GAY FOR PAY

Hey, Republicans: It Pays To Cross The Aisle On Marriage Equality

One of the most significant things about the passage of gay marriage in New York State is that it happened in a mostly Republican-controlled Legislature, albeit with powerful championing of the issue from very pro-gay Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg.The four GOP state senators who crossed the aisle and voted for marriage equality in New York are profiting dearly from their support, a promise that political insiders told them would happen. In some instances, campaign coffers increased more than twenty times what they’d raised in the six months prior to the vote, according to a New York Times review of campaign records.

While Washington State looks poised to pass same-sex marriage without a fight, politicians in New Jersey and Maryland might want to look at their bank statements before voting “no.”

Here’s a quick rundown of just how much money Republican senators in New York State got in contributions just six months after voting against their party’s anti-marriage-equality platform:

*Roy J. McDonald (above right) raised $447,000 in the half-year after the vote, 27 times what he raised in the same period in 2009.

*Stephen M. Saland raised $425,000, more than Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, the most powerful Republican in New York

* Mark Grisanti raised $325,000, also more than Skelos.

*James S. Alesi raised $350,000-$400,000, and more than half of his new donations were specifically designated as coming from marriage-equality benefactors.

As always, the rapid hetero-supremacists over at the National Organization for Marriage are biting back: “All the money in the world isn’t going to buy them out of the fact that they’re about to lose an election,” exclaimed NOM president Brian Brown, adding that his group will spend heavily to oust McDonald, Saland and the others.

If it doesn’t, y’know, go broke first.

Photo: Roy J. McDonald

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