“I feel that I no longer wish to support your presidential campaign and ask that you please return the maximum contribution that I gave to you last year,” Bill White wrote to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in a letter requesting the return of a $2,500 donation. “You have chosen to be on the wrong side of history and I do not support your run for president any longer.”
White, CEO of the Constellations Group and former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and a longtime veterans advocate.
From his bio:
He serves as a Trustee of the Fisher House Foundation, which builds comfort homes for patient families at military and veterans hospitals. He has raised $42 million for the construction of Fisher Houses and its endowment and maintenance funding.
Bill serves on the boards of the News Corporation Global Diversity Council Advisory Board, The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, SKIP of NYC, the Friends of the Hudson River Park, the Catholic Medical Mission Board, the Fisher Alzheimer’s Disease Research Foundation at Rockefeller University, NYC & Co, the Fisher House Foundation and the Intrepid Relief Fund.
He has visited the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and helped lead the first major entertainers visit to troops fighting in Iraq, featuring Robert DeNiro, Kid Rock & Wayne Newton. Just recently Bill organized with the USO a Christmas 2010 visit to Afghanistan with Mark Wahlberg for the troops to preview his new critically acclaimed movie “The Fighter”. In May 2009, White was offered the opportunity to serve in the Obama Administration by Defense Secretary Robert Gates as the Pentagon’s Deputy Chief Management Officer.
Oh, and White’s also openly gay. He and partner Bryan Eure married at the Four Season in New York in October. It was kind of a big deal—Barbara Walters, Gayle King and Aretha Franklin were there.
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White contacted Romney about returning his contribution after the candidate affirmed his belief that marriage is between one man and one woman in the wake of President Obama’s marriage-equality endorsement.
He told CNN he plays the field politically, supporting Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in the past, and was feeling ambivalent about Obama:
“I felt we gave ‘Hope and Change’ a chance and I was looking for something different,” White said.
“Quite frankly, I was not supporting Barack Obama – I was supporting Mitt Romney. And my support is not just words or my vote, it’s also putting my money where my mouth is.”
But after the President came out in favor of gay marriage—and Romney reiterated his stance at a commencement address at Liberty University—White realized he couldn’t stand by the ex-governor any more.
Really? Like Romney’s stance on marriage equality was some kind of mystery until this week? He might be Mormon, but Mitt’s been pushing the one man-one woman thing for a while now.
Don’t lose any sleep waiting for that check to come, Mr. White.
Photo: Bill White
Cam
I’m glad that he is making Romney see some backlash….
But to say that he didn’t know Romney’s stance beforehand is ridiculous. However, it’s the reason it was good that Obama came out in support of marriage publicly, It took away that last tenuous B.S. excuse for gay Republicans. They can no longer claim that Romney and Obama believe the same thing about gay marriage.
Hopefully more of them will follow this guys lead.
MikeE
he supported the most openly homophobic political party of the last 40 years and only NOW wants his funding back? as good as he is at making money (apparently), he sounds like a complete tool.
Cam
@MikeE:
It was that Log Cabin B.S. of “Well Romney and Obama feel the same way about marriage”. It allowed them to pretend that they were fooling themselves.
SeaChas
GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans are going to have to go back into the bathroom stall to create a marginally plausible campaign theme for that turd blossom Romney after this.
1equalityUSA
The NOM pledge should have been Mr. Bill White’s first inkling of something most foul. Run Lola, run from the oppressors. Women and progressives will leave the Republicans and all they will have left are the Maggie Gallaghers and Tony-latent-Perkins of the world. It will take the GOP years to shake off these bigotry barnacles. They deserve to lose. GOP is on the wrong side of history.
Jose Rodriguez
I just had this conversation with my partner on the walk to work. I seriously want to understand how Log Cabin Republicans can vote for a man who has actively said that gays are not equal and wants a constitutional ban. How can you justify that?
Daez
@Jose Rodriguez: They look beyond his stances on gay rights and examine all of his views. Obama has done such a great job of putting the country on welfare for the last four years that the economy is completely stalled.
Romney might not fix things right away, but at least he will end the free for all welfare system in this country. Continuously extending unemployment checks that were based on inflated wages will hardly make anyone want to actually go back to work. People might have to actually face up to the fact that their skills are out of date and either go back into the educational system to learn new skills or go to work at Wal-Mart. Either way, the government will stop stalling capitalism.
Cave Man
@Daez: Thank you, Daez, for pointing out that there are more issues on the table during this presidential election than whether Billy can marry Bobby, and many of us gays are well aware that gay marriage is very much a non-issue when it comes to the well-being of the country as a whole. I realize it’s not a popular opinion on this site, but I’m glad you made it.
shle896
What an idiot. Like Romney and the GOP’s homophobic bigotry wasn’t already well-documented before he donated money to Mittens. Give me a break. Gay Republicans are IDIOTS.
cam
@Daez: said…
”
They look beyond his stances on gay rights and examine all of his views. Obama has done such a great job of putting the country on welfare for the last four years that the economy is completely stalled. ”
_________________________
This is the type of thing I find ASTOUNDING.
