Republican millionaires helped pave way for gay marriage in New York State
Sun. June 26, 2011 11:30 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
New York City -
Millionaire Republicans ended up throwing their support and money behind Gov. Andrew Cuomo's efforts to legalize gay marriage in New York.
The New York Times reported Sunday that some of Cuomo's top aides met with Republican money men, including billionaire Paul Singer (who has a gay son) and hedge fund managers Cliff Asness and Daniel Loeb a few weeks ago.
The aides told the Republicans that Cuomo was determined to make gay marriage a reality, but he needed their help: he needed them to promise hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The money would be dangled in front of Republican state lawmakers who were worried that a pro-gay vote would make them big targets in the next elections.
The New York Times said that the millionaires agreed, and each gave more than $100,000, for a total of more than a million dollars.
The Times also said that many lawmakers were won over by well-coordinated postcard campaigns from residents in their districts; one lawmaker said he had gotten more than 6,000 postcards, with 80 percent supporting gay marriage.
The New York Times reported Sunday that some of Cuomo's top aides met with Republican money men, including billionaire Paul Singer (who has a gay son) and hedge fund managers Cliff Asness and Daniel Loeb a few weeks ago.
The aides told the Republicans that Cuomo was determined to make gay marriage a reality, but he needed their help: he needed them to promise hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The money would be dangled in front of Republican state lawmakers who were worried that a pro-gay vote would make them big targets in the next elections.
The New York Times said that the millionaires agreed, and each gave more than $100,000, for a total of more than a million dollars.
The Times also said that many lawmakers were won over by well-coordinated postcard campaigns from residents in their districts; one lawmaker said he had gotten more than 6,000 postcards, with 80 percent supporting gay marriage.