In defense of Mary

Dear BTL,
I am writing in response to the hate-spewing article by D'Anne Witkowski naming Mary Cheney "Creep of the Week" two weeks ago.
In the last line of the article she says, "And Ann Coulter says liberals hate America?" It seems to me from Witkowski's words that liberals hate Americans. At least they hate rich Americans or they hate Americans that have different beliefs than themselves. She says that Mary Cheney is not an everyday person because she does not have to worry about everyday things, like "paying mortgages, staying employed or finding work." I don't believe that Witkowski knows enough about Mary Cheney to pass that kind of judgment upon her.
This is simply class envy. Liberals just hate rich people. Never mind that they are people, too. They just hate them. They claim to know what rich people feel or don't feel, as does Witkowski who says, "Mary Cheney doesn't feel your pain." And Bill Clinton did?
Witkowski says that Mary Cheney is "irrelevant, she owes nothing to the LGBT equality movement, because she's not a part of it." I don't think so. She has been appearing on major TV and radio shows, speaking out about her coming out to her parents and about her opposition to President Bush's support of a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. She's not irrelevant because her words will touch some conservatives who might not otherwise even bother to listen to our side of gay and lesbian issues. If she touches only 10 people by speaking out now, I think that she will have helped our cause. One of the problems that the gay community has in spreading our message is in thinking that acceptance must be forced upon the American people by our government. I'm sorry to say that it's just not going to happen that way. It's going to have to be a gradual, evolutionary thing. To say that Mary Cheney is "a disappointment to LGBTs everywhere and should be ashamed of aiding and abetting the most openly anti-gay administration in U.S. history," is just wrong.
Mary Cheney chose to support her father and President Bush because she believes that right now our country needs leadership that is focused on national security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She sees these issues to be the top priority of our government. Governing is prioritizing. Remember the first thing that Bill Clinton did when he was elected to office was to push that lame Don't Ask Don't Tell legislation, which did absolutely nothing to help gays and lesbians, absolutely nothing. Also remember that it was the left's beloved Clinton who signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law in 1996.
So while you are worrying about what kind of rights George Bush and those "evil" Republicans might be posturing to take away from you, keep in mind that Bill Clinton already signed them away 10 years ago.
Finally, I think that the most egregious thing that Witkowski did in her article was to liken Republicans to sociopaths. I have been called names before, but it seems that this is something that those on the left are wont to do when their arguments fall short of any real merit. Witkowski needs to realize that not everyone has the same thoughts and beliefs on every issue and that she should be a little more accepting, or at least respectful of people that are different from her.
Mary Cheney knows political strategy. She is smart like her father and knows that 2000, 2002 and 2004 were not the times to push a gay agenda.
Witkowski was right about one thing in saying that "she owes nothing to the LGBT equality movement." She doesn't. Just because she's gay does not obligate her to follow lockstep with the gay agenda. She has every right to follow her own beliefs.
But now the timing is better, she's speaking out, and for that we should be thankful and proud.
Leah Shannon,
Dearborn