NPR Badgers Lynne Cheney on Daughter

NewsMax ^ | February 18, 2005 | Carl Limbacher

[Stoat]

 

NPR Badgers Lynne Cheney on Daughter

It didn't get much attention - probably because National Public Radio has so few listeners - but the taxpayer-funded network's Terry Gross recently tried to pull a John Kerry on second lady Lynne Cheney, by repeatedly hectoring her about her gay daughter Mary during a Feb. 9 interview.

After saying she knew Mrs. Cheney didn't want to discuss her daughter's private life, Gross proceeded to do just that, peppering the second lady with one question after another about the proposed constitutional gay marriage amendment and its impact on parents of gay children.

 

Mrs. Cheney, who was invited on the show to discuss her new book, "When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots," actually responded to the initial inquiry with a fairly detailed answer (see full transcript below). But the NPR host wasn't satisfied and kept pounding away on the issue.

Here's a snippet from folks who used to maintain that the private lives of elected officials are none of the public's business:

GROSS: When [President Bush] said that this amendment would be for the good of children, families and society, I couldn't help but wonder if parents of gays and lesbians would see it as being good for their families. And ...

CHENEY: I don't support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and I'll leave it right there.

GROSS: Is it because of the issue of gay marriage itself or is it because it should just be a state issue and not ...

CHENEY: Terry, I don't support the idea of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and I will leave it right there.

GROSS: Just one more question about the position that you're in.

CHENEY: Terry, I really think that we came hear to discuss history more than current events and I've made my position clear.

GROSS: Is it difficult to be in a position where you're different from the president?

CHENEY: Well, not too difficult, since I've done it - how many times now in the last ten minutes? Perhaps six? I've made my position clear. END OF EXCERPT

We trust that the next time Sen. Clinton pops in for a sit-down at NPR, Ms. Gross and her colleagues will be equally tenacious about why - to pick a topic at random - neither Hillary nor her husband have ever responded to questions about Juanita Broaddrick's sexual assault allegation.

The full Cheney-Gross exchange went like this:

GROSS: I don't want to ask you any questions about your daughter Mary because I know that you don't like to do anything that would be an invasion of her privacy. But I do want to ask your position as the mother of a gay daughter, because I think this impacts on public policy, and on the lives ...

CHENEY: How?

GROSS: Well, because the Republican Party and the President of the United States has [sic] called for a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. And because that would impact, not only the lives of gays and lesbians, but the lives of parents of gays and lesbians, I think that it would be interesting to hear your position on that constitutional amendment.

Now I know you've said you think the issue should be left to the states [but] I'd be interested to hear what you think about the issue of banning gay marriage, since it's not only an important issue in the party - you know, the president spoke about it in the State of the Union - um, and, you know, it was an important issue, I think, in getting out the evangelist vote.

CHENEY: I don't support an amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage.

GROSS: Could you tell me why?

CHENEY: Well, I think it's a matter that should be left to the states. As a conservative I don't support constitutional amendments in general unless the cause is clear and evident. The issue here is that some people think a constitutional amendment is necessary in order to preserve the right for the states. I happen to not to come down on that side of the issue. And, indeed, there are many Republicans who do.

If you looked at our national convention, for example, among the prominent speakers - Governor Schwarzenegger, Rudy Giuliani - feel the same way. It's not an issue that sets the Republican Party apart in one great mass. It's an issue where people differ.

GROSS: In his State of the Union address, President Bush said that because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be redefined by activist judges. "For the good of families, children and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage."

When he said that this amendment would be for the good of children, families and society, I couldn't help but wonder if parent of gays and lesbians would see it as being good for their families. And ...

CHENEY: I don't support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and I'll leave it right there.

GROSS: Is it because of the issue of gay marriage itself or is it because it should just be a state issue and not ...

CHENEY: Terry, I don't support the idea of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and I will leave it right there.

GROSS: Just one more question about the position that you're in.

CHENEY: Terry, I really think that we came hear to discuss history more than current events and I've made my position clear.

GROSS: Is it difficult to be in a position where you're different from the president?

CHENEY: Well, not too difficult, since I've done it - how many times now in the last ten minutes? Perhaps six? I've made my position clear.

 

[Flyer]

Everything that is a sin is not necessarily a criminal activity. Big difference.

[Old anti feminist]

Would you want that? My heart isn't cold, I just put Truth above sentiment. Cut them off, like the prodical son, then welcome them back, when they repent.

