBIAN?"

By way of the Kitty Kelly book, and other sleaze books, we were supposed to believe that the Bush/Cheney families are not good Christians, nor families with strong values. We were supposed to fall into the stereotype Dems/Libs have of conservatives as bigoted homophobes who would not vote for someone who has a gay relative.

They used this strategy (DUI October Surprise in 2000) to keep home 4 million Evangelical Christians from voting.

You can bet money the next surprise will be: the abortion rumor about an ex girlfriend of the President.

They are trying to destroy the family values coalition, plain simple done.

[VRWCTexan]

skerry wanted to drive a wedge between what they perceive as the "right wing conservative Christian voters" - wanted to make sure they all knew - hoping it would encourage some of them to stay home on election day!

[billhilly]

Looks like an apology is out of the question now. That takes away a politicians strongest weapon. They get to say what they want, and demand that everyone must forgive them when they apologize.

[Califelephant]

...WHAT WERE KERRY AND EDWARDS HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BY REFERRING TO MARY CHENEY BEING A LESBIAN?...

We don't need to know exactly what they were trying to accomplish in order to be 100% certain that they were trying to use a lesbian, Mary Cheney, to SCORE POLITICAL POINTS.

Here's how to frame this as a question to ask our liberal friends: "Are Kerry and Edwards so deperate to win that they'll try to use a lesbian to score a few political points?"

[beckysueb]

He thinks he can point to hypocrisy on the part of B/C cause they are for the ban on gay marriage, also he thinks he can turn the Christain Coalition away from voting and he thinks he can get the southern vote away from Bush.

[Cedric]

Kerry & Edwards were cynically trying to appeal Republican homphobes with this attempted political wedge tactic.
Dems have been doing stuff like this for years. I'm glad it's finnally biting them!

[Leto]

Good! Now, to the larger question.

It was quite obvious that both Kerry’s and Edwards’ references to Mary Cheney in their respective debates were planned in advance and part of a strategy to accomplish something. WHAT WERE KERRY AND EDWARDS HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH BY REFERRING TO MARY CHENEY BEING A LESBIAN?

They are trying to supress the evangelical vote by 'shocking' them with the info that Mary Cheney is a Lesbian. The hope is that Christians will stay at home and not vote. Sleazy...but the DUI bit heped the rats in the last election.

[Agrarian]

Why?

1. Damage Bush/Cheney with their base

2. Convince the more socially conservative parts of Dem voters that the GOP is just as much into buggery as the Dems are, to prevent even a small exodus from Hillary's party over gay marriage

3. In the process, turn enough people against Kerry so he will lose (while convincing him that it is a winning tactic)

Net effect: create chaos and confusion. Net benefit: advantage Hillary...

[edchambers]

I'm thinking it was a lame attempt to pander to a couple of completely different groups.On one hand he was maybe trying to undermine some of "W"s support among the religious right.On the other he may have been trying to pander to gay activists by pointing out that those mean old Republicans don't support your agenda even though their daughter is gay.In either case, the fact that we're still talking about it means it blew up in his face.