Friday, December 08, 2006
Mary Cheney: just a private citizen?
I'm inclined to be sympathetic to the argument that Mary Cheney ought to be left alone. What kind of weirdo wants to run for office when your whole darn family is going to be subjected to scrutiny?
The thing is, though, Mary Cheney's status was on the ballot in Virginia last month. It already is a political issue.
Plus, she wrote a book about her experience earlier this year.
So this isn't the same thing as excessive scrutiny of the Bush twins, or Chelsea Clinton.
I think that stressing "this is a private matter" is the only way for Republican supporters to play this. It's pretty easy to cast the Cheneys as hypocrites, cynical exploiters, etc. And it's easier to advocate denying rights to a vague class of citizens than to deny rights to an individual, the VP's daughter.
The thing is, though, Mary Cheney's status was on the ballot in Virginia last month. It already is a political issue.
Plus, she wrote a book about her experience earlier this year.
So this isn't the same thing as excessive scrutiny of the Bush twins, or Chelsea Clinton.
I think that stressing "this is a private matter" is the only way for Republican supporters to play this. It's pretty easy to cast the Cheneys as hypocrites, cynical exploiters, etc. And it's easier to advocate denying rights to a vague class of citizens than to deny rights to an individual, the VP's daughter.
