Gay Hotelier Also Hosted Fundraiser For GOP Sen. Ron Johnson

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., announces that he has filed a lawsuit to block the federal government from helping to pay for health care coverage for members of Congress and their staffs, during a news conference on Capit... Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., announces that he has filed a lawsuit to block the federal government from helping to pay for health care coverage for members of Congress and their staffs, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Johnson says that members of Congress and their staffs are getting special treatment under the health care law. The lawsuit would would force Congress and its staffers to purchase their insurance from the federal health care exchanges without exemptions carved out by the Office of Personnel Management. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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One of the gay businessmen who hosted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at an event last week also held a fundraiser for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) earlier in April, according to a press release published on PR Newswire.

Ian Reisner, who co-owns the Out NYC hotel, held the fundraiser for Johnson along with prominent Republican and Democratic Jewish donors.

Reisner and his business partner, Mati Weiderpass, who are both gay, got into hot water last week after hosting an event with Cruz, who staunchly opposes same-sex marriage.

Johnson supports “traditional” marriage, and believes that it’s a state issue, but has said he would not oppose same-sex marriage if voters chose to legalize it.

“I’m a pretty traditional guy,” Johnson said last year. “I’m almost 60 years old. I think marriage is between a man and a woman. But, again, if the voters decide that they want gay marriage, I’m not going to oppose it.”

Both Reisner and Weiderpass apologized on Sunday for hosting the event for Cruz.

“I made a terrible mistake. I was ignorant, naive and much too quick in accepting a request to co-host a dinner with Cruz at my home without taking the time to completely understand all of his positions on gay rights,” Reisner wrote in a Facebook post. “I’ve spent the past 24 hours reviewing videos of Cruz’ statements on gay marriage and I am shocked and angry.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Looks like Ian has more 'splainin to do.

    Or another lameass apology.

  2. Denial…not just a river in Egypt.

  3. Reisner should read a newspaper or load an app that isn’t Grindr…

  4. log cabin republican…and you’re shocked and angry? I seriously doubt that…Embarrassed that you got called out maybe, but shocked? Only way you could have been shocked is that you left this country in 1970 and went to an island cutoff from all the information in the world and you just got back 2 weeks before hosting that turd sandwich. They have every right to host whoever they want, but they also must accept the blowback as part of the deal.

  5. Did this ‘shock him to his bones’ too or was he too preoccupied counting the money to quiver?

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