The haters, liars and modern day Pharisees at the National Organization for Marriage and their pro-bigotry minions in Maine must be chagrined to learn that Wall Street billionaire and GOP mega donor, Paul Singer (pictured at left), has thrown his hat in with the marriage equality forces in the state of Maine. As some may recall, Singer - who has a gay son - was a major player in the battle for marriage equality in New York and pledged support to Republicans who backed New York's gay marriage law. Hopefully, Republicans in Maine and at the national level get the message that slavish prostitution to the anti-gay forces of the Christianists could end up carrying a heavy cost. The Portland Press-Herald looks at Singer's engagement in defeating the Christianist in Maine. Here are some highlights:
Singer's $150,000 donation to the Freedom to Marry PAC was noted in Monday's story about Republican politicians who have decided to join the effort to legalize same-sex effort in Maine. However, the billionaire hedge fund manager's involvement in the Maine effort is noteworthy for a few reasons.
Singer is perhaps best known for his support of Republican candidates. A recent New York Times story noted that Singer, who runs the firm Elliott Management in New York City, raised $5 million dollars for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney during a single fundraiser.
But Singer, whose son and son-in-law are gay, is also known for supporting same-sex marriage efforts in other states and he has spent close to $10 million to advance the cause. Singer has given $1 million to the American Unity PAC, a new super PAC designed to encourage Republican candidates to support same-sex marriage. Campaign finance laws also shields the identities of donors to the PAC.
Singer's deep pockets have already provided protection for Republicans who have supported same-sex marriage. Today is the one-year anniversary of the same-sex marriage law enacted by the New York State Assembly.
Passage of the law required Republican support. The National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, immediately vowed to spend $2 million to remove the GOP lawmakers from office. However, Singer pledge to donate at least $250,000 to each of the legislators to counter the threat.
Singer, in a rare press interview, told NYT columnist Frank Bruni, said that the GOP should reconsider its position on same-sex marriage. "The Republican Party can be more of a big tent and this issue is a part of that," he told Bruni.
Singer isn't saying much about his involvement in the Maine same-sex marriage referendum. A spokesman for Singer declined to comment. However, donations to the Freedom to Marry PAC show that corporations are seeing the benefit of backing same-sex marriage. Freedom to Marry has raised $296,805 so far. Several other contributors stand out, including executives for Cargill, Verizon and The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers.
Yep, Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown must be acting at the moment as if they have a severe case of hemorrhoids. As for Tony Perkins, I'm sure the spittle is flying by the bucketful.
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