5 Feisty Political Family Feuds, From Cheney to Roosevelt

Family feuds that prove even tight-knit political families can't get along.

ByABC News
November 19, 2013, 10:31 AM
In this July 17, 2013, file photo, Liz Cheney, left, speaks during a campaign appearance in Casper, Wyo., and her sister Mary Cheney, right, is seen in a Dec. 30, 2006, photo attending the funeral for former President Gerald Ford in Washington.
In this July 17, 2013, file photo, Liz Cheney, left, speaks during a campaign appearance in Casper, Wyo., and her sister Mary Cheney, right, is seen in a Dec. 30, 2006, photo attending the funeral for former President Gerald Ford in Washington.
AP Photo

Nov. 19, 2013— -- intro: With sisters Mary and Liz Cheney's disagreement over same-sex marriage unfolding in public view, it's clear that even tight-knit political families can't always get along.

WATCH: Liz and Mary Cheney's Facebook Gay Marriage Feud

Whether its drama over money, political legacies or just plain-old personal beliefs, here are several well-known families in the running for the feistiest political family feuds:

quicklist:title: 1. Cheney Sisters in War of Words Over Same-Sex Marriagetext: Liz and Mary Cheney were often seen together supporting their father, Dick Cheney, on the campaign trail in the early 2000s. But now the famous sisters could be no further apart on the issue of same-sex marriage.

"I love Mary very much," Liz Cheney said of her lesbian sister in a Nov. 17 appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

"I love her family very much. This is just an issue on which we disagree."

Liz Cheney, a candidate for Senate in Wyoming, continued to reiterate her strong views against same-sex marriage on the Sunday show, which prompted a heated response from her sister-in-law via Facebook.

"Liz has been a guest in our home, has spent time and shared holidays with our children, and when Mary and I got married in 2012 - she didn't hesitate to tell us how happy she was for us," Heather Poe, Mary Cheney's spouse, wrote Sunday morning. "To have her now say she doesn't support our right to marry is offensive to say the least."

Mary Cheney's partner delivered another blow to her sister-in-law by drawing attention to an issue that has plagued Liz Cheney's Senate campaign from the beginning: Accusations that the elder Cheney sister is a carpetbagger, and moved to Wyoming solely for political purposes.

"I can't help but wonder how Liz would feel if as she moved from state to state, she discovered that her family was protected in one but not the other," Poe wrote on Facebook.

The sisters public feuding prompted their famous parents to step in and mediate.

In a statement, the former vice president and Lynne Cheney said, "This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years, and we are pained to see it become public. 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. "

quicklist: title: 2. The Reagans' Brother-Against-Brother Battletext: Diverging on issues of politics, religion and their father's legacy, the three surviving children of President Ronald Reagan have an often-fraught and estranged relationship that has been splashed across memoirs, the media and even Twitter.

The siblings lie on different ends of the political spectrum. Ron Reagan and Patti Davis, children of Ronald Reagan's second marriage to Nancy Reagan, are progressive liberals who publicly supported Barack Obama in 2008. Michael, adopted during Ronald Reagan's first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, is a staunch conservative.

The rivalry between Michael and Ron came to a head during 2011 when both were on tour promoting books in conjunction with the anniversary of what would have been their father's 100th birthday.

Asked by Christiane Amanpour in a 2011 interview on ABC News' "This Week" how the 40th president of the United States would fit in today's Republican party, Ron, the youngest of Reagan clan, didn't see it as a perfect fit.