N.Y. Republicans who backed gay marriage see coffers, criticism soar
Of course these same Republicans don’t cry foul when tax exempt churches and religious groups ladle millions into anti gay causes, nor do they raise a ruckus when fat cat out of state donors pour money into their coffers to fight teh ghey. They certainly do not complain when NOM backs them.
Republicans in New York’s state Senate who crossed party lines to legalize gay marriage in the state have seen sharp increases in their campaign coffers, leading conservative activists to allege their votes were bought.
State Sen. Mark Grisanti of Buffalo, for instance, amassed just $30,000 from May 1 to June 24, the day same-sex marriage was approved. But in the two-and-a-half weeks after his vote, Grisanti reported receiving $73,000 in contributions – including huge donations from high-profile gay rights supporters like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Tim Gill, who is based in Colorado.
For State Sen. Roy McDonald, whose districts include Rensselaer and Saratoga counties, the weeks following his vote proved even more lucrative. After receiving $31,000 in the two months preceding the vote, McDonald garnered approximately $90,000 in just 17 days, more than doubling his total haul for all of 2011, according to Bill Mahoney, legislative operations and research coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group.