Mary Cheney
Encyclopedia
Mary Claire Cheney is the second daughter of Dick Cheney
, the former Vice President of the United States
, and his wife, Lynne Cheney
. She is openly lesbian, has voiced support for same-sex marriage, and has been credited with encouraging her father to support same-sex marriage as well.
in McLean, Virginia
, graduating in the class of 1987. Following that, she attended Colorado College
, her mother's alma mater
, in Colorado Springs, Colorado
, and graduated in 1991. She earned a graduate business degree from the University of Denver
in 2002.
baseball team, working in Promotions when the team began playing in Denver
. Thereafter, she was a Public Relations Manager for the Coors Brewing Company
and worked as a Gay
and Lesbian Outreach Coordinator, helping to end a national gay boycott of Coors.
She has been one of her father's top campaign aides and closest confidantes. In July 2003, she became the Director of Vice Presidential Operations for the Bush
-Cheney 2004 Presidential re-election campaign.
Cheney is a Vice President for Consumer Advocacy at AOL
.
Manager. In December 2006, Cheney was reported to be pregnant with her first child. On April 4, 2007 Dick Cheney reported that he was expecting a grandson. "I'm looking forward to the arrival of a new grandson." On May 23, 2007, Mary Cheney gave birth to Samuel David Cheney in Washington, D.C.
In October 2009, Cheney was reported to be pregnant with her second child. Mary Cheney delivered her second child, Sarah Lynne Cheney, November 19, 2009. Cheney, Poe, and their children currently live in Great Falls, Virginia
.
's marriage and children, but they treated Mary Cheney's private life as off-limits. Nevertheless, Cheney's sexual orientation
was publicly known, and some considered her presence during the campaign as bolstering, providing the Republican ticket with a "compassionate conservative" image. During an interview with Lynne Cheney, Cokie Roberts
brought up the topic of Mary Cheney's having declared herself a lesbian. Mrs. Cheney responded by stating that her daughter had "declared no such thing," and criticized Roberts and the media for their interest in the story.
In 2002, Cheney joined the Republican gay-straight alliance Republican Unity Coalition
and said that sexual orientation should be "a non-issue for the Republican Party," with a goal of "equality for all gay and lesbian Americans." Cheney resigned from the RUC's board and in July 2003 became the director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney 2004 Presidential re-election campaign.
, a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution
that would limit marriage to heterosexual
couples and also ban civil unions and domestic partnership
benefits. Cheney did not publicly express her opinion of the amendment at the time. In her 2006 autobiography Now It's My Turn
, Cheney stated her opposition to the amendment. However, at the time, she remained silent to support Bush's re-election bid. In August 2004, Dick Cheney reiterated the position he took in the 2000 Presidential campaign: that the issue should be handled by individual state governments. He added, though, that Bush determined his administration's policies and his policy supported the Federal Marriage Amendment.
Both Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry
and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards
mentioned and praised Cheney's openness with regard to her sexual orientation when questioned regarding gay issues. Some commentators viewed these remarks as a cynical appeal to residual homophobia
among blue-collar voters in key swing state
s.
The 2004 presidential election debates included mentions of the same-sex marriage
debate and referred, initially indirectly, to Cheney.
During the Cheney-Edwards Vice-Presidential Debate, moderator Gwen Ifill
asked a question to the Vice President in which his daughter was indirectly mentioned:
Dick Cheney reiterated his position of four years prior, stating the issue should be left to the states but that he supports the Bush administration. He did not mention his family nor his daughter in his immediate response to the question. In response, Edwards said:
Although he was given 90 seconds to respond to Edwards' comments, Dick Cheney responded succinctly, "Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."
Ms. Ifill followed up: "That's it?" The vice president replied, "That's it," effectively ending the discussion of his daughter's sexual orientation. At the end of the debate, Mary Cheney appeared on the podium with her partner and the rest of the family.
During the third and final Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate, moderator Bob Schieffer
asked, "Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?" John Kerry replied, "If you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as." This prompted an angry response from Dick Cheney, who stated, "You saw a man who will say and do anything in order to get elected. And I am not just speaking as a father here, though I am a pretty angry father."
for ABC News
' Primetime
program. Cheney did the interview to garner publicity for her autobiography titled Now It's My Turn
. In the biography, Cheney discusses how she came out to her parents, noting her father's initial reaction: "You know, look, you're my daughter and I love you and I just want you to be happy." She also discusses her relationship with her partner, Heather Poe.
Gay rights advocates criticized her for waiting until after the 2004 election to voice her disapproval of George W. Bush
's positions on gay rights. Noted gay columnist Dan Savage
referred to her in his column as a "useless dyke." During Mary Cheney's May 19, 2006, appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Letterman addressed some of the issues raised by the gay community. He questioned Cheney on why she waited two years after the 2004 election to speak publicly about gay marriage and rights. He also asked whether she had any input on her father's administration regarding gay issues. Cheney responded that she did not, and that it is not her job to do so.
called the pregnancy "unconscionable."
