A new web ad has pro-gay marriage New
York GOP Senators Roy McDonald, Mark Grisanti, Stephen Saland and
James Alesi dancing for cash.
The ad released Friday by the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a response to a fundraiser held on
Thursday by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The fundraiser was
expected to raise as much as $1.25 million, a windfall by Albany
standards. Tickets ran as high as $16,800.
The event was co-chaired by Bloomberg,
gay philanthropist Tim Gill and Elliot Management Corp. CEO Paul E.
Singer. Singer has been described by The New York Times as
“one of the most generous Republican donors in the country.”
Bloomberg is the largest contributor to New York Republicans.
In the ad, titled Money Dance,
the four GOP senators who helped pass a gay marriage law last summer
dance with their wedding guests for cash. (View
the ad here.)
“These four state senators have
betrayed New Yorkers in their quest for wedding cash,” said NOM
President Brian Brown in a statement. “They abandoned their stated
values and their own promises to voters. We want to expose these
senators and their same-sex marriage money dance. NOM and our Let
the People Vote coalition will not rest until these legislators are
turned out of office and the people of New York are allowed to vote
on the definition of marriage.”
(Related: Gay
marriage foes target New York lawmakers with billboards.)