Dick Cheney has asked Wyoming voters to remember that his daughter Liz has always opposed same-sex marriage, no matter how nice she may have been over the years to his other daughter, Mary, who is same-sex married.

Liz Cheney "has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage," the former vice-president said in a statement Monday seemingly designed to cool a public family dispute over the issue. "Liz's many kindnesses shouldn't be used to distort her position."

It's not clear that Dad found the best words this time.

The family feud became public Sunday when Liz, who is running for a Wyoming Senate seat, said on Fox News that she believed in "the traditional definition of marriage." That prompted Mary's wife and longtime partner, Heather Poe, to get on Facebook and declare the statement "offensive to say the least." Then national reporters called Mary, who defended her wife and her marriage.

No family spat is helped by national media attention. But the elder Cheney, the veteran of four presidential administrations and five heart attacks, waded in nevertheless, with a statement issued with his wife, Lynne.

"This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years, and we are pained to see it become public," Cheney said.

Since it has, one thing should be clear. Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. She has also always treated her sister and her sister's family with love and respect, exactly as she should have done. Compassion is called for, even when there is disagreement about such a fundamental matter and Liz's many kindnesses shouldn't be used to distort her position.

The statement comes at a juncture when the Cheneys seem at risk of being ushered off the national stage. Cheney himself has fought against obscurity in his own lifetime by repeatedly attacking the sitting president. The current vessel for his political hopes, however, lives with daughter Liz, who is running to unseat senator Mike Enzi.

Cheney, who was born in adjacent Nebraska and held a Wyoming congressional seat for a decade, has thrown himself into the race in ways large and small, even denying that he was once fishing buddies with Enzi, as the senator had claimed.

Cheney’s problem is that Liz appears to be losing, badly. Internal Enzi campaign polling released last week showed Liz Cheney behind by 52 points. Even if that figure is 10 points off – 20 points off – it's bad news for the challenger. She appears to be falling farther behind, too; a similar poll in August had her only 40 points back.

With solid party support, Enzi had not appeared vulnerable prior to Liz Cheney's entry into the race. The Enzi campaign has successfully criticized Cheney, who was born in Wisconsin and has spent much of her life in the shadow of the national capital, as a carpetbagger.

There are indications, however, that another significant issue may be working against the Cheney campaign: Liz's perceived support for same-sex marriage. The group Freedom to Marry reports that only 41% of Wyoming residents support same-sex marriage. The number among likely Republican primary voters is likely to be much smaller, as Slate's Dave Weigel points out. Outside groups are already running televised ads hitting Cheney on the issue.

The American Principles Fund' TV ad attacking Liz Cheney's position on gay marriage

It was time, the former vice-president apparently decided, to step in and set the record straight on how his daughter feels about same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, the sisters reportedly have not spoken since last summer. That painful silence, should it last, would be a year old when Republican primary voters go to the polls next August in Wyoming.