Open Letter to Mary Cheney

Good news, everyone! Mary Cheney's pregnant.

Mary Cheney And Partner Are About To Be Moms

From the Washington Post:

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."
****

Dear Mary,

Let me be the first to congratulate you on your pregnancy. That's wonderful news. Revolted as I always was at the sickening spectacle of your shilling for your father while he and his cronies were out there cynically flogging an anti-same-sex marriage Constitutional amendment in order to cozy up to the hatemongers in his party who not only want to deny you and Heather the right to marriage but would, if they could, deny your soon-to-be-child the right to exist, and will, if they ever get the power to do it, snatch that child from your arms and give it to a "normal" heterosexual family, I must admit to having kind of a soft spot for you. You're like the mirror universe me. We're both lesbians; we're both about the same age; we're both in lifetime committed relationships of more or less the same length (mine's a few years older, but I am interested to note from this article that you first met your partner in 1988, the same year my partner and I got together); we've both got Republican fathers and mothers who embarrass us in public, and so on. It's true that your father is the freakin' Prince of Darkness, and mine's not; but after all that's not your fault. It's also true that you are complicit in his reign of evil, whereas I fought as hard as I could to end it; but...oh, let's face it, that part of it IS your fault. But I digress.

Anyway, Mary, woman to woman, let me give you a little bit of a heads-up about what this decision is going to mean for you and Heather...or at any rate, what it WOULD mean for you and Heather, if your father weren't capable of ordering his dark minions to rise in their dread majesty in the dead of night and demolish the obstacles and make smooth the path before his chosen one so that when the sun arises and you set out on your journey you might not even know they were ever there:

* Your state, Virginia, just amended its constitution to ban same-sex marriage. This means that Virginia state law is officially hostile to extending legal rights to same-sex couples, including parental and custody rights. Good luck finding a judge that will allow Heather to adopt the baby. And if you find such a judge, for God's sake don't publicize it, because it will result in an organized campaign of political persecution that will probably stop him from doing it for the next couple.

* Says in the Post you plan to keep the circumstances of the pregnancy "private." Good idea. I assume that either you used a friend as the donor or you went through a sperm bank and used some form of alternative insemination; since you're 37, they probably put you on Clomid, and who knows, maybe you had to go to in vitro fertilization. All of these medical interventions in the "natural" process of reproduction are things that many on the right would--if they could--make illegal for everyone, and which even more on the right would--if they could--make illegal for any woman who's not married. Indeed, in the Indiana state legislature a couple years ago your father's friends the Republicans floated a bill that would have required any woman using any form of assisted reproduction to get a "certificate of gestation" from the state--which would of course be issued to her only if she were legally married to a man--or else be prosecuted for a Class B misdemeanor. This law was eventually pulled; as someone pointed out, among other things it would have made the Virgin Mary liable to prosecution. However, the Virginia state legislature is certainly crazy enough to pass something like this, and no doubt it's only a matter of time before the good work of the religious nuts in the Indiana lege bears fruit in your home state. So yeah, keep those circumstances as private as you can. You wouldn't want to do jail time over this.

* Say, if you _did_ do IVF, and you have some 'extra' fertilized eggs lying around frozen somewhere, I'd keep whatever you do with them "private" too. Stem cell research, I would suggest, just in terms of the benefit to mankind; but whoo doggie, don't ever let your father's buddies know about THAT. Wouldn't want you to face the Wrath of Rush. I'd think that just LOOKING at a wrathful Rush while you're pregnant would be liable to cause birth defects.

* Speaking of which: you know not to eat large ocean fish cause of the mercury poisoning, right? Would have been nice if we could have gotten the whole pollution thing under control by now so that you could eat fish without fear during your pregnancy. Cause fish _without_ mercury is good for you and the baby, and tasty. But it would hurt your father's business cronies to regulate stuff like what we dump in the oceans, so I guess that's the end of that.

