Billionaires Push Republicans on Employment Non-Discrimination Act

While Barack Obama sits on his hands and refuses to sign an executive order ENDA, some Republican billionaires are pushing anti-gay Republicans in the House of Representatives to change their position and vote for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA") which was passed by the U.S. Senate.  The result is that GOP Congress members must decide between angering major GOP donors or continuing to prostitute themselves to Christofascists within the GOP base.  There is certainly an element of sweet irony to the situation.  Politico looks at the pressure being applied to members of the House GOP.  Here are excerpts:

Republican billionaires Paul Singer and Seth Klarman are supporting gay rights activists in a $2.2 million campaign to get the Republican-controlled House to extend workplace protections to the LGBT community.

An umbrella group called Americans for Workplace Opportunity wants a vote on a bill passed by the Senate before the end of the year.

“We really see this as an important piece of unfinished business for LGBT workers and people around the country,” said Campbell Spencer, who is managing the campaign.

Spencer said the group’s goal is to demonstrate they have the 218 supporters needed for passage and then work with House GOP leadership to get it to the floor and passed. The group is already having a “tactical conversation about how best to move to passage,” according to Spencer.

Currently, the House bill has 202 co-sponsors. Only six Republicans are signed on as co-sponsors. Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) has also voiced his support of the measure.

But the campaign is already getting some traction from Colorado Republican Rep. Mike Coffman.

That Coffman is one of the first Republicans coming out in support of ENDA is no surprise, and it highlights another step in his political evolution. The Colorado Republican has reversed positions on immigration and abortion in recent months as he tries to fend off an challenge from Democrat Andrew Romanoff in Colorado’s competitive sixth district.

“I see this legislation as the workplace equivalent of the Golden Rule — do unto others, as you would have them do unto you,” Coffman said in a statement to POLITICO. “In the workplace, in 2014, we should judge employees the way we would want to be judged — based on our qualifications, our contributions and by our character, period.”

The group has identified GOP Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Jim Gerlach (Pa.), Joe Heck (Nev.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Dave Reichert (Wash.) and Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.) as top-tier targets to try and convince them to support the legislation.

Other groups involved in the group include Log Cabin Republicans, AFSCME, ACLU and the SEIU.