Keyes, a radio talk show host and currently the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois who is about to get trounced, managed to make even the staunchest conservatives squirm when he spewed bigoted remarks about gays and lesbians.

In an interview with New York City's Sirius OutQ, a radio station aimed primarily at a gay and lesbian audience, Keyes defended the Bush administration's support for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. "If we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principle excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism," Keyes said.

Asked whether that meant Dick Cheney's daughter Mary, an open lesbian, was "a selfish hedonist," Keyes didn't hesitate. "That goes by definition," he said. "Of course, she is." Keyes added later, "Dick Cheney may or many not like to hear the truth, but it can be spoken."

Republican leaders condemned Keyes for being "divisive," "idiotic" and generally being a huge embarrassment in the middle of the convention. Not that the Republican Neanderthals necessarily disagreed with what Keyes said. They just wish he hadn't said them so publicly--and attacked the daughter of the White House puppetmaster in the process.

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