Am I automatically a Log Cabin Republican? I don't want to be one!

But how could he resist? Edwards is soooooooooo handsome!

This has got me thinking back to Al Gore's ostentatious heterosexual display with the kiss he laid on Tipper at the DNC in 2000.

After the released video of Edwards's primping, his Breck Girl status, and this news... will the Democratic Party demand such a display from Edwards?

in general, it's interesting how the left, while claiming to be the party that loves gay people, spends so much time attempting to stir up homophobia.

at least the fags for bush guy was for real.

Who attempts to stir up homophobia? Homophobia is mostly the conservatives' cross to bear. The mention of Mary Cheney wasn't about homophobia - it was about the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the Republican platform on gay marriage and sexual orientation in general.

Spare me the "Kerry believes it too" response, because Kerry is FOR domestic partnership law. This may not be enough for Andrew Sullivan, but it is a lot more than homosexuals will ever get from a republican administration.

Sorry, Ugarte, but you are wrong. The orchestrated Kerry/Edwards/Mrs.Edwards mention of Mary Cheney was to a) Remind and/or inform Conservative White Democrats that Cheney has a lesbian daugher that he amazingly appears to love and embrace and b)Get back to the fold Black Christians who abhor the idea of same-sex marriages and are considering voting for Bush. Stop bashing Republicans and try to understand political strategy.

You are blinded more by Kerry-loathing, Matt, than I am by Republican bashing.

I don't deny that the non-outing of MC may have precisely that effect. If it does, playing on homophobia is dirty pool - but really no worse than the way Bush plays on their homophobia by supporting a discriminatory constitutional amendment that will NEVER pass. Even so, if that were the only reason to mention MC's sexual orientation, I would agree that it was mostly out of line; "you do it too" is hardly the moral high ground, but politics can be a dirty business.

You, however, need to look at the larger context. The juxtaposition of an out homosexual in Cheney's immediate family with Bush's policy intentions toward gays is absolutely fair game. The argument speaks to the liberal dems at the same time it speaks to the homophobes on both sides of the aisle. MC's sexuality is evidence - to anybody close enough to really know her - that homosexuality is not a choice and, consequently, legislation like the Marriage Amendment is discriminatory and offensive.

You see nothing but a pander and a scare tactic because you don't like Kerry. I acknowledge the tactical benefits, but I also see that Kerry has made a (sideways) argument in a nationally televised debate IN FAVOR OF (some) GAY RIGHTS and an overt statement in favor of recognizing the validity of gay relationships. That is not insignificant, and, frankly, should counteract any political gains he got by alerting the mouth-breathers to MC's sexual orientation.

No, I see nothing but a pander and a scare tactic, because that is exactly why Kerry, et al., brought up Mary Cheney. My argument is made based purely on political strategy - not on the debate surrounding gay marriage or some crazy notion of "gay rights." And from a strategic standpoint, Kerry, et al., brought "Mary Cheney" into the campaign to a) Remind and/or inform Conservative White Democrats that Cheney has a lesbian daugher that he amazingly appears to love and embrace and b)Get back to the fold Black Christians who abhor the idea of same-sex marriages and are considering voting for Bush.

I know that is your argument. My point is that your argument is too narrow. While you have a cynic's simple and base notion of "smears as political strategy," you don't seem to have a grasp of the notions of mixed motives, exposure of contradictions as a component of political strategy or Democrats with actual beliefs.

And even if it is JUST a scare tactic, that is your cross to bear, not ours. If the people with conservative leanings on economic and national security issues choose to rely in large part on the support of socially retrograde homophobes to win elections, I'm not going to pretend to be upset when they have to confront the fact that their hero sired a queer and the exploitation of homosexuality as a campaign issue becomes a boomerang.