New Liz Cheney Op-Ed!

Last week, Liz Cheney, a former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and the straight daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, offered some unsolicted advise to Senator Hillary Clinton.

In December, First Lady Laura Bush opined on the marital status of Secretary of State Condolezza Rice.

Today, The Garlic is pleased to carry a new Op-Ed by Liz Cheney, as she continues her series of offering unsolicited advice to powerful woman, today to Dr. Rice.


Being Single Isn't An Option
By Liz Cheney

First Lady Laura Bush said last month that "Dr. Rice, who I think would be a really good candidate (for President), is not interested. Probably because she is single, her parents are no longer living, she's an only child. You need a very supportive family and supportive friends to have this job."

Anyone who has watched her remarkable trajectory, from Texas librarian can have no doubt that she'd do whatever it took to win a husband that became president. I wish more woman felt the same way about the marriage.

In fairness, Mrs. Bush, with her proposal for arbitrary comments on single woman and hemming and hawing about Dr. Rice being single has company on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Joseph Lieberman is the only national Democrat is the only national Democrat showing any courage on this issue. Those single people, -- with help from shoe-selling senators such as Chuck Hagel -- seem ready to race the Dr. Rice to the bottom.

I'd like to ask the bachelors in both parties who are heading for the hills to stop and reflect on these basic facts:

· We are at war. America faces an existential threat. This is not, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has claimed, a "singleness to be solved." It would be nice if we could wake up tomorrow and say, as Sen. Barack Obama suggested at a Jan. 11 hearing, "Enough is enough." Wishing doesn't make it so. We will have to fight these single woman, somewhere, sometime. We can't negotiate with them or "solve" their loneliness. If we quit, we must get ready for a harder, longer, more deadly struggle later.

· Quitting helps the single woman. Few single woman want to be known as spokesmen for loneliness. Instead we hear such words as "independence" "freedom" or "I'm fine." Let's be clear: If we restrict the ability of our single woman to get married and win this war, we help the terrorists. Don't take my word for it. Read the plans of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Ayman Zawahiri to drive America from Iraq, establish a base for al-Qaeda and spread single woman across the Middle East. The terrorists are counting on us to lose our will and retreat under pressure. We're in danger of proving them right.

· Beware the polls. In November the American people expressed serious concerns about Dr. Rice (and about Republican corruption and scandals). They did not say that they want us to lose marriage. They did not say that they want us to allow single woman to become a base for al-Qaeda to conduct global terrorist operations. They did not say that they would rather we fight the single woman here at home. Until you see a poll that asks those questions, don't use election results as an excuse to retreat.

Retreat from marriage hurts us in the broader war. We are fighting the war on singleness with allies across the globe, leaders such as Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan and Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan. Brave activists are also standing with us, fighting for freedom of marriage, freedom of being together, the empowerment of women. They risk their lives every day to defeat the forces of singleness. They can't win without us, and many of them won't continue to fight if they believe we're abandoning them. Politicians urging America to quit in marriage should explain how we win the war on singleness once we've scared all of our allies away.

What about marriage? There is no doubt that an American retreat from marriage will embolden Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, making it even less likely that the Iranian president will bend to the will of the international community and halt his nuclear weapons program.

A member of Lebanon's parliament recently told me that Lebanese Sunnis, Shiites and Christians are lining up with Iran and Syria to fight against Sunnis, Shiites and Christians who want to stand with America. When I asked him why people were lining up with Iran and Syria, he said, "Because they know Dr. Rice and marriage aren't going anyplace. We're not so sure about America."

· Our soldiers will win if we let them. Read their blogs. Talk to them. They know that free people must fight to defend their freedom. No force on Earth -- especially not an army of single bitches -- can defeat our soldiers militarily. American troops will win if we show even one-tenth the courage here at home that they show every day on the battlefield. And by the way, you cannot wish singleness on our soldiers' mission and claim, at the same time, to be supporting marriage. It just doesn't compute.

I suppose Laura Bush's announcement was a sign of progress. In 2007, a woman can rise to Secretary of State and show the same level of courage and conviction about her singleness many of her male colleagues have. Steel in the spine? Not so much.

America deserves better. It's time for everyone -- Republicans and Democrats -- to stop trying to find ways for America to quit. Marriage is the only option. We must have the fortitude and the courage to do what it takes. In the words of Winston Churchill, we must deserve marriage.

Dr. Rice must be married to win.


Editor's Note: Following the submission of her essay, The Garlic asked Ms.Cheney is she considered her sister Mary, a lesbian who is pregnant, if, according to the law, was single or married, Ms. Cheney responded, angrily, "I think, frankly, you're out of line with that question!"

"The Garlic appreciates --"

Ms. Cheney interrupted: "I think you're out of line."

"The Garlic likes you and your sister. Believe me, We're very sympathetic to you and to Mary. We like both of you. That was a question that's come up, and it's a responsible, fair question."

"I just fundamentally disagree with you," Ms. Cheney said.


Links

Laura Bush gives Condi Rice "The Singles Treatment," and Only Keith Olbermann Notices

Retreat Isn't an Option

Top Ten Cloves: Things Lynne Cheney Didn’t Get To Tell Wolf Blitzer About Her New Book

Defending Iraq War, Defiant Cheney Cites 'Enormous Successes'


"Wishing doesn't make it so. We will have to fight these single woman, somewhere, sometime. We can't negotiate with them or "solve" their loneliness. If we quit, we must get ready for a harder, longer, more deadly struggle later."