Linda Rossick – 10/24/04

This page was last updated on October 24, 2004.

What cheap shot?; Linda Rossick; Beaver County Times; October 24, 2004.

The bulk of my comments on this topic are in my critique of a Scott Hill letter.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I’d like to reply to letter writer Jerry Robbins (‘Kerry’s cheap shot,’ Wednesday).

“He stated Kerry ‘attacked’ Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter for being a lesbian.

“Here is what Kerry said in the debate:

“‘We’re all God’s children. And I think 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. I think if you talk to anybody, it’s not a choice.’

“Where is the attack? Kerry was asked if being gay was a choice and that was his answer.

“He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. He didn’t say anything hateful. Mary Cheney is openly gay and runs operations in the vice president’s campaign office. Dick Cheney has talked about his gay daughter during some of his campaign rallies. That is a fact.”

[RWC] When Ms. Rossick writes, “Dick Cheney has talked about his gay daughter during some of his campaign rallies,” that’s factually correct but is not an accurate representation. Whenever VP Cheney spoke about his daughter’s homosexuality, it was only in response to questions.

“Now here’s an attack, made by Alan Keyes, a Republican, running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. He called gays ‘selfish hedonist.’ When asked whether that meant Mary Cheney ‘is a selfish hedonist,’ Keyes said, ‘That goes by definition. Of course she is.’”

[RWC] For what it’s worth, I’m not a Keyes fan. In any case, let’s look at Keyes’ full comment. To an interview question about homosexual “marriage,” Keyes replied, “The essence of ... family life remains procreation. If we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principal excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism.” After that statement came the question about Mary Cheney.

“That, Mr. Robbins, is a vicious, hateful attack. To the best of my knowledge, not one Republican blasted Keyes for his comment, not even Lynn and Dick Cheney.

“How sad.”

[RWC] I’m sure the distinction will be lost on Ms. Rossick, but Alan Keyes didn’t bring up Mary Cheney, the interviewer did. Keyes didn’t go into the interview knowing he was going to say anything about Mary Cheney. I don’t agree with what Keyes said about Mary Cheney, but his comment wasn’t a premeditated tactic. That was not the case with Messrs. Edwards and Kerry. No one asked them about Mary Cheney but both brought her up out of thin air during the debates.

“I think Lynn and Dick Cheney and the Bush administration know Kerry won all three debates and attempted to throw some bad light on him, but they failed miserably.”

[RWC] I’m not sure where Ms. Rassick gets her news, but everyone except blind partisans saw through the stunt by Messrs. Edwards and Kerry. In the on-site “spin alley,” which was packed with pro-Kerry “reporters,” a collective groan went up when Kerry made his comment.