Top GOP Donors Launch Push for Gay Marriage: ‘The Right Thing for the Country But Also Good Politics’

American Unity PAC

(Photo: American Unity PAC)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (TheBlaze/AP) -- In the wake of the 2012 election, many Republican strategists have concluded they simply cannot win as long as they seem so "polarizing."  One of the more contentious issues is gay marriage, with those on the left often accusing Republicans of being intolerant.  But now, a national group of prominent GOP donors is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make gay marriage legal.

American Unity PAC was formed last year to lend financial support to Republicans who bucked the party's longstanding opposition to gay marriage. Its founders are launching a new lobbying organization, American Unity Fund, and already have spent more than $250,000 in Minnesota, where the Legislature could vote on the issue as early as next week.

The group has spent $500,000 on lobbying since last month, including efforts in Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia and Utah.

Billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican donor Paul Singer launched American Unity PAC. The lobbying effort is the next phase as the push for gay marriage spreads to more states, spokesman Jeff Cook-McCormac told The Associated Press.

"What you have is this network of influential Republicans who really want to see the party embrace the freedom to marry, and believe it's not only the right thing for the country but also good politics," Cook-McCormac said.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage supporters march at the US Supreme Court on March 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

In Minnesota, the money has gone to state groups that are lobbying Republican lawmakers and for polling on gay marriage in a handful of suburban districts held by Republicans. So far, only one Minnesota Republican lawmaker has committed to voting to legalize gay marriage: Sen. Branden Petersen, of Andover.

"I think there will be some more. There are legislators out there that are struggling with this," said Carl Kuhl, a former political aide to former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Kuhl's public affairs firm is contracted by Minnesotans United, the lead lobby group for gay marriage in Minnesota and main recipient of American Unity's Minnesota spending.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said he has encouraged advocates of the marriage bill to round up Republican votes, if nothing else than to send a message to Minnesota residents that it's not a partisan proposition. But that will be politically risky; the main opposition group to same-sex marriage, Minnesota for Marriage, has said it will seek consequences for Republicans who stray on gay marriage.

Part of American Unity PAC's original mission was to spend money on behalf of Republican gay marriage supporters. Many GOP lawmakers have faced primary challenges funded in part by anti-gay marriage groups such as the National Organization for Marriage, which argue that the lawmakers had betrayed the party's core principles.

Gay Marriage

A pro Gay marriage protester called 'Queen' dances in front of the US Supreme Court on March 26, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Since forming the lobby group last month, American Unity also spent money to win over Republican lawmakers in Rhode Island, where last week all five Republicans in the state Senate jumped on the gay marriage bandwagon. Rhode Island is on track to legalize gay marriage by next week, which would make it the 11th U.S. state where gay marriage is legal.

There are also plans to lobby federal lawmakers on gay rights issues.

"We intend to work on this effort until every American citizen is treated equally under the law," Cook-McCormac said. Other wealthy, traditionally Republican donors giving money to the group include Seth Klarman, David Herro and Cliff Asness.

Though only one current GOP officeholder in Minnesota is on record supporting gay marriage, a handful of prominent Republicans have spoken out in favor of it. They include former state auditor Pat Anderson and Brian McClung, who was spokesman for former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Prominent Republican donors including former politician Wheelock Whitney and businesswoman Marilyn Carlson Nelson have also lent support and donated money.

Since it first formed to campaign against last fall's gay marriage ban and then shifted to pushing for its legalization at the Capitol, Minnesotans United has been building Republican alliances, hiring multiple lobbyists with Republican ties.

What do you think of the group's efforts?  Should the GOP be supporting gay marriage?  Or will it further alienate conservative voters?

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Politics on hold at the dedication of Bush library

DALLAS (AP) — George W. Bush shed a sentimental tear. Barack Obama mused about the burdens of the office. Bill Clinton dished out wisecracks. Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush chimed in, too, on a rare day of harmony at the dedication of the younger Bush's presidential library that glossed over the hard edges and partisan divides of five presidencies spanning more than three tumultuous decades.

"To know the man is to like the man," Obama declared of his Republican predecessor, speaking Thursday before a crowd of 10,000 at an event that had the feel of a class reunion for the partisans who had powered the Bush administration from 2001 to 2009. Dick Cheney was there in a white cowboy hat. Condoleezza Rice gave shout-outs to visiting dignitaries. Colin Powell and Karl Rove were prominent faces in the crowd.

On this day, there was no mention of Iraq or Afghanistan, the wars that dominated Bush's presidency and so divided the nation. There were only gentle references to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And praise aplenty for the resolve that Bush showed in responding to the 9/11 terror attacks.

