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JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, April 04, 2008
In the same speech in which she said the “homosexual agenda” is more dangerous than terrorism, Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern blasted wealthy gays for surreptitiously influencing the electoral process.
“Little by little, they’re taking ground,” she said. “Little by little. But they’re doing it quietly — under the table. They’re going into states where the races are close. They’re putting in lots of money.”
Kern, whose speech was recorded in January and posted online last month, said such donors gave $30 million to dozens of gay-friendly candidates in 2006 and thus won many allies and races.
She implored members of an Oklahoma City Republican club to learn more about the strategy and counter it. But major gay donors said Kern faces an uphill battle.
“She doesn’t know what she’s up against,” said Juan Ahonen-Jover, who helped start eQualityGiving. “The strategy is right on, and I think we should continue the strategy, even if it is, quote unquote, public.”
Ahonen-Jover, whose eQuality Giving provides gay donors with advice and a forum to discuss politics and funding strategies, said no one has suggested altering the group’s strategy in the aftermath of Kern’s speech.
He said eQualityGiving members, as well as others who give tactically, “think about giving from a long-term strategy” and would not veer from a plan that works, no matter how public that plan has become.
“We all know that there are people out there who want to stop others from getting equal rights,” said Ahonen-Jover, who is gay. “So this is nothing new.”
Charlie Rounds, a longtime political and philanthropic donor, also said he would continue to give as before despite Kern’s comments.
Rounds, president of RSVP Vacations, said it was ironic that Kern criticized a system that conservative donors have used for decades to advance their issues.
“They’ve been doing this for years and years and years,” he said. “So I think it’s just us catching up.”
Rounds said eQualityGiving, which he’s supported since its founding in 2006, has helped hundreds of gay donors learn more about the many candidates and organizations seeking support.
“I have the highest regard for eQualityGiving because it’s strategic,” said Rounds, who is gay. “And in this day and age, we have to spend every dollar wisely.”
Billed as an “online donor community” for gay equality, eQualityGiving helps point donors to organizations that best advance certain causes. It also endorses candidates and lists “candidates to defeat.”
Ahonen-Jover, a computer parts entrepreneur, said he and his partner, a hospital medical director, have spent $500,000 to establish and maintain eQualityGiving, which fervently guards information about its members.
“And we are happy to pay for it,” he said, “because we are happy to provide that safe atmosphere.”
Ahonen-Jover said eQualityGiving has connected many of the nation’s top gay donors, and that “all the major names” are members, but declined to provide specifics.
“I don’t want to give the numbers or the names for one very simple reason,” he said. “We are very concerned about the privacy of the individuals.”
In her speech, though, Kern did not hesitate to name four major donors.
Rutt Bridges, a venture capitalist; Tim Gill, a software mogul; Jared Polis, an entrepreneur and congressional candidate; and Pat Stryker, a medical equipment heiress whose brother is gay, were mentioned.
Polis, an eQualityGiving member who is gay, said he didn’t mind the reference.
“I’m proud to be called out by name for supporting equal rights and the equal rights agenda,” he said. “So it’s certainly a badge of honor that those on the other side feel that several of us are in some small way responsible for some of the advancements in equal rights over the last several years.”
A candidate for Colorado’s second congressional district, which includes Boulder and surrounding areas, Polis said there’s no reason for donors to change strategies in the aftermath of Kern’s speech.
“I don’t think that she was privy to any information that wasn’t widely available,” he said. “I think that knowing what the equality movement is up to and figuring out a way to perpetuate bigotry is another — and is more difficult because Americans want to be more tolerant.”
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