* I suppose that since you're making this public you're past the first trimester. Did they push the genetic screening tests and stuff when you went in to see your ob-gyn? I suppose they did, since you're over 35, and any time someone over 35 gets pregnant the medical establishment still freaks the fuck out about Down's Syndrome and such. Did you and Heather have the conversation about what you would do if your baby turned out to have a chromosomal anomaly? The whole prospect of abortion, in the context of a wanted pregnancy, is very traumatic, and I wouldn't blame you for saying you'd go through with the pregnancy even if the baby couldn't survive birth; that's probably what we would do. But still, at least you knew that it would be your and Heather's decision to make. Wouldn't it have sucked to know you had _no_ agency whatsoever?

* You might try getting your mother the cultural czar to talk to Margaret Spelling at PBS about lightening up on allowing representations of alternative families on public television. It'd be nice for the little Cheneyling to be able to see other families with same-sex parents on TV and know yours wasn't the only one, wouldn't it? Be nice for all the other alternative families out there too. Course I suppose your parents could score you anything you want, and you could just put that banned episode of "Buster the Bunny" on your TiVo and _pretend_ that everyone else in the country was seeing it too, and that'd be just as good. That'd be more your family's style.

Well, anyway, Mary, please accept my warmest congratulations. I know how hard it is to make the decision to become a lesbian parent and I know how hard it is to actually get pregnant when you're over 35 and using frozen sperm. It is a miracle, isn't it? That there's this little being inside you, and it isn't a person yet, but it will be soon? That you're walking around with something in your body that has the potential to become another human being, a fully independent, fully formed individual who will have who knows what influence on the world s/he enters? That you are the portal through which something new is going to come into the world? No wonder even your father the Prince of Darkness is excited about this. You go on basking in your prenatal glow, and enjoy the security of knowing that _other_ people--the people who don't have fathers who are in with His Infernal Majesty, the people who can't pay for the protection that legal rights would otherwise provide, the people who are vulnerable to the systems of oppression that your father now rules in all his dark glory--are out there fighting to protect your right to have a child and to raise it in peace.

All the best,

The Plaid Adder

P.S. Also, isn't it great that you don't have to do this in Iraq? Boy, imagine how much you'd be freaking out if you knew you were bringing a child into the mess your dad has made of THAT place!

A Vermont lesbian won a legal victory last week when the Court of Appeals of Virginia urged a lower court to issue a new judgment recognizing Vermont’s authority in a protracted custody battle.

Janet Jenkins had previously been awarded liberal visitation rights by a Vermont family court but her former partner, Lisa Miller, with whom she had entered into a Vermont civil union, fought to overturn that ruling.

Tuesday’s ruling found that the lower Virginia court did not have the right to exercise jurisdiction when it granted sole parental rights in October 2004, to Miller, the birth mother.

....

Mathew Staver, founder and chair of Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University School of Law, represented Miller, who continues to refuse interview requests. He said his client is not deterred by the decision and intends to ask for a hearing in front of the entire Virginia appellate court, and is prepared to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

....

The Liberty Counsel is affiliated with Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. In an August 2006 interview with the Blade, Price said the organization exists to thwart cases that involve advancement of equal rights for gays and lesbians.

....

http://nyblade.com/2006/12-4/news/national/

I wonder what Jerry will say about Mary.....:shrug:

I know divorce gets bitter, but I don't know how as a lesbian mother you get your mind around cosying up to the Falwells of the world just because you want sole custody rights. I really don't.

Anyway, the ruling is a good result for the partner but it's not necessarily going to be relevant for people living in Virginia, since basically this case is about recognizing the validity of other states' laws. We'll see what happens, I guess.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

the alternate universe of the obscenely wealthy and powerful at the top of the GOP. No, she and her spouse won't be able to marry legally. However, all the benefits of marriage, including spousal visitation in an intensive care unit, will be extended to them. The laws against normal variations in human sexuality are only used punitively when the targets are outside the power elite.

She doesn't mind shilling for the religious right because they're the people who pave the way for her father's continual theft and thus make her potentially richer, so rich that no law will ever apply to her.

People like this have no interest in changing the laws to benefit the "little people," because *they* don't have to worry about no stinkin' laws.

