How out-of-state activists brought "gay marriage" to New Hampshire

How out-of-state activists brought gay marriage to New Hampshire

By FERGUS CULLEN
Manchester Union Leader
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 (online version here)

Why are rich liberals from Malibu to Kalamazoo so interested in New Hampshire?

A shadowy group of super wealthy, out-of-state liberals target swing states, tip the political balance of power and then use their majorities to advance a narrow, special-interest agenda. It's called the Colorado Model, and it's been imported to New Hampshire.

In 2004, four uber-wealthy Colorado liberals hatched a spectacularly successful plan to take political control of their state. In less than three years, what had been a state with a Republican governor, a Republican legislature and a federal delegation dominated by Republicans became just the opposite. Democrats controlled everything.

Sound familiar? Circumstances were a little different, and national tides surely helped, but the same outcome happened in New Hampshire using the same strategy. Now outside groups on the right, like the National Organization for Marriage and Americans for Prosperity, are fighting back with similar methods.

The Colorado takeover was orchestrated and financed by four gazillionaires motivated by a personal commitment to one issue: gay rights. The issue doesn't really matter; the model can apply to any issue and can work as well for the right as it has for the left.

One of the Gang of Four financiers is Tim Gill, the software entrepreneur who founded Quark. Last May, Gill organized a meeting in Chicago of wealthy progressive donors from around the country. Among the speakers at the private gathering: New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch.

Lynch was invited to the Chicago event after he was targeted by the socially conservative National Organization for Marriage in the "Lynch Lied" ads last spring. Within weeks of Lynch's Chicago presentation, 19 people who live outside of New Hampshire gave a total of $114,000 to Lynch's campaign in maxed-out contributions of $6,000 each, campaign finance reports show. At least 15 of those individuals appear to be active on gay-rights issues, based on their other political activity. Of those, six have also given $5,000 or more to the New Hampshire Democratic Party this year.

Pat Stryker, a billionaire heiress, was another of the original Colorado Gang of Four. Her brother, Jon Stryker of Kalamazoo, is ranked No. 332 on Forbes's list of richest Americans. Jon Stryker maxed out to Lynch, gave $5,000 to the New Hampshire Democratic Party in 2007 and gave $10,000 to the Democratic state senate PAC in 2006.

Philadelphia real estate developer Mel Heifetz and Chuck Williams of Malibu are two more gay-rights activists who maxed out to Lynch this year. Both care so much about New Hampshire that they each also contributed $500 to Manchester state Sen. Betsi DeVries.

Targeted giving like this explains how gay marriage became a priority issue in New Hampshire. Until 2007, progressives weren't talking about it; social conservatives didn't see it coming; and the majority of people -- then as now -- had other priorities. The Legislature passed civil unions and a flip-flopping Gov. Lynch signed gay marriage into law before voters could ask, "Where did that come from?"

The Colorado Model uses unprecedented amounts of money to create legislative majorities receptive to one issue. Acting outside the traditional party structure, the Gang of Four hired experienced political operatives, coordinated with other progressive groups and then systematically targeted and defeated candidates who opposed its social agenda. Its candidates don't make gay rights the centerpiece of their campaigns. Rather, they typically run brutally effective, negative campaigns built around fiscal issues voters care more about to defeat candidates who oppose the left's hidden social agenda.

The story about how gay rights came to the fore in New Hampshire can't be told without mentioning that national gay activists had one of their own as Democratic state party chairman. Whether the outside money went to party committees, candidates or friendly PACs, Ray Buckley's finger directed most of it. The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay-rights lobbying group, was especially instrumental in the Democratic takeover of the New Hampshire state Senate in 2006.

Now that outside conservative groups are fighting back, New Hampshire progressives are crying about how outsiders are interfering in state politics. The reality is that the right is playing a bit of catchup, using the liberals' own playbook against them.

Fergus Cullen, a freelance columnist and a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

On Wednesday, [Gov.] Lynch returned to Republicans holding collectively their biggest super-majority in nearly a half century. If they all show up and stick together, Republicans in the House of Representatives (298 of 400) and the state Senate (19 of 24) have a quorum; they can do business with no Democrats present and they can override any Lynch veto.