Clinton joked that the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center was "the latest, grandest example of the eternal struggle of former presidents to rewrite history." But he also praised Bush for including interactive exhibits at the center that invite visitors to make their own choices on major decisions that he faced.

Bush, 66, made indirect reference to the polarizing decision points of his presidency, drawing a knowing laugh as he told the crowd: "One of the benefits of freedom is that people can disagree. It's fair to say I created plenty of opportunities to exercise that right."

He said he was guided throughout his presidency by a determination "to expand the reach of freedom."

"It wasn't always easy, and it certainly wasn't always popular."

It was a day for family and sentimentality, Bush choking up with emotion at the conclusion of his remarks.

The 43rd president singled out his 88-year-old father, another ex-president, to tell him: "41, it is awesome that you are here today."

The elder Bush, wearing jaunty pink socks, spoke for less than a minute from his wheelchair, then turned to his son and quipped, "Too long?" He has a form of Parkinson's disease and has been hospitalized recently for bronchitis.

Just as the public tends to view presidents more kindly once they've left office, ex-presidents, too, tend to soften their judgments — or at least their public comments — with time.

Obama once excoriated Bush for his "failed policies" and "disastrous" handling of the economy, for expanding budget deficits, and for drawing the nation into war in Iraq.

On Thursday, he took a detour around those matters and instead praised Bush for his strength after 9/11, compassion in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa, bipartisanship in pursuing education reforms and restarting "an important conversation by speaking with the American people about our history as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants."

If the country is eventually able to enact immigration changes this year, Obama added, "it will be, in large part, thanks to the hard work of President George W. Bush."

Obama said the living presidents make up an exclusive club — but it's more like a support group for the men who have held the position.

"No matter how much you may think you are ready to assume the office of the presidency, it's impossible to truly understand the nature of the job until it's yours," Obama said. "And that's why every president gains a greater appreciation for all of those who served before them."

The other presidents struck a similar tone.

Clinton praised Bush for his efforts to combat AIDS in Africa, his work on global health and even for the paintings he's doing in retirement. And he said he'd gotten so close to the Bush family that there were jokes that "I had become the black sheep son."

Carter praised Bush for his role in helping secure peace between North and South Sudan in 2005 and the "great contributions you've made to the most needy people on earth."

Bush has kept a decidedly low profile since leaving office four years ago with an approval rating of just 33 percent. That figure has been gradually climbing and now is at 47 percent — about equal to Obama's own approval rating, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released ahead of the library opening.

If politics was absent from the podium on Thursday, it was still a prominent subtext.

Those in attendance included a number of potential candidates for president in 2016 — another Clinton (Hillary) and Bush (Jeb) among them.

George W. Bush in recent days played up the idea of his younger brother, the former governor of Florida, seeking the White House, telling C-SPAN, "My first advice is: Run."

Their mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, did the opposite.

"We've had enough Bushes," she said Thursday on NBC's "Today" show.

The presidential center at Southern Methodist University includes a library, museum and policy institute. It contains more than 70 million pages of paper records, 200 million emails, 4 million digital photos and 43,000 artifacts. Bush's library will feature the largest digital holdings of any of the 13 presidential libraries under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration.

A full-scale replica of the Oval Office as it looked during Bush's tenure sits on the campus, as does a piece of steel from the World Trade Center and the bullhorn that Bush used to punctuate the chaos at ground zero three days after 9/11. In the museum, visitors can gaze at a container of chads — the remnants of the famous Florida punch card ballots that played a pivotal role in the contested 2000 election that sent Bush to Washington.

Laura Bush led the library's design committee, officials said, with a keen eye toward ensuring that the family's Texas roots were conspicuously reflected. Architects used local materials, including Texas Cordova cream limestone and trees from the central part of the state, in its construction.

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Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter: http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP .

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Associated Press writer Nancy Benac contributed from Washington.

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Obama blames "shameful" politics for defeat of gun measure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Joined by relatives of the victims of gun violence, President Barack Obama on Wednesday angrily blamed politics for the failure of gun control legislation and urged voters to send a message at the ballot box that they want stronger gun laws.

"There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics," Obama said, flanked by relatives of the victims of recent mass shootings, some of whom wept during the president's comments.

"All in all this was a pretty shameful day for Washington but this effort is not over," he said.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Eric Beech)

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New York politics: scared straight or ripe for reform?

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Attorney Preet Bharara brought two corruption cases against New York state politicians this week, accusing some of selling their votes and another of trying to bribe his way onto the ballot, he challenged the political class to clean up the system.