Aside from the fact that--as the daughter of America's biggest war profiteer--she is obscenely wealthy, she also benefits from the IOKIYAR effect. It's OK If You're a Republican.

Mary Cheney will never want for anything, especially decent and fair treatment. Kinda sucks for everyone else, though.

Please, Elizabeth, STOP BREEDING LITTLE CHENEYs!!! :puke:

little Cheneylings, but I agree with the sentiment.

Though that term does make them sound like they're not human....oh wait...nevermind! ;)

What kind of Republican is she?

nt

You're the best read on DU. :kick: :applause:

Thank you for sharing that Plaid Adder. Your letter puts our disgraceful threatment of human beings in perspective.

You think the hypocrite falwell & the religiouly insane will spin this like she's the virgin mary?

But when I read the headlines about this pregnancy, this morning, the
only thing I could think of was

ALL THE UNBORN BABIES WHOSE PREGNANT MOTHERS LOST THEIR LIVES IN

I R A Q !!!

(Excellent post, btw. I gave it a hearty K&R!)

You wrote:
P.S. Also, isn't it great that you don't have to do this in Iraq? Boy, imagine how much you'd be freaking out if you knew you were bringing a child into the mess your dad has made of THAT place!

Oh, I don't know if she'd be freaking, PA. Mary has been one of the Iraq war's most staunch and public defenders!

From http://www.americanpolitics.com/20060518Young.html

Mary Cheney: Chip Off the Old Block
by Steve Young

May 18, 2006—HOLLYWOOD (apj.us)—Wednesday afternoon, on CNN's Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer asked Mary Cheney if President Bush or her father, Vice President Dick Cheney, have made any mistakes in dealing with Iraq.

Her answer?

"I think that they have handled Iraq exactly right."

Taken aback, Blitzer want to make sure he had heard right.

"No mistakes?"

Mary was nonplused.

"No mistakes."

Wolf tried again.

"2000 dead soldiers. $300 billion dollars."

Still, Mary thought Dad and W had been perfecto. Couldn't have done better.

Yet another source...
Mary Cheney Stands Behind Dad on Iraq: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1935960&page=1

And this one pretty well sums it up:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-dorchen/dick-cheneys-lesbian-dau_b_25927.html
Dick Cheney's Lesbian Daughter

EXCERPTS

"How could Mary Cheney not take a stand against the Hate Gay Couples amendment during the 2004 campaign? Why doesn't she speak out forcefully against it now, since she does admit she's against it? Why is she so much more interested in slamming everyone who dares criticize her father than those who would condemn her to eternal pain? The answer to these questions is that Mary Cheney, like her non-lesbian father, whom she loves very much, is a self-righteous liar and hypocrite with no respect for the intelligence of the citizens of the United States, no sense that there's a world of human and social needs beyond the sphere of desires and machinations propelling her father's self-serving enterprises, and no willingness to concede what the rest of the universe observes: that the invasion of Iraq is a horribly botched project, if not illegal and misbegotten from its very inception. In short, Mary Cheney is a neo-conservative.

(snipping)

And who knows better than Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter, whom he and Lynn love very much, that her father isn't the Darth Vader the media portray him as, that he gets up every morning thinking about how he can make this country safer, not about how to set up his friends to make millions in war profits so he can land back in the private sector on a cushion of gold? Mary Cheney's non-lesbian father wakes up every morning thinking of ways to make this country safer, that's why he shot that guy in the face. That's why he went hunting with Scalia - because if you don't hunt with a homophobic judge the country's not safe. That's why he constantly tries to subvert the separation of powers - the Constitution puts our nation at risk. That's why he got so mad at Joe Wilson for exposing the Niger uranium lie: that lie was an important part of keeping our country secure. That's why he keeps so many secrets, why he wouldn't release details of who sat on his energy task force - because if the people of the USA knew that, they'd know too much, and might be tortured and killed by al Qaeda for having that knowledge. Maybe he's afraid we'll crack under torture, or even something not technically torture like waterboarding, and give away the list of task force participants. But mainly he's afraid for our own safety. Because if there's one thing al Qaeda doesn't want, it's Americans knowing the details of how Dick Cheney is ripping them off.

