Overt gay-bashing was avoided at the GOP shindig. In his acceptance speech, President Bush did proclaim, without referring directly to gay people, "Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges." Bush also jabbed Kerry for his Senate vote against "the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed." But this week's real gay-baiting took place elsewhere, in the GOP Senate runs by Mel Martinez in Florida (see item below) and Alan Keyes in Illinois.
Keyes, of course, called veep daughter Mary Cheney and all gay
people "selfish
hedonists." He subsquently defended himself, NBC
reports, saying if his daughter were a lesbian,
he would tell her she was committing a sin and should pray.
As was widely noted, Mary did not join her father, mother, sister and the Cheney grandkids on stage after her father's Wednesday night speech -- although she did sit in the vice-presidential box next to her partner, Heather Poe, while her father spoke. Mary was also missing on Thursday night when the Cheney clan joined the Bushes onstage at the convention's close.
Some gay activists and media have concluded Mary was "kept off the stage." But the Washington Post reported that, according to those who would know, this was Mary's decision. And that sounds right. Nobody tells Dick Cheney which of his kids can and can't join him and Lynne on stage.
Given this, perhaps it's sad that Mary felt she should volunteer to remain seated for fear of creating more controversy. But I've also heard another explanation -- that Mary chose not to go onstage because, while she supports her dad, she doesn't want to publicly endorse the GOP, which her stage presence would have suggested. And that sounds right, too.
Addendum: The L.A. Times had
a slightly different take, reporting that the "vice president's
lesbian daughter and her life partner appear prominently at a
gathering that has rejected them."