Michael Long, Chairman Of New York Conservative Party, Is Powerful Gay Marriage Opponent

If you want his support, you must oppose gay marriage.

It's that cut-and-dry for Michael Long, chairman of the New York Conservative Party.

"In order to get the endorsement of the Conservative Party, one of the deal breakers is traditional marriage," Mr. Long told the New York Times. "You say 'I'm not for traditional marriage,' you're not going to get our endorsement. It's as simple as that."

Long's threat carries significant political weight for the state's right-wingers.

From the New York Times:

New York is among a handful of states where elected officials can run on the ballot line of more than one party, and Republicans have come to rely on Conservative Party votes to win office in an increasingly Democratic-leaning state. No Republican has won statewide office without the Conservative Party's support in more than three decades. When Republicans won control of the State Senate last year, five of the Republican candidates won by a margin less than the number of votes they received on the Conservative line.

Republican support is needed for a marriage equality bill to pass the GOP-controlled State Senate.

In April, Brian Ellner of the Human Rights Campaign told The Huffington Post he was optimistic that Democrats and Republicans would support gay marriage.

"There are many members of the Senate in both parties who will be standing up for equality when there is a vote," Ellner said.

Marriage equality advocates have been bolstered by support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This week, Bloomberg threatened to cut off his financial support of Republicans who voted against a gay marriage bill.

The mayor's lobbying efforts came on the heels of a Times piece about wealthy right-wing donors funneling support to the fight for gay marriage.

There are also plenty of other politicians and celebrities backing the legislation.

WATCH Barbara Bush's ad for marriage equality:

But, in the end, Republicans could fear Long's wrath enough to withhold their support.

WATCH: Long discuss former gubernatorial candidates Carl Paladino and Rick Lazio:

Comments

[Wasa Hong]

12:55 PM on 06/09/2011

That's interesting, did you read about this yet though? http://www.christianpost.com/news/natalie-portman-fiance-benjamin-millepied-push-for-gay-marriage-51008/"

[jfornny]

08:11 AM on 05/23/2011

Great... as long as Mike Long is speaking, please ask him how an anti-government conservative leader (Long) thought is was ok to give a construction inspector job to an unqualified alcoholic person. Then ask him how he feels about the death of the young school girl due to that persons incompetence. At the time, he was quoted in the local newspaper as saying "I don't want to talk about that now" - How about now, Mike?

[Atwill]

09:38 AM on 05/22/2011

I think all and or any state that have this vote, which I feel is disgusting. You should never voteon civil rights. Any vote on this should have this included. If NO to gay marriage passes in this state, then straight marraiges in this state automatically loss all benifits that are not granted to gays in a civil union. Meaning this. In those states that have civil union , the civil union for gays leaves out over 1,000 benifts that straights get from straight marriage. If that state has "Civil Union" for gays, then passes a law stating gays an not marry, then automtically all benifits given to straights that gays do not get, are taken away. If it is a state that doesn't even have civil unions, then ALL benifits for straight marriage are taken away. ALL.

[rjhuntington]

05:44 AM on 05/22/2011

Who on Earth is against "traditional marriage"? No one. Being for marriage equality is a position against enforced discrimination, not against traditional marriage or any marriage format. How typical of a conservative slinging a wedge issue to deliberately mis-characterize the issue.

But we can still thank Michael Long for accelerating the decline into irrelevancy of NY's Conservative Party. With a social fossil like Long in charge of the party and a majority of New Yorkers favoring marriage equality, NY's Conservative Party won't count for much going forward.

[PickOneTwoThree]

09:54 PM on 05/21/2011

Isn't the Conservative Party for getting the government out of our private lives? Doesn't make sense to me but then I'm just a person who doesn't think it's my business when loving adults want to marry. I don't think it's Michael Long's business either.

[Bob Kellerman]

03:21 PM on 05/21/2011

The only thing wrong about Mr Long is that he does not see that his century passed, and the new one started 11 years ago.

