Liz Cheney can't win on gay marriage

Opposing gay marriage may boost the Wyoming Senate candidate with some Republicans, but family feuds aren't exactly endearing to voters

Liz Cheney
(Image credit: (Rick Friedman/CORBIS))

It's being billed as a "family feud," with ample quips about how Sunday's very public battle over gay marriage will make for an uncomfortable Christmas or Thanksgiving at the Dick Cheney household. But for those of us outside the Cheney family this is, first and foremost, a political issue. And the politics for Liz Cheney — who's trying to unseat Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) in a Republican primary — are terrible.

Cheney is running as a more conservative opponent to Enzi, and a pro-Enzi super PAC released an ad in Wyoming last month questioning whether Cheney is opposed enough to same-sex marriage. The pretext of the ad is Cheney's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and support for same-sex couples getting benefits at the State Department. But the obvious subtext is that Cheney's 44-year-old sister, Mary Cheney, is married to a woman, Heather Poe.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.