Opinions

Dick Cheney was a disastrous VP and not a true LGBTQ ally

Mainstream media gloss over war crimes, crippled economy, and more

Published

1 day ago

on

November 5, 2025

Vice President Dick Cheney in 2008. (Photo by NorthfotoBP/Bigstock)

Here we go again. Every time a deeply flawed public official dies, the mainstream media unleash their pre-written, pre-taped obituaries that gloss over all the terrible things the deceased did in public life.

This week’s example: former Vice President Dick Cheney, who served in the role for eight years during the disastrous George W. Bush presidency.

Cheney’s record is filled with so much death, destruction, corruption, lying, and scandal that it’s hard to summarize here. Despite that record, which many human rights advocates argued should have landed him in the Hague, the Log Cabin Republicans praised Cheney during his time in office as a proponent of same-sex marriage and of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The truth is a bit more complicated.

Let’s start with the war crimes.

After the 9/11 terror attacks, the entire world supported the United States. President Bush’s domestic approval rating was above 90 percent as both parties rallied around our president. Bush and Cheney squandered all that good will by invading Iraq — a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and whose dictator Saddam Hussein was despised by al-Qaeda for his secular views. Cheney, Bush, and their fall guy Gen. Colin Powell lied to the United Nations and the American people about so-called “weapons of mass destruction” that Hussein might give to the terrorists.

So in 2003, we invaded Iraq, killing untold numbers of civilians. Death toll estimates vary widely, but 4,598 U.S. military personnel were killed; 3,650 U.S. contractors were killed; nearly 50,000 Iraqi military and police were killed; and civilian deaths are estimated between 461,000-655,000 according to a 2006 Lancet study and a 2013 PLOS Medicine study.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Cheney pushed the military to open “black sites” — secret overseas prisons — along with the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where suspects were deprived of due process and instead subjected to torture in the form of waterboarding. Use of such tactics is illegal under the Geneva Conventions, leading some human rights groups to label Cheney a war criminal, though he was never formally charged.

Back home, Bush and Cheney used the pretense of fighting the “war on terror” to pass the Patriot Act and engage in unprecedented surveillance of U.S. citizens, especially Muslims.

But that wasn’t the end of their reign of terror. The Bush-Cheney economic policies of tax cuts and de-regulation, along with record spending post 9/11 and the unfunded wars they launched helped produce the Great Recession of 2007-2008. The U.S. economy hadn’t seen anything like it since the Great Depression as millions of jobs were lost, millions more lost their homes, and entire industries sat on the brink of collapse.

On gay rights issues, Cheney tried to walk a more moderate line but came into conflict with his boss’s craven push to ban gay marriage. Bush’s record on gay issues should be known to any casual reader of the Blade. He pushed for a constitutional ban on our marriages and ran his re-election campaign on the backs of our relationships. That campaign was run by a closeted gay man, Ken Mehlman, who put gay marriage bans on the ballots of 11 swing states to drive out conservative voters. It worked and Bush-Cheney won a second term. Cheney had a lesbian daughter, Mary, which complicated things for the family, especially when arch conservative sister Liz came out against gay marriage and Mary denounced her in a Facebook post.

In 2009, Cheney said he supports gays being able to marry but that states should be allowed to decide the issue.

“I think, you know, freedom means freedom for everyone,’’ Cheney said in a speech at the National Press Club. “I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish. And I think that’s the way it ought to be handled today, that is, on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions. But I don’t have any problem with that. I think people ought to get a shot at that,’’ he said.

In 2010, during the debate over repealing the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that destroyed the careers and livelihoods of more than 13,000 brave queer service members, Cheney again equivocated.

When ABC News asked Cheney whether he personally supports “Don’t Ask” repeal, he said, “It’s partly a generational question” and he’s “reluctant to second guess the military” because “they’re the ones that have got to make the judgment on how these policies affect the military capability of our units.”

Cheney was not a profile in courage when it came to advocating for gay rights, even though he had a publicly out daughter.

