Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass Fundraise for Anti-Gay Senator

Seemingly, Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass learned nothing from the debacle surrounding their fundraiser for anti-gay extremist, Ted Cruz.  Now the two self-anointed "A-listers"  are back raising money for an anti-gay politician who opposes civil rights for the rest of non-A-lister gays.  Reisner and Weiderpass apparently believe that their wealth protects them from the consequences of policies pushed by anti-gay Republicans such as Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the latest enemy of LGBT individuals to benefit from their fundraising.  In their self-centered world, the rest of us gays can go f*ck ourselves.  Gay City News looks at this latest slap in the face to the LGBT community by these douche bags.  Here are highlights:

A host and guests at a fundraiser held by embattled real estate developers Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass at their Central Park South penthouse donated at least $10,600 to Republican Ron Johnson, a right-wing US senator from Wisconsin who faces a 2016 challenge from Democrat Russ Feingold. Reisner, who is gay, gave Johnson $2,700, the maximum allowed under federal election law.

Other donors who maxed out at the Johnson event were Ken Mehlman, a longtime Republican Party operative who is also gay, and Sam Domb, a longtime Reisner business associate. Domb owns the property that houses the Out NYC, Reisner’s Midtown hotel.

The hosts and the guests were supporting Johnson because of the senator’s support for Israel and his views on the Middle East, according to the press release, which described those in attendance as “a bipartisan group of Jewish business leaders –– both committed Republicans and several traditionally aligned with Democrats.”

The Out NYC and Reisner’s properties in the Pines on Fire Island came under boycott after the New York Times reported that he held an April 20 fundraiser for Republican Ted Cruz, a Texas senator and candidate for the Republican nomination for president.  . . . The community objected to Reisner and Weiderpass taking money from their LGBT customers and giving it to anti-LGBT right-wingers.

Cruz and Johnson are associated with the Tea Party movement and are anti-LGBT. Both oppose same-sex marriage and both voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in 2013.

Reisner and Weiderpass did not respond to requests for comment. 

Let the boycotts continue!!

Susan Collins: Fourth Republican Senator To Support Same-Sex Marriage

While most Congressional Republicans remain utter pandering political whores to the Christofascists base of the GOP, some Republican members of Congress seemingly seem to see the hand writing on the wall and are shifting their support to advocates of gay marriage.  As noted yesterday Republican Senator Johnson of Minnesota has urged the GOP to drop its opposition to marriage equality.  Now Susan Collins of Maine (pictured above) has joined Johnson and two other GOP Senators in calling for marriage equality.  It goes without saying that NOM and the "godly Christian" hate merchants will be most unhappy with Collins.  Here are highlights from Think Progress:

Susan Collins became the fourth Republican senator to support marriage equality on Wednesday, announcing her position in a questionnaire from Maine’s Bangor Daily News. “A number of states, including my home state of Maine, have now legalized same-sex marriage, and I agree with that decision,” Collins wrote. Voters in Maine outlawed same-sex marriage in 2009, but legalized it in 2012.

Collins’ spokesperson clarified that the senator had previously remained silent on marriage equality because “she doesn’t want to get involved in state-level referendum issues.” “She’s a U.S. senator, and she stays within the purview of her office,” Lance Dutson told the paper. “But when asked [today] about her personal stance on this issue, she said she supports it.” Collins publicly announced her position after receiving the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization. HRC also endorsed the senator in 2008.

Despite remaining silent on marriage, Collins had long been acted as an ally of the LGBT community, sponsoring legislation to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — the military’s ban against openly gay servicemembers — and supporting a measure to prohibit employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

With twenty states now allowing same-sex couples to marry, Republican lawmakers have steered clear of the matter in recent years. On Monday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) urged the party to avoid discussing social issues and Republican leaders have previously preached greater tolerance towards gay people.

Collins joins Republican senators Rob Portman (OH), Mark Kirk (IL) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) in supporting equal marriage rights. Almost all Democratic senators have evolved on the issue, with the exception of Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

It is a safe bet that as they become more and more of a backwater among normal Americans and as they lose their hold over the GOP, the Christofascists and the "profesional Christian" crowd will become even more shrill and extreme - all of which will hasten their much deserved banishment into the political wilderness.

Republican Senator Says Republicans Must Abandon Same-Sex Marriage Issue

With state anti-gay marriage bans falling like a line of dominoes and support for marriage equality surging, especially among younger voters (including young Republicans) one would think that anyone sane would see the hand writing on the fall that anti-gay marriage positions are going to be electoral losers.  That reasoning, of course, fails to factor in the Christofascists' refusal to accept objective reality as they desperately cling to their allegedly "deeply held religious beliefs" that would have gays forever inferior - if not criminalized - under the civil laws.  U. S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) (pictured above) obviously is not a Christofascists because yesterday he urged Republicans to abandon Christofascists pet positions on social issues if the GOP hopes to remain competitive in future elections.  Think Progress has coverage,  Here are excerpts:

On Monday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) urged the GOP to move beyond social issues and focus on economic policy ahead of the 2014 and 2016 elections, arguing that the party should allow voters and states to enact marriage equality.

“I’m pretty traditional guy, almost 60 years old. I think marriage is between a man and a woman. But again if the voters decide that they want gay marriage I’m not going to oppose it,” the senior senator from Wisconsin said during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Pressed on what Republicans must do to win national elections, Johnson called on GOP leaders to clearly communicate their positions on economic and foreign policy, saying that “social issues are going to primarily be decided in the states through democratic process and that’s the why it should happen.” “I’ll certainly go with the judgment of the American people in terms of where they want to fall on, whether it’s abortion issues or gay marriage or wherever,” Johnson added.

The senator’s policy hasn’t always matched his rhetoric, however. He is signed on this Congress as a co-sponsor of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to institute federal limits on abortion and the DC Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The measure would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Earlier this month, a U.S. district judge struck down Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage, but then halted marriages to allow for an appeal from Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. In the interim, more than 500 same-sex couples got married in the state. A poll published in May found that 55 percent of state residents support same-sex marriage. 

While almost all Democratic senators have evolved on the issue, with the exception of Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), just three Republicans — Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

If someone like Johnson recognizes that the war over gay marriage has been lost, one has to wonder how long it will be until folks like hate group leader Tony Perkins (and Victoria Cobb here in Virginia) are kicked to the curb where they belong.