May 28th, 2007
Actually, Cheney Photo is consistent.
I am the first to call out hypocrisy when it comes to our families being treated by a double standard. But today I am actually defending the Cheneys.
Dick Cheney’s sixth grandchild was born last week to lesbian mothers, and the White House released a photo of little Samuel David Cheney with his grandmother and grandfather.
A number of on-line commentaries have pointed out — very astutely, I thought — how strange it was to have a photo of this newborn without his mothers in the photo. Is this yet another political strategy to avoid “reminding” the public of the family’s “private” fact that their daughter is a lesbian?
Examples:
Cheney Poses With Newborn Grandson, But Not His Lesbian Daughter
Jennifer Chrisler, AlterNet. Posted May 28, 2007
I demand to see Mary Cheney holding her baby!
Rebecca Armendariz, NY Blade Blog. Posted May 25, 2007
It’s a boy! says Mary Cheney and Heather Poe
Joan Garry, Who’s The Grownup. Posted May 24, 2007
I was ready join in with my own blog post to point out the hypocrisy, but this post changed my mind: “No White House Photos of Liz Cheney W/Her Newborns”. Michael Petrelis did some digging and found that the official birth photos of the Cheneys’ other grandchildren omit the babies’ heterosexual mom and dad.
Petrelis’ post puts commentary like Chrisler’s in a new light. Chrisler writes:
Think about it. Samuel is the Cheney’s sixth grandchild — but can you recall seeing photos of any of the other grandchildren?
I certainly can’t, but neither could I even retain the information that he already had five grandchildren until the arrival of his sixth was announced. It’s not that photos haven’t been released of other grandchildren, it’s that the average LGBT community member had no reason to follow the births of the grandchildren with straight parents.
Dick Cheney is dripping with hypocrisy when it comes to his lesbian daughter, her new family, and the anti-gay policies he supports. But on the issue of this official photo, we’re not looking at a double standard.