Near the end of his life Cheney did one honorable thing by standing with law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol and later denouncing Trump and endorsing Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. But the damage he did to the country continues to unfold. Trump’s authoritarian power grab began with Cheney’s efforts at expanding executive branch powers years earlier.

Cheney deserves harsh judgement by historians. His many misdeeds — crimes? — outweigh any late-in-life changes of heart. The mainstream media must do better in telling the truth about our public officials in death.

Kevin Naff is editor of the Washington Blade. Reach him at [email protected].

Opinions

New York City mayoral race gets nasty but Mamdani will win

Cuomo’s recent attacks are unacceptable

Published

3 days ago

on

November 3, 2025

New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture via Zohran Mamdani for NYC/YouTube)

I was disappointed to hear Andrew Cuomo say he was afraid of what Mamdani would do, or think, about another 9/11 attack in New York. A clear reference to his Muslim religion. That kind of attack is totally unacceptable, and can only reinforce people’s negative opinions about Cuomo. His comments were meant to divide, and that is not what we want to be doing in our country today.

But then I listened to Mamdani’s response, and found it a bit uncomfortable, and a real missed opportunity. He talked about his desire to be a mayor for everyone, and talked about the attacks on him for his religion, but said he didn’t want to use this time to answer them. I think he lost a real chance to do that, and because of it, his speech could have come off as chilling to some. It seems to me he missed the perfect opportunity to unite the city. He defended his religion, and he was right to do so. But he would have looked so much more impressive, if he made that speech with not only Muslims behind him, but also Jews, and Christians, and members of the LGBTQ community, standing with him, when he spoke about being proud of his religion. We should all be proud of our religion.

Every Muslim around the world should not be blamed for 9/11, or for what Hamas did on Oct. 7 in Israel. Every Jew around the world should not be blamed for what Netanyahu did in what I believe was an inappropriate response. Many might remember what former President Joe Biden told him immediately after the Oct. 7 massacre, and the taking of hostages, when he was in Israel. He said to Netanyahu, “Don’t make the same mistake America made after 9/11, rather measure your response carefully.” Unfortunately, Netanyahu did not listen.

In the United States we have, or at least should have, a separation of church and state. We should not govern based on the tenets of anyone’s religion, but rather on what is the right thing to do for everyone. Those old enough might remember when JFK went to speak to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in Texas, during his presidential campaign, to make a speech saying he is a strong believer in the separation of church and state, and while a proud Roman Catholic, he would not govern based on what the Pope says.

I am a proud gay, Jewish, man. I am a first generation American. I have Jewish friends, Muslim friends, Baptist friends, and Catholic friends. Friends of all religions, even some who don’t believe in religion. I find myself going more to a Methodist church than to synagogue. I became friends of the previous pastor because of his support for the LGBTQ community. That support continues with the woman who is now the pastor there. I know nearly every war that has been fought, has been fought in many ways over religion. For some, the hatred of another religion runs deep. That is so sad. The major religions of the world worship the same god. We may call him/her by different names, but that is all. The Talmud, the Torah, the Bible, both new and old, and the Koran, all have their own stories. But they don’t preach hate. That is done by people who misread, and subvert, what they read.

If we can’t move beyond hatred for what we don’t understand, beyond hatred of people who may look, or sound, different from us, we will never have real peace. The vast majority of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, don’t have hate in their heart. It is only the few who just make a pretense of believing in their religion, who do things to subvert it, and forgo any decency, and create havoc in our world. Unfortunately, we currently have a President who does that. He believes pitting people against each other based on their religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, where they were born, creates the hate and havoc, and helps him in his efforts to try to rule as a despot.

Today, more than ever, we need leaders with the guts to stand up to the hatred that seems to be all around us. Not ones who want to create more of it. Zohran Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City. It is the city I grew up in, the city I went to school in, and the city where I taught school. I am the son of immigrants who escaped from the Nazis. I’ve always known I was fortunate to grow up in New York City. I was fortunate to meet so many people of different backgrounds there, as my last job before moving to Washington, D.C. to work for the Carter administration, was as Coordinator of Local Government for the City of New York, under Mayor Abe Beame. What I pray is Zohran Mamdani will not lead only as a proud Muslim, but rather, as both a proud Muslim and a good man, with a good heart, who cares equally about all New Yorkers, no matter their religion, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. I wish him only good luck, and good health, as he takes over the city that gave me such a great start to my life.

