Cheney Makes Incest Joke About West Virginians

***UPDATE*** Akers reports that Cheney has now apologized for his West Virginia incest joke:

Vice President Dick Cheney has apologized through his spokeswoman for making an offhand joke during a speech at the National Press Club Monday stereotyping West Virginia as a state prone to incest.

Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride tells us, "The Vice President's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone. On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The Vice President apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark."

Mary Ann Akers of the Washington Post asks if West Virginia was just handed to the Democrats when Dick Cheney made an incest joke at West Virginians' expense:

Cheney was at the Press Club to congratulate this year's winners of the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency. During a question-and-answer session toward the end of the luncheon, someone asked the vice president about his wife Lynne Cheney's revelation on MSNBC last year that "Dick and Barack Obama are eighth cousins."

The questioner jokingly asked the vice president if he and Obama were going to have a family reunion, to which Cheney replied he would "have no objections" though he said he doubted Obama would want one - "certainly not before November."

Then came the offensive punch line. Cheney explained that during the course of researching his family lineage for Lynne's memoir "Blue Skies, No Fences" last year, he learned there were Cheneys on both his father's and his mother's side of the family. There was a Richard Cheney on his mother's side, the vice president said.

"So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped.

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia was not amused:

"That a man who has ascended to the seat of Vice President of the United States would openly display such contempt and astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen is an insult to all Americans. Now that he or the Administration he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia. With his trademark arrogance, the Vice President even added 'You can say those things when you're not running for re-election.'"

"This pitiful comment is not entirely surprising when you consider the source. Vice President Cheney's words reflect the attitude of an administration and a party that says what they must to get elected and then turns their backs on those they promised to represent."

Comments

[scooperss]

Hogwash. cheney did NOT apologize. Someone else did the dirty work for him par the course with repugs.

"This evening, Cheney’s spokesperson, Lea Anne McBride, put out a statement apologizing for the Vice President:

The Vice President’s offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone. On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The Vice President apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark."

[who38]

Just as others are doing the dirty work for him in Iraq.

[kfdan]

Cheney doesn't have much respect for anybody or anything that doesn't have a war head on the end of it. Quite frankly, Cheney should be in prison!

[typingisnotactivism]

yeah, that 'joke' is waaaay more offensive than murdering and raping the planet....

It's actually no wonder that Democrats and 'liberals' so easily offended have remained in the wilderness, even during the most incomptetent and obviously, objectively evil administration in the history of the United States. So easily upset by trivialities and uber-p.c.-ness that they've completely missed the main game.

[CEDobson]

Your comment was very typical of those that belittle a symptom and are shocked when the epidemic hits. Our government, as it is now, is in this pitiful state. This is from years of symptoms of bigotry, greed and abuse of power. These "jokes" or as you say, "trivialities" that slip from time to time from the upper echelons of our government that we are "so easily offended by" are a small part of the big picture, and what you get in the end is a huge virus, i.e., the WH.

I demand respect from public servants who represent "We The People."

[aaronr2000]

Very well said.

[exflatlander]

Hear! Hear!

[ObamaSeeChange]

Shows the power of ignorance and racism, blue collar WV electorate probably still feel more comfortable with Cheney than with Obama despite the bloodline connection and the "BITTER" attitude toward them on the part of Cheney!

[gurukalehuru]

He never apologized to Patrick Leahy, did he?

[gorgol]

Yes, I'd believe Cheney was the product of incest...at least we'd have some reason for his diabolical behavior. Now we just have to guess. I mean he shoots his "friend" in the face while hunting for small birds...that's just one hint for us.

[DanniD]

Do you mean to tell me that Dick Cheney doesn't give a rat's a*s about the people that voted him VP, not once but twice?

I'm surprised! I'm shocked! I'm flabbergasted!

NOT!!!!!!

[Gingerously]

i think the bigger news story here is that cheney made a joke.

he scares me.

[thisoldbroad]

Does an apology really count if you don't do it yourself?

[CEDobson]

I'm so with you on that one!

[sl26]

Stereotypical comments like this are for small-minded people. McCain only received 4,000 more votes than Obama did in WV. Edwards received 7% of the vote. Things aren't so black and white after all-unless you are listening to the pundits.

[monty]

How does this man make jokes like this when he's responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 American Soldiers?

[YHWH]

I am by no means a fan of this fellow, cheney. But, this quip was no big deal. it was an attempt at humor

[CEDobson]

..... and a very poor one at that!

[olithechef]

You obviously are not from West Virginia. We have suffered from a national identity crisis since the first reports of the mine wars many decades ago. The true definition of "rednecks" came not from the ignorant gun-toting inbred loudmouth, but from the brave hardworking miners who wore red scarves around their necks in solidarity for their plight. I am well traveled, and believe me, in ever country and state I have ever spent time in, there exists those whose eyes are set a bit closer together than they should be; whose brow protrudes a bit too much; whose intelligence is questionable, and I've never seen them singled out by national media during elections for their comments. It's a struggle for the assumptions that most make are extremely ignorant themselves. I say, based on definition, Cheney seems inbred. Does that apply to you as well, considering your ignorant comment?

[ahsaki80]

I hope those "hard working white Americans" begin to realize the Republicans do not have their best interest in mind. After 8 yrs of Bush, i should be simple right? If you continue to support the a$$holes who have been using you for political gain, I guess this country's truly is in need of some serious education reform.

[deke33]

My own faux pas uttered in jest. (I think). There is a psychiatric line of thought that suggests homosexuality may be genetic. Now given the sexual propensity of the Cheney daughter one wonders if it was inherited from the mother or father's side of the family. I tend to lean toward Lynn Cheney as she did yeoman's work describing a homosexual encounter in her book, it is hard to believe she did not do actual research herself.

[FirstShirt]

Perhaps you weren't reading the Huffpo comments after Hillary won West Virginia. I haven't seen such vitriol and bigotry in a long time. And this was from supposedly "progressive" people.

[StillAmused]

The grandest delusion of unprincipled thieves who accumulate money and power is that, in the process, they've also acquired class... and absolution.

Once a scumbag, always a scumbag.

[1differentdrummer]

Class... Now there's a rarity in the WH today, along with dignity and intelligence.

[elbzee]

OBAMA '08!

[LeoMarvin]

This reminds me, I can't even remember the last time George Bush stuck his foot in his mouth. What's up with that?

[UncensoredReports]

Born with a silver foot in his mouth.

[Tellecter]

But somehow cleaned Ann Richards', Al Gore's, and John Kerry's collective clocks.

I love how this blog now defends West Virginians -- when just 2 weeks ago you were calling them cousin loving, racist hicks.

[clintfatigue]

Uhhh.. how about his appeasement speech in Israel? That was SO long ago.

[ladyv]

They try to keep him from talking on camera. I think being caught on camera doing variations on the African Anteater Ritual has replaced verbal gaffes.