Gay Hotelier Who Hosted Ted Cruz Made a Campaign Donation, Too

[Newsjock]

Source: New York Times

When the gay hoteliers Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass found themselves under siege for hosting a dinner for Ted Cruz, the Texas senator who is running for president and has been vociferously opposed to same-sex marriage, they repeatedly stressed that the event was not a fund-raiser.

... Protests and calls for boycotts of Mr. Reisner’s and Mr. Weiderpass’s properties, including their groundbreaking hotel for gay clientele, the Out NYC, ensued.

As it turns out, Mr. Reisner himself wrote a check to Mr. Cruz’s presidential campaign, making a $2,700 donation — the maximum allowed in a nominating contest — around the time the dinner took place.

But shortly after The Times reported on the dinner, where about 18 people sat down at two tables in separate areas of the palatial penthouse, Mr. Reisner called the campaign and asked for his check to be refunded.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/29/gay-hotelier-who-hosted-ted-cruz-made-a-campaign-donation-too

[heaven05]

1. detestable hypocrites

[4lbs]

2. Reisner said he didn't know Ted Cruz was against same-sex marriage. Uh, Cruz is a Republican.

There's a 95% chance that a Republican congressman is against same-sex marriage, since that is the GOP party-line, and Repukes follow the party line religiously.

Reisner said the donation was originally intended because of Cruz's work on behalf of Israel. Reisner would have been better off donating to AIPAC directly and also a donation to PRIDE.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Since this is coming up again, I think it is worth pointing out exactly who it was that spearheaded

the instant boycotting of businesses owned by these hypocrites- a Union based, LGBT oriented organization, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS was the first group to loudly pull a major event from one of the hypocrites' venues. Equity refers to Actor's Equity Association, the Union for stage actors and stage managers, an AFL-CIO affiliated Union.
I think that in the context of DUers who are insistent that 'gay issues' have nothing to do with 'jobs, labor and economic issues' it is fairly important to note that the response to this Cruz fundraiser came from a group that is both LGBT and Union all at the same time, much like myself.

[The Stranger]

4. Unforgivable.

[samsingh]

5. these two are such hypocritical assholes

[d_legendary1]

6. Yeah, sure

You don't give two grand to someone's to someone's campaign without knowing who they are.

[SoapBox]

7. WTF?

Talk about working against your own best interests.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. Log Cabin Republicans...

make as much sense as black white supremacists.

[wordpix]

9. methinks Cruz doth protest too much

It's sometimes true that homophobes like Cruz are gay themselves, and their dishonest self-loathing leads them to be anti-LGBT "leaders." Don't know if Cruz is gay and I don't care, but his leading the charge against LGBT people does make me wonder.