Say again?

Posted on August 24, 2004 by Gene

I’m suspicious of Dick Cheney’s statements today. He’s certainly not the most trustworthy guy to come down the pike, and for him to even give the appearance of breaking with the administration’s official line on gay people is disconcerting to say the least.
It’s certain that he’s not going to go on a pro-gay tour anytime soon. So what is behind his odd remarks?

The issue arose at a campaign town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, when a woman in the audience asked an unusually pointed question: “I need to know, what do you think about homosexual marriages?”

The vice president was candid in his response. “Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it’s an issue our family is very familiar with,” Cheney said. “We have two daughters, and we have enormous pride in both of them.”

The statement marked the first time Cheney has publicly addressed the fact that his daughter, Mary — who helps run his campaign — is gay, although she has been open about it.

“With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone,” he added.

We all know that no one simply “asks a question” at a Bush/Cheney event, they’re all scripted carefully in advance, so we can safely assume that the campaign planted this question. But why? Are they beginning to realize that they are coming across as bigoted assholes and want to do something timid to sway the many voters who think the gay marriage issue is a smokescreen?

With all the anti-gay rhetoric that’s come from this administration — not to mention the anti-poor, anti-woman, and just plain anti-citizen crap — I don’t think I’ll be jumping for joy over Cheney’s bizarre comments. Just more suspicious.

Oh, how much you want to bet there will be another terror warning in the next day or so to divert our attention?