Some political veterans worry any reforms are destined to fail, and that only a federal prosecutor like Bharara can crack down on crookedness.

Asked if this week's cases could be the straw that breaks the camel's back in the state capital Albany, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was quick to respond: "No, this camel's very strong."

Over the last seven years, 31 New York state office holders have been convicted, censured, or otherwise accused of wrong-doing, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

"There need to be enough cases made so that people realize the likelihood of being caught increases," Spitzer, also a former state attorney general whose political rise was tied to his challenges of Wall Street corruption, told Reuters. "And that at the end of the day is going to be what changes the system."

In 2006, Spitzer captured the governor's mansion in a landslide victory after campaigning that "Day One, Everything Changes." His aggressive efforts at reform were cut short two years later, when he resigned amid a prostitution scandal.

Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey said there was a "crime wave of corruption" in Albany and in New York City but he is hopeful the cases will lead to reforms.

"I very much hope that this is the thread that is being pulled out of the sweater and will unravel everything," said Dadey, whose group has long pushed for more transparency.

Bharara, the chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan, brought charges against state Senator Malcolm Smith on Tuesday, accusing him of a plot to buy a spot on New York City's mayoral ballot. New York City Councilman Daniel Halloran was charged with accepting bribes to set up meetings between Smith and two Republican party leaders, who were also charged.

Lawyers for both men said they will fight the charges.

Two days later, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was charged with accepting more than $22,000 in bribes in exchange for helping four businessmen establish a network of senior daycare centers in the Bronx. He too plans to fight the charges, his lawyer said.

"Federal prosecutors and federal agents are doing everything we can to proactively attack the corruption problem. And it's time for others to step up also," Bharara said.

Experts worry reformers will step back, not up.

"The state government really breeds a culture where it's all about the money," said Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest Research Project.

"Every single week in Albany there's a dozen fundraisers within a block of the state capitol, and as soon as legislators finish voting on a bill, they walk over to a fundraiser and get checks from the people who told them to vote a certain way on that," said Mahoney.

"A LACK OF WILL"

While Illinois and Louisiana may have the greater reputation for corruption, New York has its own colorful history, best exemplified by William "Boss" Tweed, who built a Democratic Party political machine in mid-19th Century New York City that held power until Republican Fiorello La Guardia was elected mayor in 1933.

The culture of Tweed's Tammany Hall machine persists. State lawmakers are now more likely to be ousted from office because of criminal or ethical issues than defeated in a general election, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Advocates of reform also cite weak campaign finance laws and limitations on prosecutors as impediments. New York has the highest contribution limits of those states that set limits, for example allowing an individual donation per election cycle of almost $17,000 to a state senator.

This week, Citizens Union released a series of reform proposals including giving the state attorney general the power to pursue public corruption and election law violations, rather than leaving such enforcement to local law enforcement. The group also called for instituting nonpartisan elections in city races and passage of comprehensive campaign finance reform.

Bharara said corruption was to be expected given "a lack of transparency, a lack of self-disclosure, a lack of self policing, a lack of will, and a failure of leadership."

Governor Andrew Cuomo - the former state attorney general who came into office in 2011 on a reform platform - has said he intends to take up a campaign finance reform bill this year.

Cuomo won plaudits for an ethics reform bill passed in his first year, but was criticized for declining to wield his veto power after state lawmakers drew up self-serving electoral boundaries during the once-a-decade redistricting process.

This week's charges could encourage bold action from a shamed legislature said Larry Norden, deputy director at the Brennan Center. "Politically, I think this has the potential to have an impact in a way that previous scandals have not."

Still, reformers say that, without overwhelming pressure, lawmakers are unlikely to curb their own powers or to make it easier for investigators to monitor their activities.

For example, good government groups have long decried the existence of large pots of undefined money, set aside for infrastructure spending in the state or for local initiatives in New York City. In the cases brought this week, Halloran is said to have offered to redirect City Council member funds in exchange for money, while prosecutors say Smith boasted of money outside the budget that is "always around."

And yet, the existence of those funds creates enormous power for leaders who can dole them out.

Watchdog groups and political analysts also hope to empower state and local prosecutors to do more.

"In a well-functioning state, this would be done at the local level and not at the federal level," said Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor who worked under Giuliani and is now a law professor at Columbia University.

"I'm one of those who thinks that having overlapping jurisdictions, particularly for white-collar crimes, are a good thing," Richman said. "They lead to competition."

(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Tim Dobbyn)

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