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.

Opinions

The importance of holding queer leaders accountable

They must reflect the best of who we are: brave and inclusive

Published

1 week ago

on

October 30, 2025

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Integrity matters in our queer community. Many of us know what it is like to hide parts of who we are just to stay safe, to edit ourselves, to shrink, to survive. Because of that, honesty means something deeper to us. We know what it costs. Integrity is not a luxury; it is how we stay whole. When we ask our leaders to act with integrity, we are asking them to live by the same truth we have had to live by ourselves.

Across the country, in cities and hometowns, something troubling is happening. Some of the leaders who once gave us hope are now staying silent, or worse, while trans kids are being attacked by cruel laws and political games. Some elected officials say queer leaders have told them not to fight for things like Pride flags or rainbow crosswalks, calling it “smart politics” when really it is fear and moral failure.

Some people in our community are blurring the line between public service and personal gain, using the trust of queer people to advance their professional standing. Others, unprepared for the seriousness of our moment, keep rolling out surveys and “listening sessions” as if paperwork could replace leadership, while their inaction compounds the real hurt queer folx are experiencing.

These are not small mistakes. Together they show something bigger: a loss of accountability among people who are supposed to protect and defend our full community.

Queer and trans people are facing organized attacks across the country. In schools, libraries, and statehouses, our rights are being stripped away. This is not the time for quiet or calculation. Leadership right now is not about being seen; it is about showing up. When people in power stay quiet, it is our most vulnerable who pay the price. Trans kids are left isolated. Queer parents and families are left unsupported. Our trust is broken.

We need courage, not calculation. We need solidarity, not silence.

Queer leadership is extraordinarily hard work. It means facing public hate, navigating tough politics, and carrying the hopes of a community that is used to being disappointed. Many of our leaders are trying their best under tough conditions, and that matters. Anyone who steps forward to advance queer issues deserves our sincere praise and our utmost gratitude.

It’s also important for us to remember our leaders. Being a leader does not mean being perfect. It means being responsible. When someone makes mistakes, accountability is how they rebuild trust. It is what separates real leadership from self-promotion, and community service from personal ambition.

Leadership is not a prize for popularity. It is a responsibility. It comes with privileges like access, visibility, and influence, and those privileges come with limits. You cannot use them to exclude people. You cannot put your comfort ahead of your community’s safety. And you cannot hide behind endless bureaucracy when what is needed is action.

I cannot stress this enough, every queer leader deserves our appreciation for stepping up. And it’s appropriate for that appreciation to come with expectations. It is how we keep our movement healthy and our leaders honest. We can be enthusiastic about someone’s work and still provide them with the tools and coaching to do better. Avoiding accountability weakens trust. Facing it makes us stronger. A community that can be honest with itself is one that endures.

In this context, we each have a heightened responsibility to inclusion. Our movement is built by people who were told they did not belong. Doing that same harm to others is not leadership; it is betrayal. Real leaders open doors wider and when necessary tear them off the hinges.

Accountability in action means being clear about decisions, standing up for trans youth and other vulnerable people, and taking action instead of just talking. It means welcoming disagreement instead of silencing it. And when harm happens, it means owning it and making it right.

None of this is easy. But nothing about compound liberation ever will be.

It is being hopeful. It means believing that our leaders can do better, and that our movement deserves honesty and integrity. We can support our leaders and still expect courage. We can appreciate their work and still demand they act with principle.

The queer community has never been built on comfort or convenience. It has been built on truth telling, to power, to each other and to ourselves.

Leadership is not about being beyond criticism. It is about being worthy of trust.

When we hold our leaders accountable, we are not tearing our community down. We are protecting it. Accountability is how we honor those who came before us and how we make sure queer leadership reflects the best of who we are: brave, inclusive, and unapologetically ourselves.

Will Fries is a Maryland communications strategist with experience in multiple presidential campaigns.