Former president George W. Bush knew
Dick Cheney's daughter, Mary, was gay in 2000.
The 43rd president writes in
his new memoir Decision Points that Dick Cheney told him about
his daughter's sexual orientation before he accepted Bush's
invitation to become his running mate.
Brush writes, “By the time Dick came
to the ranch to deliver his final report, I had decided to make
another run at him. As he finished his briefing, I said, 'Dick, you
are the perfect running mate.'”
Cheney responded that he needed to
speak to his wife Lynne, then added, “Mary is gay.”
“I could tell what he meat by the way
he said it. Dick clearly loved his daughter. I felt he was gauging
my tolerance. 'If you have a problem with this, I'm not your man,'
he was essentially saying.”
“I smiled at him and said, 'Dick,
take your time. Please talk to Lynne. And I could not care less
about Mary's orientation.'”
Republicans, including Bush,
effectively used anti-gay rhetoric to mobilize their base and win
large majorities in 2004.