On January 31, 2007, in a forum by Glamour Magazine
at Barnard College
of Columbia University
, Mary Cheney stated that: "This is a baby... This is a blessing from God
. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child."
Cynthia Leive
, the editor in chief of Glamour
, asked Cheney if she had anything to say to critics like Dr. James Dobson
. Cheney accused Dobson of distorting the research he cited and added: "Every piece of remotely responsible research that has been done in the last 20 years has shown there is no difference between children raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents; what matters is being raised in a stable, loving environment." She also said that Dobson was entitled to his opinion, "but he's not someone whose endorsement I have ever drastically sought."
Mary Cheney gave birth to her second child, daughter Sarah Lynne Cheney, on November 18, 2009.
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
, the former Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, and his wife, Lynne Cheney
Lynne Cheney
Lynne Ann Cheney is the wife of former United States Vice President Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009...
. She is openly lesbian, has voiced support for same-sex marriage, and has been credited with encouraging her father to support same-sex marriage as well.
Early life
Cheney attended McLean High SchoolMcLean High School
McLean High School is a public secondary school located in McLean, Virginia. It is located on 1633 Davidson Road and is part of Fairfax County Public Schools....
in McLean, Virginia
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, graduating in the class of 1987. Following that, she attended Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
, her mother's alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, and graduated in 1991. She earned a graduate business degree from the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
in 2002.
Career
In 1993, she became one of the first employees of the Colorado RockiesColorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
baseball team, working in Promotions when the team began playing in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Thereafter, she was a Public Relations Manager for the Coors Brewing Company
Coors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
and worked as a Gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and Lesbian Outreach Coordinator, helping to end a national gay boycott of Coors.
She has been one of her father's top campaign aides and closest confidantes. In July 2003, she became the Director of Vice Presidential Operations for the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
-Cheney 2004 Presidential re-election campaign.
Cheney is a Vice President for Consumer Advocacy at AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
.
Personal life
Mary Cheney has been in a long-term relationship with Heather Poe, a former Park Ranger and UPSUnited Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
Manager. In December 2006, Cheney was reported to be pregnant with her first child. On April 4, 2007 Dick Cheney reported that he was expecting a grandson. "I'm looking forward to the arrival of a new grandson." On May 23, 2007, Mary Cheney gave birth to Samuel David Cheney in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
In October 2009, Cheney was reported to be pregnant with her second child. Mary Cheney delivered her second child, Sarah Lynne Cheney, November 19, 2009. Cheney, Poe, and their children currently live in Great Falls, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
2000 Presidential campaign
In 2000, the Bush-Cheney Presidential campaign freely discussed Elizabeth CheneyElizabeth Cheney
Elizabeth Cheney Perry , commonly called Liz, is an American attorney. During the George W. Bush administration years, she held positions in the State Department of the United States...
's marriage and children, but they treated Mary Cheney's private life as off-limits. Nevertheless, Cheney's sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
was publicly known, and some considered her presence during the campaign as bolstering, providing the Republican ticket with a "compassionate conservative" image. During an interview with Lynne Cheney, Cokie Roberts
Cokie Roberts
Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Roberts , best known as Cokie Roberts, is an American Emmy Award-winning journalist and bestselling author. She is a contributing senior news analyst for National Public Radio as well as a regular roundtable analyst for the current This Week with Christiane...
brought up the topic of Mary Cheney's having declared herself a lesbian. Mrs. Cheney responded by stating that her daughter had "declared no such thing," and criticized Roberts and the media for their interest in the story.
In 2002, Cheney joined the Republican gay-straight alliance Republican Unity Coalition
Republican Unity Coalition
The Republican Unity Coalition was created as an outgrowth of the George W. Bush campaign in the 2000 US presidential election. It described itself a "grasstops" organization of the United States Republican Party, with a Board of Advisors formerly including the late President Gerald Ford, former...
and said that sexual orientation should be "a non-issue for the Republican Party," with a goal of "equality for all gay and lesbian Americans." Cheney resigned from the RUC's board and in July 2003 became the director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney 2004 Presidential re-election campaign.
Federal Marriage Amendment
In 2004, public attention focused again on Cheney's sexuality when the Bush administration supported the Federal Marriage AmendmentFederal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
, a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
that would limit marriage to heterosexual
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
couples and also ban civil unions and domestic partnership
Domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
benefits. Cheney did not publicly express her opinion of the amendment at the time. In her 2006 autobiography Now It's My Turn
Now It's My Turn
Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life is a memoir by Mary Cheney, published in 2006.-Summary:Mary Cheney writes about her experience as a campaign staffer during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, when she worked for her father, Dick Cheney. She recounts what she learned...
, Cheney stated her opposition to the amendment. However, at the time, she remained silent to support Bush's re-election bid. In August 2004, Dick Cheney reiterated the position he took in the 2000 Presidential campaign: that the issue should be handled by individual state governments. He added, though, that Bush determined his administration's policies and his policy supported the Federal Marriage Amendment.
