The Mary Cheney Factor
Ever since I saw the Gallup poll showing a 12-point shift in the number of conservatives favoring allowing openly gay men and lesbians to serve in the military, I wondered what it was that caused such a significant change.
That shift in attitude took place in what was supposed to be a dark age for gay Americans. The older poll was taken showing 46% of conservatives opposing restrictions on gay people’s service the same month George W. Bush was winning reelection. The next poll was taken just four months after he left office.
Was it just the increasing tolerance of gay people in American society which accounted for this 26% jump in the number of American conservatives developing a more favorable attitude toward gay service members? Or were there other factors? Were there any prominent stories about the topic?
There was, to be sure, a lot of heat generated around the publication of Mary Cheney’s book. Hugh Hewitt had this charming and well-spoken lesbian on his show for a full hour. Maybe her exposure to Hugh’s conservative audience caused some of his listeners to reconsider their attitudes toward gay pepole. We will never really know whether Mary’s brief turn on the national stage accounts for the entire shift. Still, it must have played a role. When American conservatives learn that one of their heroes has embraced his openly lesbian daughter, that’s sure to register.
Mary Cheney may well be the most consequential Vice Presidential Progeny in American history.
And she’d rather be rock-climbing.
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Off topic. GPW, you have posted 3 blog articles since your co-blogger posted his thoughts on James O’Keefe. Admittedly I am speculating here, but it is hard not to wonder whether you are embarrassed by that post and don’t want to be associated with and you are posting to drive it to the bottom of the page. In the past you have frequently called on the “gay left” to disassociate itself from a person’s comment. Can the same be asked of you? Will you denounce the comments of GP?
Comment by Brendan — January 27, 2010 @ 8:13 pm - January 27, 2010
First of all, Brendan, Kudos for your tackiness for trying to change the subject. Here’s your cookie. For future reference, his e-mail is right over there ——->
Second, some days Dan gets on a roll and posts extensively. It can be annoying in the sense that when you want to keep up with comments, one tends to forget which thread was which. But, then, it’s not my blog. Further, I imagine with the State of Obama speech, there will probably be a few more.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — January 27, 2010 @ 8:47 pm - January 27, 2010
Yeah, whatever happened to that puritanical theocracy we were supposed to believe was in control all that time?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — January 27, 2010 @ 8:49 pm - January 27, 2010
Brendan, admittedly we are speculating here, but could your attempt to change the subject be related to the fact that liberals like yourself hate and wish death and pain on Mary Cheney and her children?
Are you embarrassed by the fact that you support hoping that someone’s child dies of SIDS? Are you willing to denounce the gay and lesbian community and the Obama Party for supporting and endorsing this kind of rhetoric? Are you willing to state that you are wrong for supporting and endorsing a community that makes these kind of statements about people and wishes death on their children?
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — January 27, 2010 @ 8:58 pm - January 27, 2010
Go MARY AND HEATHER> a wonderful face for GAY MARRIAGE
Comment by rusty — January 27, 2010 @ 9:04 pm - January 27, 2010
Brendan, admittedly we are speculating here, but could your attempt to change the subject be related to the fact that liberals like yourself hate and wish death and pain on Mary Cheney and her children?
ND30–I would never wish death and pain on anyone or their children, but if you sleep better at night with the fantasty that I do sweet dreams!
Comment by Brendan — January 27, 2010 @ 9:26 pm - January 27, 2010
By the way ND30 citing yourself as the source for your claims is generally not considered the heights of scholarship. And before you go there let me inform you that I don’t live in SF and though I have visited SF I never attended the Folsom Street Fair and I agree it is not a great idea to put children on leashes.
Is there anything else you require me to condem?
Comment by Brendan — January 27, 2010 @ 9:48 pm - January 27, 2010
Unless you’re a KOShole, MediaMorons or ThinkPropaganda.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — January 27, 2010 @ 9:56 pm - January 27, 2010
By the way ND30 citing yourself as the source for your claims is generally not considered the heights of scholarship.
And failing to read the post in question, where I directly link out to said claims, is considered abject stupidity on your part.
Automatically dismissing a citation without reading it because of its source is a sign of intellectual laziness and prejudice. It’s a pity your parents and teachers didn’t care enough about you to explain that to you previously.
And before you go there let me inform you that I don’t live in SF and though I have visited SF I never attended the Folsom Street Fair and I agree it is not a great idea to put children on leashes.
Putting them on leashes is the least of their problems.
Some of the most unlikely attendees of Sunday’s kinky leather fetish festival were under four feet tall.
Two-year-olds Zola and Veronica Kruschel waddled through Folsom Street Fair amidst strangers in fishnets and leather crotch pouches, semi and fully nude men.
The twin girls who were also dressed for the event wore identical lace blouses, floral bonnets and black leather collars purchased from a pet store.
Fathers Gary Beuschel and John Kruse watched over them closely. They were proud to show the twins off……
Father of two, John Kruse said it is an educational experience for children. He said there were conservative parents against having kids at the event.
“Those are the same close-minded people who think we shouldn’t have children to begin with,” he said.
So according to you, the leashes are the problem, not the fact that the gay and lesbian community was taking two-year-old children to sex fairs dressed as sexual slaves to “show off” and as an “educational experience”. Got it.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — January 28, 2010 @ 1:57 am - January 28, 2010
“Mary Cheney may well be the most consequential Vice Presidential Progeny in American history.”
Excluding, of course, both John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush. But your point stands.
[Good point, Dave, should have qualified that, the most consequential vice presidential progeny who herself had no political aspirations. Or whose father never himself became president
--Dan]
Comment by Dave N. — January 28, 2010 @ 2:23 am - January 28, 2010
Mary Cheney seems completely grounded, which is unlike other offspring (Ron Reagan and Patti Davis are a bit unhinged). In her television appearances, she has authority on her subject of national security. She is certainly a much more powerful advocate of the Bush-Cheney policies.
Plus, I like her long hair. Not cut short, which I guess other lesbians have a much more masculine appearance.
Comment by Anon387823 — January 28, 2010 @ 8:01 am - January 28, 2010
I agree it is not a great idea to put children on leashes.
So, it’s only a pretty good idea to put kids on leashes?
Comment by V the K — January 28, 2010 @ 8:40 am - January 28, 2010
So, it’s only a pretty good idea to put kids on leashes?
Yes, obviously that is what I meant. Seriously, ND30 has a sick fascination with this issue. Over 5 years ago 2 idiots (whose politics we know nothing about) exploit their children and in ND30′s mind this somehow represents the so called gay left. Pathetic!
Comment by Brendan — January 28, 2010 @ 10:11 am - January 28, 2010
Brendan, Folsom goes on every frakking year. I’ve condemned it from the D/s PoV, you however can’t move beyond childish insults against our ‘hosts’ here to see the point. You can’t even condemn the action that he sites.
Comment by The_Livewire — January 28, 2010 @ 10:41 am - January 28, 2010