David Koch, arguably one of the founders — and definitely one of, if not the largest funders — of the anti-tax Tea Party, announced last night that he supports same-sex marriage. Koch is actually an Republican National Convention (RNC) delegate from New York, and was specifically asked about the GOP’s platform on gay marriage.
“Billionaire industrialist David Koch, who is helping steer millions of dollars to elect Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans, on Thursday told POLITICO he disagrees with the GOP’s stance on gay marriage and believes the U.S. needs to consider raising taxes to balance the budget,” Politico reports:
Koch, who is serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention from New York, spoke to POLITICO after delivering brief remarks at a reception held in his honor by Americans for Prosperity, the political advocacy group he chairs and has helped fund.
The 1980 vice presidential nominee for the socially liberal – but fiscally conservative – Libertarian Party, Koch told POLITICO “I believe in gay marriage†when asked about the GOP’s stance on gay rights.
Romney opposes gay marriage, as do most Republicans, and when that was pointed out to Koch, he said “Well, I disagree with that.â€
David Koch, and his brother Charles, known as the “Koch Brothers,” are spending millions to elect Mitt Romney but are also spending large amounts of money funding organizations that are partnering with anti-gay groups, as The New Civil Rights Movement reported on Wednesday.
And two weeks ago, The New Civil Rights Movement reported on a new poll that found while Democrats came in with 68% support for same-sex marriage, Independents with 57%, and Republicans with only 30%, a mere 6% of Tea Party members said they support same-sex marriage. No other group was close to that low support level.
Image via Wikipedia by freddthompson