WASHINGTON (AP) – A campaign to compel the vice president’s lesbian daughter to oppose a proposed ban on same-sex marriage has launched its first Internet ads.

A series of simply-animated cartoon panels features stick figures of Mary Cheney and Vice President Dick Cheney. One image reads, “Dick’s daughter sold out to help Dick run again.”

The storyline refers to Mary Cheney’s job as director of vice presidential operations for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. She held a public role as her father’s assistant in the 2000 campaign and helped the Republicans recruit gay and lesbian voters during the 2002 midterm elections. She has been less visible this year while traveling with the vice president or working at campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

“They’ve clearly made the decision to keep her in the closet for this campaign,” said John Aravosis, who in February launched the web-based campaign DearMary.com, which started running the ad for free. “They clearly understand the contradiction between having a lesbian run the vice president’s campaign at the same time they want to bash gays in the Constitution.”

Nicolle Devenish, communications director for the Bush campaign, called Mary Cheney “a tremendous asset to the campaign” and dismissed such tactics as going after a politician’s offspring.

“I think any group’s actions are going to speak for themselves,” she said.

Devenish said Mary Cheney will become more visible as the election nears, though she would not comment whether the vice president’s daughter would be reaching out to gay and lesbian voters or Republicans who oppose the amendment.

Among sites running the ads are WashingtonPost.com, the satirical newspaper The Onion and several liberal web blogs, Aravosis said.

Aravosis said $23,000 has been raised to launch the ads, which could last a week or more depending on funding. But the majority of the costs – at least $50,000, he said – has been donated in services by an advertising firm and a web advocacy firm that support the message.