My father doesn't care about polls or his public image, Mary Cheney says proudly. He doesn't spend much time worrying about what other people think. Yeah, bitch, he doesn't care about other people AT ALL. Except his intimate circle of sociopathic friends, family members and partners in crime. Which wouldn't be quite so bad if he didn't feel the need to screw so much of the world to accomplish his selfish goals.

(snipping)

"So the enigma is solved: lesbians can be just as selfish and evil as the rest of us. Yep, they're human, too, big news, I know. I'm very disappointed that, after Letterman wasted his interview picking at the pseudo-contradiction of a lesbian fascist, Terry Gross did the same damn thing. Why is she a lezzy supporting the Bush White House? Because her ideas about things are wrong. Her sense of the difference between right and wrong is wrong. How about asking the question, "How can you say the invasion of Iraq was exactly the right thing to do to keep this country safe when it clearly was not, you god damn selfish arrogant vile loaf of stinking fascism?" Or, "Why don't you and your father, if his motives are so pure, and if you love America so much, allow the people of the U.S. to rule themselves in democratic fashion rather than subverting public discussion about your policies at every possible opportunity?" (You god damn selfish arrogant vile loaf of stinking fascism.)

"But those puzzles, too, cease to boggle the mind. Because Mary Cheney and her father share more than just a lot of DNA, including probably a Y chromosome. They share a temperament, a philosophy, and a lack of character. They're almost the same person. She's really just a little Dick."

I always look forward to your posts. This one was especially good! K & R

:hi:

There's nothing un-natural about lesbian conception, and nothing super-natural either. The Cheney family might call it the remarkable conception.

Praise the Lord for his wondrous ways. Mary is with child, and she knows not man.

:yourock:

can we say Rosemary's baby? pig feet and all.

I must say you have done a great job, once again. You hit on so many important issues that we all should be aware of. I especially like your treatment of the differences between the powerful people and the rest of us. Mary is saved from so many problems that the rest of us have to face. The Vice President will look out for her, while he goes on hurting the rest of us. Thanks a lot.

Love and Peace.

Hilarious comment in an otherwise poignant and, at times, depressing essay.

You totally nail Mary Cheney's hypocrisy more succinctly than I ever could. I don't know how she lives with herself knowing what hardship other couples just like herself go through every day simply to exist.

She's nothing better than the gay person's Uncle Tom.

I just love you. I'm sniffy, is how much I love you.

That was perfect.

Thank you so much for the time and effort it took you to write it.

I'm grateful for you, not just now, but often. And not just for myself, but for my GLBT siblings all over the world. We need you. Don't ever let Them stop you.

XIX

I had many of the same thoughts upon hearing the news but could never state them as well as you.

I'm sad to think that, years from now, that child will learn about the horrible things his mother and grandparents supported politically. With the family situation as such, I'm sure it will be very, very hard to deal with.

This should add an interesting twist to the debate.

I mean, she's alienated the LGBT movement and any friends from there. She's alienated the homophobic, a large percentage of the population. She's got enough money to buy whatever the baby needs, and Grandpa has even more, but that's not the point. I wonder who's going to knit for her baby.

Almost makes me want to knit a pair of red booties and send them to her. :evilgrin:

:evilgrin:

It's even machine wash, very soft, just right. I might have to do a hat to go with them. I'm totally giggling over here. When is she due?

I mean, come on! You just don't get more Middle America Fantasy than knitting booties for a baby!

I have some knitters to e-mail. :evilgrin:

Unfortunately, my one attempt at knitting was 30 years ago and the results were disastrous. My poor mother had to go out in public in that scarf several times to avoid hurting my tender young feelings until she told me tearfully the dog had torn it up, but no, please don't go to the bother again because she'll always treasure the memory of that first lovely gift. :rofl:

*giggle* Um, I'm sure it wasn't that *snort* bad. Really. :) Oh dear.

