Posted on 11/22/2013 8:23:02 AM PST by Kaslin
You could call it the "Catfight at Cheney Corral" (but if you do, you should expect feminist outrage). When Liz Cheney moved from the suburbs of the nation's capital to Wyoming to run for the U.S. Senate, she knew she was asking for trouble. She risked being called a "carpetbagger," but that has a sharper sting in Virginia than in Wyoming. She pulled intimate and sensitive family laundry out for a public airing by emphasizing her conservative roots.
Acknowledging that her sister was in a gay marriage, which isn't recognized as a true marriage in either Virginia or Wyoming, she said it was just "an area where we disagree."
That message could have been lost had it been sent from Wyoming by Pony Express, but in the age of Facebook, Twitter and email, fighting words are bathed in adrenalin and dispatched for instant arrival. Mary, her lesbian sister, and Heather Poe, Mary's wife, as recognized in 15 states and the District of Columbia, responded quickly with anger. Mary said Liz was "on the wrong side of history." Heather said it was "offensive" to hear that Liz doesn't "support" their union and called attention to Liz's recent change of address: "I can't help but wonder how Liz would feel if, as she moved from state to state, she discovered that her family was protected in one but not the other."
With neither Wyatt Earp nor Doc Holliday in sight, Papa Cheney, who knows what it feels like to be caught in the crossfire of politics, jumped on his not-so-high horse to ride to separate his daughters. Alas, he didn't have much to offer beyond paternal affection and his own moderate position on same-sex marriage. Dick and Lynne Cheney released in writing a statement that Liz "had always believed in the traditional definition of marriage."
Feuds in famous families make juicy copy, but this one has few national portents. The seat is now held by Mike Enzi, a Republican, and short of a tsunami (rare in Wyoming) or a colliding planet, it will remain Republican. Liz is the longest of long shots; one Republican poll shows her trailing Mr. Enzi by 53 points. Her call for a "new generation" to represent Wyoming smacks more of attempted opportunism and "ageism" (her opponent is 69 and she is 44) than policy differences, but with daddy's assistance, she raised more money in her first quarter than the incumbent, who looks like he won't need it.
All politics is local and in Wyoming local is Cody, Casper, Laramie and Cheyenne, and other names known to most Americans only from Western movies. "These types of tiffs between the two sisters, that really isn't the headline drawer for us," Kyle Roerink, a reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune, tells Politico, the Capitol Hill political daily. "What we want to report on here in Wyoming, what matters most, is where they stand on policy." Refreshing, if true.
Nevertheless, the showdown at Cheney corral illustrates a problem for Republicans in 2016, as the social issues affect policy. Gay marriage is no longer the hot button it was now that 15 states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage as legal, and some polls show a bare majority of Americans saying it's OK. The Supreme Court has decreed that federal benefits cannot be denied to same-sex couples.
A third of Republicans say gay marriage should be legal, up from 22 percent five years ago, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll. A majority of Republicans and independents under 50 who lean Republican say gay marriage should be legal. One-third of Americans polled who favor gay marriage say they once held the opposite view.
Family values, a winning theme for Republicans, has become more "nuanced" as family members come out of the closet. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a Republican, changed his mind when his son told him he was gay. He joined nine other Republicans to vote for legislation forbidding employment discrimination toward gays.
Papa Cheney, as vice president, supported state-sanctioned gay marriage when President Bush supported a federal ban. Mary, his angry lesbian daughter, campaigned for the Bush-Cheney ticket, though her support was obviously more personal than political. Log Cabin Republicans, who support gay marriage, are not always single-issue voters, and usually support conservatives on economic and defense policy issues. They say the split in the Cheney family is "emblematic" of discussions taking place in many Republican families.
It took four days to film the famous gunfight scene between feuding families in the movie version of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." The catfight at Cheney corral is likely to fade sooner than that, and long before the gay marriage issue is settled among Republicans and other conservatives.
I still think this is being staged to fool conservatives
I’m thinkin’ Liz is GOPe.
So a third of Republicans favor same sex marriage and more than half under 50 favor it.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Woof!
Guaranteed, though, if Liz Cheney was elected senator...she would turn back to pro-gay
I would not be surprised this sister fight is being staged so that Liz looks pro-family values....”gay sister attacks straight sister views on marraige”
I don’t think it is a staged fight, but WY will stick with Enzi no matter what. Unless ol’ Alan K. Simpson comes out and tells them to vote for someowne else, not too likely, considering Alan K.’s son’s failure in the 2010 governor’s race.
The perfect PR scenario. Might have been invented by their public relations firms. Gets them lots of publicity and will change no minds in the voting public. The sis who moved to Wyoming will garner votes with this.
Yes, I’m that cynical about politics.
This is totally made up, and some in the media are reporting it as news, although they have years of statements and their own interviews of Liz Cheney promoting gay marriage and the homosexual agenda, and fighting DOMA and a constitutional amendment.
Ask yourself, since when did social conservatives suddenly get such glowing press for claiming to be against gay marriage????
“Unlike Enzi, the 46-year-old daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney supports the right for states to legalize gay marriage. At least that’s what she said in 2009, in an interview with MSNBC, of all places. At that was a time when the notion of same-sex marriage had considerably less support.
And that has even Daily Kos writer Scott Welch offering at least limited praise for Liz Cheney.”
“”Well, look I think, you know, my family has been very clear about this, that we think freedom means freedom for everybody and that this is an issue that states have to decide for themselves.””
“”She went on to reiterate opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, expressed support for the State Department’s extension of benefits to same-sex couples, and said, ‘I think it’s wrong to discriminate, in those relationships, based on someone’s sexual preference.’ Additionally, she supported repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.””
This is totally made up, political theater.
The Cheneys really do support the homosexual agenda, Liz has supported it for years, and Dick actually wanted to run on it in 2000 because he believed so strongly that America needed gay marriage, and the homosexual agenda.
05/09/2012 ——Gay Conservative Groups: Good Obama Adopted (DICK)Cheney Position On Same-Sex Marriage:
“”Both groups, Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud, also made specific mention of former Vice President Dick Cheney, downplaying Obama’s statement because the Republican embraced same-sex marriage first.””
07/30/12——Dick Cheney Defends His Silence On Gay Marriage In 2000:
“”WASHINGTON — Dick Cheney says he didn’t see the point of raising the issue of gay marriage in the 2000 presidential campaign, even though he supported it.
The former vice president suggested it wouldn’t have done much good and probably would have sunk President George W. Bush’s prospects for office.””
02/17/2012——Dick Cheney Part Of Marriage Equality Lobbying Effort In Maryland: Report:
“”WASHINGTON — Dick Cheney is part of a lobbying campaign to convince at least one Maryland state lawmaker to back marriage equality, the Baltimore Sun reported on Thursday. Since leaving the vice president’s office, Cheney has been increasingly vocal in his support for same-sex marriage, but the extent of his engagement on the issue was not previously well known.””
I agree with others that Liz is being dishonest about her views.
The Cheneys generally support abortion and homosexual marriage. They will speak against it if that is what the party or the politics requires, but their personal views are quite liberal.
Cheney himself was a great secretary of defense and a great vice president, a great support I believe to every war time president he has served. But he is not a social conservative and I don’t believe she is either.
Oh, I just can't help myself on this one ...
Carpetbagger vs. Carpetmuncher???
Funny how quickly Liz Cheney fell from my grace. I wish a very sound defeat for her.
The Cheneys and the Simpsons are on the same page then, but what about the Hansens? I would imagine the same-sex people have a lot of WY support.
Ugh.. More like a “Cow fight.”
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