# Dick Cheney's Daughter **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507 "2004-08-25T22:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/1 "2004-08-25T22:47:54Z")
NPR had a report today about the Vice President disagreeing with the President about Gay marriage. (Here’s the [link](http://www.npr.org/rundowns/rundown.php?prgDate=25-Aug-2004&prgId=2) – scroll down, it’s near the bottom of the page.) Is this the first time that either the Veep or his wife have publicly acknowledged that one of their daughter’s is a lesbian? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/2 "2004-08-25T23:19:01Z")
> [@Julius Henry](#): > > Is this the first time that either the Veep or his wife have publicly acknowledged that one of their daughter’s is a lesbian? No. The same thing came up in the 2000 campaign, and before Mary Cheney signed on to the campaign she worked on gay outreach for Coors. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/3 "2004-08-25T23:22:03Z")
[2000 article](http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/820/820_cvr_cheney.asp) [2004 article](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4271472/) And I’d forgotten that Mary was a part of that phony-baloney “Republican Unity Coalition” that the Repubs put together so they could pretend to care about gay people. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/4 "2004-08-25T23:52:14Z")
It’s hardly the first time that Dick or Lynne Cheney have admitted that Mary is their daughter – but the first time either has admitted publicly that she is Lesbian. A mild bit of humor during the 2000 campaign was furnished by the various ways they sidestepped the question (fast on their feet for an old couple, they are!). FWIW, IMO Dick is being totally candid – having avoided either dissing his party’s support base or his daughter up until now, he’s finally seen the need to take a stand, and (pardon the accidental pun) come out on his daughter’s side. For which, I say, more power to him. To be sure, I have no doubt that there’s a touch of political motivation behind anything that candidates do from now until my birthday – but I believe his primary motivation is respect for human decency, and particularly standing by family. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/5 "2004-08-26T00:10:22Z")
The perils of a fading memory. I had clearly remembered this exchange: > [@](#): > > When reporter Cokie Roberts broached the subject to Lynne Cheney of having a daughter who has come out as a lesbian, Cheney shot back, “Mary has never declared such a thing,” and chastised Roberts for intruding on her daughter’s privacy. I suppose that’s all I remembered, and assumed the family was keeping it quiet. I’d forgotten about her working with Coors. Thanks, **Otto**. That first link to _The Advocate_ (where the quote is from) is a great article. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/6 "2004-08-26T12:52:06Z")
SO, help me out here. Mary Cheney is gay and a Republican? That would make her one of about, what, a couple dozen\* openly gay Republicans? Or she’s gay and is ambiguous about her political views for the sake of her father’s career? Or she’s gay and she’s a Democrat, her father’s career be damned? \*OK, so there are probably more than a couple dozen openly gay Republicans. But you get my point. And yes, I know about the Log Cabin Republicans. Thank you for wanting to tell me. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/7 "2004-08-26T13:20:15Z")
I’m sure there are many gays that are openly Republican - the GOP traditionally stands for more than just Marriage=Man+Woman. Issues like smaller government and such are important to people. Just because a person is gay doesn’t mean their whole life has to be centered on sexual preference. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/8 "2004-08-26T13:29:39Z")
Hey, **Hey Homie** According to the AP “Mary Cheney is director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.” And before that she worked for Coors. I don’t think she’s a raving Democrat. **Polycarp** at the risk of GD, if he’s got that much real decency, why is he still part of a campaign that, let’s face it, is running a major part of the campaign on an anti-gay platform? Now that he’s showing honesty, I agree – I don’t think him, Karl Rove or anybody else behind the administration (OK, besides Ashcroft) really give a rat’s derriere about gay issues; it’s just something they use to distract people from the real business of helping their rich friends. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/9 "2004-08-26T13:55:03Z")
> [@Sean Factotum](#): > > I’m sure there are many gays that are openly Republican - the GOP traditionally stands for more than just Marriage=Man+Woman. Issues like smaller government and such are important to people. Just because a person is gay doesn’t mean their whole life has to be centered on sexual preference. Oh of course. I’m just saying that, from what I can see in the media, the overwhelming majority of gays lean toward the Left. I saw no reason for Ms. Cheney, regardless of her father’s career, to be any different. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dick-cheneys-daughter/261507/10 "2004-08-26T15:38:40Z")
The party platform, which will be debated briefly and voted on at the convention, calls for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. It would be a surprise if that were changed to please Mr. Cheney. It would be equally surprising for Cheney to make a fuss about it. Traditionally, the veep candidate swallows any differences with the top of the ticket.