... before the dog got the hint and "tore it up"? (In our family's case, it was a bit tricker, because we didn't have a dog ... but my mom is highly creative!)

for laying things out so clearly and concisely, and do such a wonderful job illustrating the sheer hypocrisy of the dark side! :applause:

this part: "Indeed, in the Indiana state legislature a couple years ago your father's friends the Republicans floated a bill that would have required any woman using any form of assisted reproduction to get a "certificate of gestation" from the state--which would of course be issued to her only if she were legally married to a man--or else be prosecuted for a Class B misdemeanor." That's just crazy!

The link to the original IndyStar story is broken now, but here's my original journal post about it:

http://plaidder.livejournal.com/2005/10/05/

Freaky stuff,

The Plaid Adder

Love the internet searchin'...

http://www.365gay.com/newscon05/10/100405birthBan.htm

EVeryone only focused on the gay part of new law - but this law is against anyone cohabitating - this is the same law the governor Allen had when he reign as governor in Virginia - this state has a lot of hatefilled people and the attorney general is one of pat robertson graduates so it could get worse - on the surface some parts look blue but depth in its vein it is hate filled red

I'm so busy and have such little time for computer browsing or DU, and here I check in and find a gem like this. Thank you Plaid Adder, you just made my day.

By the way, the reason I'm busy is my heterosexual daughter is getting married. The fact I can take that for granted If I chose too saddens me--so rest assured, I don't. I'll continue to do what I can to ensure marriage rights for all.

Got stuck in a Cheney. What are the odds of getting into a hypocritical sociopath who thinks her private life has absolutely nothing to do with her public support of bigotry against herself?

That's going to be one fcked up kid from day 1.

Isn't it just special that the Nazi Cheneys will allowed to break the very laws they support?

:hi:

Hekate

Come on, Plaid Adder, stop using that stupid open-letter device to talk to the community. Mary is not going to read that letter. She's not going to sit through and read what you think about her. If you want to say something to us, write it down. This is not some writing competition in high school. You have a real chance to reach millions of people, and all we get is this hackneyed crap? Talk about doing as massive disservice to politics in general.

If you fear that Mary Who Is With Child may not ever get to read this letter, why not print it out and stuff it in an envelope yourself?

Hekate

I didn't write it to begin with. If there was something I'd want her to read, I'd send it to her, not post it on a blog she wouldn't ever read. That's kind of obvious, no?

You don't like the "Open Letter" format, so stop reading them. If you're really so worried about people wasting "a chance to reach millions of people," make better use of your OWN chance to do the same.

Both Nance's and Plaid's are well written pieces that speak to people. After a quick search to see YOUR posts, it's pretty laughable that you would have the crust to call others "hackneyed." I guess it's still true that those who can, do; those who can't, whine.

That's fantastic, really. I'm simply pointing out how people are squandering chances to clearly get FACTUAL messages across to as many people as possible, by sending out these emotive pieces. Not just emotive, but fatally flawed from their design. The whole "open letter" device is about as impressive as talking about yourself in the third person - it's a device, that's all. It's a wasted opportunity to get the IMPORTANT message out to those it could make a difference to. Just posting it to a blog she'll never read is self-serving. It's just a way of posturing in front of the community, showing everyone how "on the ball" they are, masquerading as actual, grown-up discussion. If you're all down with that, then fine. Don't complain when the Republicans are back in power.

Oh, and fyi - nice way of deflecting the criticism of them by trying to turn it back on me. You'd make a great Republican. Seriously. The difference between me, NanceGreggs and Plaid Adder is that I don't write open letters to right-wingers on a left-leaning blog and pretend they'll actually be read. I'm actually interested in effecting change, and not holding my tongue when peer pressure dictates. Not doing so got the world into the mess it's in at the moment, and sure as hell isn't the way out. I'm sorry I ruined your circle-jerk.

No, dearie, the difference between Nance, Plaid and you is that they have many people here who look forward to reading their pieces while you....well, let's just say I'm not the only person who just added you to their ignore list. Buh bye jerk! Enjoy the rest of your undoubtedly brief stay here.

If you think that, you've just made my point.

Many of us will gladly critique you work.

