Hedge fund manager Paul Singer will
bankroll a super PAC for Republican candidates who support gay
marriage.
Singer told The
New York Times' Frank Bruni that he will provide an initial
$1 million for the American Unity PAC.
The single objective of the PAC will be
“to encourage Republican candidates to support same-sex marriage,”
Bruni wrote.
“There's a feeling among some people
that the Republican Party is harsh on some things,” Singer said,
referring to the party's stances on abortion, birth control,
immigration and gay rights.
On gay marriage, he added:
“Atmospherically and tonally, it's part of the landscape of
so-called harshness.”
Singer, who is straight but has a gay
son who married his husband in Massachusetts, the first state to
legalize such unions, is considered among the most important
Republican donors nationwide. He has given nearly $10 million of his
own money toward efforts to legalize gay marriage in New York, New
Hampshire and New Jersey.
The PAC would alleviate the concerns of
some Congressional Republicans “who could be on the verge of
support” but worry about becoming the target of anti-gay marriage
groups, Singer said.
In earlier remarks, Singer suggested
Mitt Romney's anti-gay rhetoric was all talk.
“I don't think it's going to be a
harsh environment [for gay rights] in a Romney administration,” the
67-year-old Singer said. “It's a process if Mitt Romney is elected
– it's a process of pressure, education.”