In N.Y., Gay Marriage Came Courtesy GOP Jews
In Michael Barbaro’s definitive narrative of how gay marriage was passed in New York, Andrew Cuomo savvily harnessed his own popularity, his constituents’ support, and a few rich Republican machers to bring marriage equality to the third most populous state. The wild card there is those Republicans who helped hand a Democratic governor a gigantic substantive and political victory.
Do I need to tell you what those few Republicans tend to have in common?
JTA’s Ron Kampeas noticed a month ago that several prominent Jewish Republican New Yorkers were backing same-sex marriage, and indeed, the three Republicans mentioned up top in Barbaro’s article as having worked most closely with Cuomo-the financiers Peter Singer, Cliff Asness, and Daniel Loeb-are all mentioned by Kampeas. As is the financier Steven A. Cohen. As is Ken Mehlman, the 2004 Bush campaign director, a Jewish gay man who tried to sell Republican state senators on gay marriage and who, in the weeks leading up to last Friday’s historic vote, lobbied several one-on-one, including all four who jumped across the aisle to vote yea.