The GOP controlled Congress for a decade and the White House for 8 years. They were barely out of the Congress and still controlling the White House when the economy went into complete economic collpase. Then Bush pushed through the TARP Bailout for his Wall Street buddies without trying to put anything through for the rest of the country who were effected.
Obama inherited this (Kind of like Romney inherited millions) and we have now had economic growth for the past 31 months in a row. And yet the Log Cabiners on here keep trying to pretend that history didn’t happen.
That is my issue with them, I don’t mind if people have different opinions, but if you have to lie or misdirect then your opinion is probably wrong.
When McCain was running the Log Cabiners released a statement that said that McCain did not vote for the AZ. bill that would outlaw gay adoptions. They left out the part that since McCain isn’t in the AZ legislature he COULDN’T vote for it. Additionally they left out that he appered in TV commercials supporting the ban.
That is the kind of B.S. that I think shows that they are simply DC partisans looking for jobs in the GOP. If they were a gay group they wouldn’t actively lie and cover up when politicians have solid anti-gay stances and actions.
Good grief
@Daez, there is no free for all welfare in this country. We get much less back for our tax dollars in health care and other civil programs than almost any other Western democracy, and whatever we do get back is hugely dwarfed by the corporate welfare, and welfare for the rich, that are supported by both parties but more so by Romney and the GOP.
Henry Holland
@cam: Great post, it seems people like Daez and Cave Man need a history lesson.
Robert in NYC
And during 8 years of Bush and tax cuts, what did we get? When he came into office, he began his presidency with a net surplus of $267 billion thanks to Clinton. When Bush left office, only 4 million jobs created and the biggest deficit in the nation’s history as well as two wars that were never paid for. A deregulated financial services industry is what brought us to the economic collapse in 2008, no oversight. The GOP wants to get rid of every regulation the current administration is trying to put in place on Wall Street. Just look at what happened to JP Morgan Chase a few days ago, $2 billion down the toilet trading in unstable derivatives which was at the root of the meltdown in the housing foreclosure debacle. GM has reported its biggest profit in history, production is at an all time high, a company that received a bail out and paid back. Obama has only been in office less than four years and already more than 4 million jobs have been created and growth is increasing.
Proud
Those gay Republican freaks at Log Cabin and GOPLoud or whatever it’s called must have been in quite a panic last week. Their whole talking point for the last two decades has been “Democrats take gays for granted…they’re not any different than Repubs on gay rights so why not have more money in your wallet?”
No more, no more.
Good grief
He chose to spend his money on trash, fully knowing it was an “as is” sale. The GOP and Romney didn’t suddenly start spewing hate last week. He shouldn’t get it back. Life lesson. I’m just sorry he only lost $2,500.
Belize
@Proud: “Those gay Republican freaks at Log Cabin and GOPLoud or whatever it’s called must have been in quite a panic last week.”
And on a lighter note, I was expecting “GOPLowed” from at least one commenter… but then I thought, who’d want to? Excuse me.
Hyhybt
There *is* a difference because of last week. Up until then, Romney’s statements on the issue (in particular, support for a federal amendment) were made during a rough primary campaign, and there was room to think he would become more moderate once that was over. Not so far as being on our side on this, but perhaps far enough that he wouldn’t do anything either way.
Now, he’s made it clear that’s not how it’s going to be. And supporting someone who doesn’t much like you, but isn’t going to actively work against you and who you otherwise agree with is very different than supporting someone who has essentially declared you the enemy.
jeff4justice
What’s more absurd, being gay and supporting outright anti-gay Republicans or being gay and supporting partially supportive Democrats instead of 100% supportive alternative parties?
arlo
Obama doesn’t need that crook’s support/approval. Bill White is nothing more than an opportunist.
B
He most likely won’t get his money back, of course, so he is really just making a political statement. The only time a politician has ever returned money to a donor is when the donor has done something so outrageous that taking money from the donor would be an embarrassment. You know, like finding out that the donor was a “grand wizard” of the KKK.
To get his money back, Bill White would have to do something like start a porn career and then distribute free videos outside an elementary school – Romney needs every cent he can get.
Hyhybt
@B: For someone who “needs every cent he can get,” he sure is loaded.
(I know, people don’t like running for office with their own money… but he does have it.)
BryanC
Why did the article have to end with a snarky editorial comment? I think its great that the guy has woken up. And why are people so sure he knew Romney’s stance earlier? Hello, Romney is one of the biggest flip-flopper politicians on the planet. I think the guy deserves some credit for opening his eyes.
B
No. 21 · Hyhybt “@B: For someone who “needs every cent he can get,” he sure is loaded.” He’s loaded because he doesn’t spend his own money on this stuff.