New York GOP gubernatorial candidate
Carl Paladino's campaign manager, Michael Caputo, reportedly offered
to resign after the candidate was forced to back down from anti-gay
remarks, the Buffalo News reported.
Caputo offered to quit his post on
Thursday – five days after the controversy erupted – but Paladino
refused.
On Sunday, the Tea Party favorite told
a group of Othodox Jewish leaders that his opposition to gay marriage
stems from not wanting children “brainwashed into thinking that
homosexuality” is acceptable and hammered his Democratic rival,
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, for taking his children to a gay pride
parade, which Paladino called “disgusting” and described as
“extreme people in bikini type outfits grinding at each other and
doing these gyrations.”
After an avalanche of criticism from
lawmakers, gay activists, and even his own party, Paladino relented
on Tuesday, saying he was sorry “for any comment that may have
offended the gay and lesbian community.”
In an interview with CNBC broadcast on
Thursday, Paladino insisted that he's been a “high supporter of the
gay community my entire career, and I will continue to be.”
At a gay fundraiser in Manhattan, Cuomo
said he wants to be the governor that legalizes gay marriage in New
York, and criticized the Buffalo businessman.
“We are looking at an extreme
political agenda on the other side of the election,” Cuomo said,
“and you saw it this week with the LGBT community – but it's not
just the LGBT community.”
On Tuesday, Caputo took responsibility
for the gaffe: “It's still on me. I'm the campaign manager. I
have to take responsibility.”
The
cleric who introduced Paladino to his ultra-Orthodox community, Rabbi
Yehuda Levin, withdrew his endorsement of Paladino on Wednesday.