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发帖数: 4174 | 1 A Campaign Windfall for 4 Republicans Who Voted for Same-Sex Marriage
By THOMAS KAPLAN
Published: October 12, 2011
— As the State Legislature this year debated the legalization of same-sex
marriage, a group of wealthy financiers who support both gay rights and
Republican causes offered a reassurance to Republican lawmakers: Stand with
us now, and we will stand with you later.
Enlarge This Image
Guy Solimano for The New York Times
The National Organization for Marriage posted ads, like this one in
Rochester, aimed at Republican state senators who supported same-sex
marriage.
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This week, the four Republican state senators who provided the decisive
votes to pass the marriage bill are to get a big financial boost from those
donors, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. A fund-raiser planned for
Thursday night in Manhattan is expected to raise about $1.25 million to help
finance their re-election bids next year.
The senators have come under heavy criticism from conservatives since they
cast their votes in June. A national group that opposes same-sex marriage
has purchased billboards in each of their districts, vowing to unseat the
lawmakers, and the senators have been eagerly raising money in an effort to
defend themselves against possible challengers.
The emergence of the wealthy donors proved critical to same-sex marriage
advocates as they tried to persuade sympathetic Republicans that they would
not be left in the political wilderness if they diverged from party leaders
and voted to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage supporters pointed to Thursday’s event as evidence that
they would stand by the four Republicans. The fund-raiser’s hosts include
Mr. Bloomberg; the philanthropist and gay rights activist Tim Gill; and
several top-tier Republican donors, including the hedge fund managers Paul E
. Singer and Daniel S. Loeb.
“Our support not only assists each of these leaders but will send a signal
to other legislators across the nation that if they stand with freedom and
civil liberties, they will not be abandoned by those who care deeply about
gay rights and marriage equality,” Mr. Singer wrote to possible donors last
month.
Invitations asked potential donors to contribute up to $16,800, the maximum
total allowed, for each senator’s re-election effort. The fund-raiser,
featuring wine and hors d’oeuvres, will be held at the Union League Club in
Midtown. About 200 people are expected to attend, and Mr. Bloomberg is
among those scheduled to speak.
“The mayor made it very clear early on that he would be a vocal supporter
of those senators who stood up and did the right thing in light of a tough
political climate,” a Bloomberg spokesman, Mark Botnick, said.
About $900,000 is expected to be spread among the four senators — Mark J.
Grisanti of Buffalo, James S. Alesi of Rochester, Stephen M. Saland of
Poughkeepsie and Roy J. McDonald of Saratoga County — which would amount to
a windfall by Albany standards. In the first six months of this year, state
senators raised an average of $103,000 apiece, according to the New York
Public Interest Research Group.
The balance of the contributions raised Thursday will go toward the campaign
committee for the Senate Republicans, to help defend the four lawmakers and
also to recognize the party, which controls the Senate, for allowing a vote
on the marriage bill.
Mr. Alesi said he appreciated the support.
“The message has to go to Republicans that Republicans can vote for the
right thing and live to tell about it,” he said.
Even as supporters of same-sex marriage raise money to defend their
legislative allies, opponents are gearing up to try to defeat them. The
National Organization for Marriage has paid for billboards in the districts
of each of the lawmakers. The most recent ones went up after Bob Turner, a
Republican, defeated David I. Weprin, a Democrat, in a New York City
Congressional race, and the signs warn the senators, “You’re Next.”
“We’re not the least bit surprised about the money trail,” Christopher
Plante, the northeast regional coordinator for the National Organization for
Marriage, said of this week’s fund-raiser. “But what we have are the
people and voters of New York, who expect more out of their politicians, and
we expect that they will stand up. The people of New York will not forget
what these senators did.”
Michael R. Long, the chairman of the state Conservative Party, which said it
would not back any Republican who supported the marriage bill, said it was
too early to know how many primary opponents would come forward.
“The four candidates are evidently trying to raise as much money to protect
themselves from primaries, which is clear evidence that shows they know
what they did was not a popular thing,” Mr. Long said. |
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