[Flyer]

I guess we're just different. I have had Thanksgiving dinner with queer couples and it didn't bother me a bit.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

So any sin that is not against the law is jim-dandy with you, no matter what children are around and being influenced? Invite the stippers, the porn users and abusers, the alcoholics, and the profane to dinner? Will your own children be attending?

[Flyer]

So any sin that is not against the law is jim-dandy with you

I didn't say that. They are too many variables in your question to give a simple yes or no answer.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Reference "hate the sin but love the sinner."

If Jesus doesn't love sinners, we're all in trouble - you included.

[Petronski]

NPR Badgers?

[Petronski]

O drat, you beat me to it. ;O)

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

How does He love sinners? Do they all get to go to heaven and just keep on sinning?

Does bad company corrupt good morals, in your opinion, or does bad company with bad morals enlighten and improve everyone? ...kind of a new gospel where Jesus gives us a license to be immoral and shames those who speak the truth. That's some kind of love. I would liken it to loving your child so much that you can't tell him to not play in the street, to not hit his friends, or to not play with electrical outlets. You don't want him to feel bad.

[longtermmemmory]

Respectfully, Mrs. Chenny is wrong about the amendment.

This is no longer a states rights issue without the constitutional amendment. It is now a FEDERAL issue because one state is demanding all states adopt and recognize Mass.'s homosexual based marriages.

The constitutional amendement returns the issue to the states.

With that said, this interview should be used to further defund NPR.

[k2blader]

Do the Cheney's profess to be Christians?

If so, that would make a difference.

[Darlin']

"The left NEVER asked a hard question of Tipper and certainly didn't ask about her son's sexuality. Or his arrest(s) for pot use or DWI (I've forgotten which it was)."

Both. In the summer of 2000, during the campaign, he was arrested in North Carolina for speeding and reckless driving, He was going 97mph in 55 mph zone. The reckless s driving charge was dropped, but he had to pay a fine of $125.00 on the speeding charge.

Then, in the fall of 2002, he was stopped by military police just outside Ft Meyer, in Virginia. He was ticketed for DWI but for some reason that escapes me he was only ticketed but not arrested that time.

Then... in December, 2003, he and 2 friends were arrested in Bethesda, MD for marijuana possession. The car, driven by Gore III, was stopped late one night for driving a vehicle without its headlights on. Once stopped, the officer became suspicious of the three when he noticed that, despite the cold weather, Gore was driving with all the windows down and the sunroof open and the smell of odor of marijuana surrounding the car.

So, young Gore now has a record in NC, VA and MD. Then, IIRC, there is the matter of a juvenile drug incident at his prep school in Washington DC while Gore jr was VP. YET, the press isn't interested in discussing this young man who has clearly demonstrated that he is a menace on the streets and a threat to the safety of others.

[Darlin']

Ms Gross is obviously too stupid to recognize that she was out matched and out classed by Lynn Cheney.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Are you a sinner? Does Jesus love you?

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Are you a sinner? Does Jesus love you?

I am a sinner. Jesus loves me so much that He died for me. That's the HOW of His love. He would also send me to hell for eternity if I did not repent of my sin and receive His forgiveness. His love is 100% congruent with His law. His forgiveness is conditional on our repentance and faith. God still hates sin, and He still plans to punish sinners according to His just law. His love caused Him to provide a way of escape for those who choose it.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Do the Cheney's profess to be Christians? If so, that would make a difference.

That's a good question. I always thought so, but I do not know for sure.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Then why on earth would you take issue with someone saying, "Hate the sin, love the sinner"?

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

I didn't exactly "take issue" with it. I asked the poster to reference it. That's all. The cliche is used to prove that we should love the sinner as he sins. That is not true. We love the sinner by shaming, teaching, or whatever we can do in a civilized manner to lead him back to repentance. THAT is LOVE. When most people say "hate the sin and love the sinner" they really mean "love the sin and be indifferent to the fate of the sinner." It is a warped gospel as talked about in Jude, "...they are godless men who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality...."

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

"Love" in that "hate the sin love the sinner" context is usually used to say that the truth about sin is somehow unloving. That's just not biblical -- old or new testament. God is holy and God is love, 100% both at the same time. They go together.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

"Love" in that "hate the sin love the sinner" context is usually used to say that the truth about sin is somehow unloving.

I don't know that to be true.

When taken at face value, I think it's simply a reminder that hating a flawed or struggling person wasn't the way of Christ, and it shouldn't be the way of his followers. I never understood it to mean that believers shouldn't tell the truth about sin.