The same kind of right-wing catholic opposition that has clobbered Gays in many states. The mormons imported them to California to steal a win on Prop 8

[Drew2U]

11:30 AM on 05/21/2011

They can ban gay marriage right after they make divorce illegal.

[Sabrina Renee]

02:03 PM on 06/16/2011

Ha!! I LOVE it. I was actually having this same conversation with someone about this last evening.

[Drew2U]

11:20 AM on 05/21/2011

What a laugh--look how important his "support" was for Paladino and Lazio.

[JacksonHts]

10:30 AM on 05/22/2011

he is doing a rerun of the scam Raymond Harding ran on NY politics for a couple of decades

[bluguy8]

09:41 AM on 05/21/2011

so how many times has he been married

[bluguy8]

09:40 AM on 05/21/2011

you. luckily he's getting old / is old and his viewpoint will die out

[tcny]

09:15 AM on 05/21/2011

He looks pretty Takei to me...

[alex4anw]

03:10 PM on 05/20/2011

Hmmm... who else believes in 'traditional' marriage? Newt Gingrich (on his third wife), Rush Limbaugh (on his third or fourth), Pat Robertson (who only married his wife because she was already pregnant with their first child - look it up), and the list goes on...

[gov111w]

02:37 PM on 05/20/2011

So this guy wants to embrace Mon, Apple Pie, the Flag and man women marriage. I'm thinking thatsis his right !!!! The last time I looked there is no law saying you must support same sex marriage.

[JhNyc]

03:15 PM on 05/20/2011

The work continues until his lack of support is irrelevant. This will happen. It is merely a question of when. Surely even you can see that.

[EmmaDarian]

03:40 PM on 05/20/2011

"Man women" marriage, huh? Yeah, that's what most of these phonies embrace, all right.

We've just celebrated seven years of marriage equality in Massachusetts. Yes, there's no law that everyone has to embrace it, but it is the law. And thanks to the Constitution, it will be the law in more states until there is full marriage equality. You may notice that most of the pro-marriage equality court decisions have come from conservative judges.

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:30 AM on 05/21/2011

Exactly, Emma. Canada has had marriage equality in one province or another and then nationally for ten years now, and Canada is still here.

The whole thing is such a farce. It is not GLBT people who are ruining or diminishing marriage. It is straights with their duvorces and infidelity who are doing a very good job of that.

[mamased]

02:04 PM on 05/20/2011

Probably not closeted

[RMS Queen Mary]

04:09 PM on 05/20/2011

Actually, probably on of the biggest closet cases God ever put breath into! Most rabidly- antigay people are. As Shakespeare once wrote, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much!"

[BornOKtheFirstTime]

10:51 AM on 05/21/2011

Here's some evidence:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8772014

[massybob]

01:00 PM on 05/20/2011

We elect our officials to do the will of the people. I happen to be anti-gay marriage. That said, I am against anyone who threatens our lawmakers to do it their way or they will be punished. That sounds like an attempt at ballot fixing to me.

[Rob Sparks]

01:52 PM on 05/20/2011

Bob, two issues I have with your comments: 1) We elect officials to follow the constitution. I do believe it says something about equality for ALL. We went through this with african americans less the a half century ago..alot of people were on the wrong side of history (possibley you) from your comments. 2) We do not need anymore middle aged straight men with big bellys that match their bank accounts preaching morality. When the majority really figures out who the real minority is, I won't have to add anything to comments like yours!!!!!

[gov111w]

02:39 PM on 05/20/2011

You second point says it all about your inherent bias.....I do not elect folks to blindly follow the constitution but rather the will of the people, which in turn can modify the constitution. GET IT !!!!

[RMS Queen Mary]

04:16 PM on 05/20/2011

Ummm...Michael Long doesn't look middle-aged to me--he looks like an OLD GOAT , and a BITTER one at that.