2004 Presidential re-election campaign
During the 2004 Presidential re-election campaign for the Bush-Cheney administration during which Cheney served as her father's director of vice presidential operations, the subject of her sexual orientation arose again.Both Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
mentioned and praised Cheney's openness with regard to her sexual orientation when questioned regarding gay issues. Some commentators viewed these remarks as a cynical appeal to residual homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
among blue-collar voters in key swing state
Swing state
In United States presidential politics, a swing state is a state in which no single candidate or party has overwhelming support in securing that state's electoral college votes...
s.
The 2004 presidential election debates included mentions of the same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
debate and referred, initially indirectly, to Cheney.
During the Cheney-Edwards Vice-Presidential Debate, moderator Gwen Ifill
Gwen Ifill
Gwendolyn L. "Gwen" Ifill is an American journalist, television newscaster and author. She is the managing editor and moderator of Washington Week and a senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS. She is a political analyst, and moderated the 2004 and 2008 Vice...
asked a question to the Vice President in which his daughter was indirectly mentioned:
Dick Cheney reiterated his position of four years prior, stating the issue should be left to the states but that he supports the Bush administration. He did not mention his family nor his daughter in his immediate response to the question. In response, Edwards said:
Although he was given 90 seconds to respond to Edwards' comments, Dick Cheney responded succinctly, "Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."
Ms. Ifill followed up: "That's it?" The vice president replied, "That's it," effectively ending the discussion of his daughter's sexual orientation. At the end of the debate, Mary Cheney appeared on the podium with her partner and the rest of the family.
During the third and final Bush-Kerry Presidential Debate, moderator Bob Schieffer
Bob Schieffer
Bob Lloyd Schieffer is an American television journalist who has been with CBS News since 1969, serving 23 years as anchor on the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News from 1973 to 1996; chief Washington correspondent since 1982, moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation since...
asked, "Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?" John Kerry replied, "If you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as." This prompted an angry response from Dick Cheney, who stated, "You saw a man who will say and do anything in order to get elected. And I am not just speaking as a father here, though I am a pretty angry father."
2006 interviews and autobiography
Mary Cheney left the public spotlight after the 2004 election until May 4, 2006, when she gave an interview with Diane SawyerDiane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
' Primetime
Primetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
program. Cheney did the interview to garner publicity for her autobiography titled Now It's My Turn
Now It's My Turn
Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life is a memoir by Mary Cheney, published in 2006.-Summary:Mary Cheney writes about her experience as a campaign staffer during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, when she worked for her father, Dick Cheney. She recounts what she learned...
. In the biography, Cheney discusses how she came out to her parents, noting her father's initial reaction: "You know, look, you're my daughter and I love you and I just want you to be happy." She also discusses her relationship with her partner, Heather Poe.
Gay rights advocates criticized her for waiting until after the 2004 election to voice her disapproval of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's positions on gay rights. Noted gay columnist Dan Savage
Dan Savage
Daniel Keenan "Dan" Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social conservatives, as in...
referred to her in his column as a "useless dyke." During Mary Cheney's May 19, 2006, appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Letterman addressed some of the issues raised by the gay community. He questioned Cheney on why she waited two years after the 2004 election to speak publicly about gay marriage and rights. He also asked whether she had any input on her father's administration regarding gay issues. Cheney responded that she did not, and that it is not her job to do so.
Pregnancies and births of children
In December 2006, Cheney was reported to be pregnant; circumstances surrounding the conception were not reported. Cheney and Poe were said to be "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring 2007. "The vice president and Mrs. Cheney are looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild," spokesman Lea Anne McBride said on December 5. Some conservatives were critical, however. The Concerned Women for AmericaConcerned Women for America
Concerned Women for America is a conservative Christian public policy group active in the United States best known for its stance against abortion...
called the pregnancy "unconscionable."
On January 31, 2007, in a forum by Glamour Magazine
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Mary Cheney stated that: "This is a baby... This is a blessing from God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child."
Cynthia Leive
Cynthia Leive
Cynthia Leive is the Editor in Chief of Glamour magazine.Under Leive, Glamour has received a record number of editorial awards...
, the editor in chief of Glamour
Glamour magazine
Glamour magazine means:* Glamour magazine, a U.S. publication aimed at a predominantly female readership* a girlie magazine aimed at a male readership featuring photographs of women...
, asked Cheney if she had anything to say to critics like Dr. James Dobson
James Dobson
James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder in 1977 of Focus on the Family , which he led until 2003. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influential spokesman for conservative social positions in American public life...
. Cheney accused Dobson of distorting the research he cited and added: "Every piece of remotely responsible research that has been done in the last 20 years has shown there is no difference between children raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents; what matters is being raised in a stable, loving environment." She also said that Dobson was entitled to his opinion, "but he's not someone whose endorsement I have ever drastically sought."
Mary Cheney gave birth to her second child, daughter Sarah Lynne Cheney, on November 18, 2009.
External links
- Mary Cheney's 2004 political involvement - from USA Today, October 15, 2004
- Mary Cheney and guest Heather Poe, attendees at dinner in honor of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall - White House press release, Office of the First Lady, November 2, 2005