Dick Cheney: Most Pro-Gay Vice-President in History

by Little Miss Attila on January 20, 2009

Dan Blatt, writing at PJM:

No vice president in history has done so much for gay people as has Dick Cheney. To be sure, Cheney is the first vice president to have an openly gay child. He treats her as gay activists have long wanted parents to treat their gay children — loving them just as they did before they came out, accepting them as they are, and welcoming their same-sex spouses into their families. And it wasn’t just in private where Cheney loved and accepted his daughter.

In public, he was more than just the proud father of a lesbian daughter. He also spoke out on gay issues, even disagreeing with the then-president to express his opposition to a constitutional amendment the his running mate supported.

Yet, when Cheney left office, encomia were not forthcoming from any gay organization. Searches of the websites of the leading gay organizations (e.g.,Human Rights Campaign, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Center for Lesbian Rights) reveal no mention of this historic vice presidency.

The leading left-of-center gay bloggers (e.g.,Towleroad, Andrew Sullivan, Pam’s House Blend, Joe.My.God, Queerty) were similarly silent.

It would have been a lot different if he were a Democrat.

Yes. And if G.W. Bush were a Democrat, it would have been noticed that he appointed the first two black Secretaries-of-State, who have received slightly less attention for breaking new ground than Barack Obama.

And if Goldwater had become President, he would have done even more for gay rights than Cheney has; and for the same reason—employing insights gained the same way. Another part I love:

Cheney didn’t just look out for his daughter. He also looked out for other gay people as well.

When one of her friends, a Bush supporter, feared he might be “outed” and lose his job when the then-president announced his support for the FMA, she brought up his concerns with her father who told her to “tell this person that if anyone — I don’t care who it is — if anyone gives him any trouble, he is to come see me and I’ll take care of it.”

That conservative Republican was willing to go to bat for a gay person.

Furthermore, there was no attempt to sweep Mary halfway into a closet; her spouse was treated as a member of the family in all matters of state:

In her book Now It’s My Turn, Mary recounts how her father reacted when she first came out to him: “The first words out of his mouth were exactly the ones I wanted to hear: ‘You’re my daughter and I love you and I just want you to be happy.’”

Later, he would welcome Mary’s partner Heather into their family. They sat together at President Bush’s first inauguration in 2001, his second in 2005, and even today at President Obama’s swearing-in. Heather joined Mary on the stage with the families of the president and vice president when Bush declared victory in 2004. The two women sat together at the White House dinner for Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

In short, in settings both public as well as private, the conservative vice president treated his younger daughter’s female partner just as he treated his older daughter’s husband: as a member of the family.

But, Dan: he’s a Republican. And Republicans are bad. Bad!

Via Instapundit, via a tweet from Charles Martin.

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

I R A Darth Aggie January 20, 2009 at 11:38 am

Not just bad, evil.

But then again, Iran doesn’t have a “gay problem”.

Reply

Speedy January 20, 2009 at 2:58 pm

Does he really deserve “encomia” for loving his daughter? It’s nice and all, but it’s also pretty much what we expect from all fathers, no? Criticism of Cheney does not generally revolve around his positions on gay issues.

As for “Powell and Rice got less attention for breaking new ground,” you’re being silly. It’s like complaining that the quarterback gets more attention than the offensive line.

Speedy

Reply

Little Miss Attila January 20, 2009 at 11:17 pm

More like complaining that the quarterback is getting a four-day celebration in his honor, whereas the defensive line must never be spoken of out loud.

At least, they must never be identified by race.

Reply

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