I'll write an open letter to Hitler. It'll do as much use as all this other self-serving gum-flapping that's going on. I can even pretend it'll make the slightest bit of difference if it makes the critics' lives any easier. Tacky, hackneyed, cheap-ass writing devices don't help the community. Telling the community what it knows won't help the community. Getting people to be objective, even when it means criticising or looking unfavourably on something held dear, is the ONLY way this world will get out of the suicidal funk it's in at the moment. Masturbatory "open letters" are not objective, and certainly don't help. It's posturing for idiots.

How, pray tell, are you helping the community?

Obviously, not by writing. That takes skill.

... by not using cheap literary devices to preach to the choir, and actually getting out to help where I can. I also air my thoughts directly in front of the right-wingers to foster discussion, as opposed to airing them to a friendly audience where criticism will be jumped on by a bunch of fanboys acting without objectivity.

I'll bet that you don't find many friendly audiences at all--no matter what their political persuasion.

Is counter-productive. It plays into the hands of the people and policies that are really screwing the country over. We moan and moan that the country is fucked, then many seem to waste their time preaching to the choir. Pleasing the masses is no guarantee of a job well done - O'Reilly gets great figures, much more than this blog, and I doubt anyone sane would think he's a good journalist. He even panders to his followers instead of rocking the boat and engaging in free, open debate with those with opposing views, just as those choir-preachers on this site. Sure it's not pleasant calling attention to someone from your community squandering their opportunity, but then if we're ever going to reach our full potential, it's essential. Democracy isn't a tea party. People don't just sit around, patting each other on the backs, rubbing egos. Feathers need ruffling, voices need pointing in the right direction, and efforts need to not be wasted. We bemoan partisanship when it shows its face in politics. We call for an open, objective mind being offered to every question and issue put forth, from everyone on both sides. Yet, it seems, the same is not desired in our own camp. We're setting ourselves up for failure if we give in to the all-to-easy approach of shunning or attacking those whose views don't mesh with those of the collective. We bind ourselves to our path, and will continue on until we destroy ourselves.

But, if you think open letters - ones that never reach their attributed audience, and instead just tell us what we already know - are going to help the situation, I apologise. I'll get out of your way.

Was it SATAN?



My 666th sense tells me...Could Be!

I'm just askin'

I think that's how that Antichrist thing is supposed to work.

rec # 55 and another 5500 deserved.

One really has to wonder about what the dynamics are in that family. A simple public statement or two from her could mean so much for so many- yet we've seen nothing of the sort. How will she explain that in the years to come?

Your writing puts the best of 'em to shame. :applause:

:hi:

and the hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me with these neocons.

:kick:

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Mary Cheney seems to be a bit of a rebel in her family even though she talks the Republican line. So my evil mind immediately imagined that she may have thrown yet another kink into the mix. How will Grandpa Dick react should the sperm donor have been black and Mary and Heather's child is mixed race? By doing that I would say he would have violated about every rule of her daddy's life.
As for me I hope she has a healthy baby. And as she contemplates her child's life some of realities of our society as pertains to her lifestyle make her realize that she is in a unique position to help make things better.
One can always hope.

Exact same attitude as Cohn IMO. It seems to me that her public persona is less about her comfort and more about keeping GLBT handicapped in the civil rights arean, the better to take advantage of them.

"Love can't replace a mother and a father."

that's definitely in the top ten of the DUMBEST things i've ever read.

she has offended all the single mothers and fathers taking care of children. What a a$$!

I've always wondered where the outrage was. All the arguments the religious right trots out against same-sex couples parenting children--apart from the ones you have to be a fundamentalist to believe--are based on the assumption that to raise a kid in anything other than a "traditional" nuclear family with one father married to one mother is some sort of child abuse. Which means that anyone raising a kid as a single parent is, according to this logic, also inflicting terrible damage on that child.

I can only assume that the reason there isn't more outcry from single and divorced parents about this kind of crap is that most of them don't know about it.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

the attack as strictly homophobic and don't see the greater ramifications of the statement. Stupid really. People need to pay more attention to what is going on.