Hartford, CT — We’ve known that Tom Foley has sought the support of the extremist Family Institute of Connecticut. With secret meetings and phone calls that he initiated, Foley sought the support of a group that once said that marriage “cannot be a salad bar that you make up as you go along.”

Last week, as he campaigned with Governor Mike Pence, it was revealed the Tea Party darling and right-wing extremist thinks the “Foley Agenda Resembles His Own”. That’s from someone who called raising the minimum wage“anti-minority and anti-poor”, opposes marriage equality and opposed allowing gays to serve openly in the military, and supports Indiana’s right-to-work laws. Pence voted against equal pay legislation not once,not twice, but three times.

But now, according to the CT Mirror, radical right-wing, dark-money dollars are flowing into the gubernatorial race for Tom Foley. According to the Mirror, “A Public Voice, a non-profit whose donors are not public, has no obvious ties to Connecticut.”

Having donated over $1 million to support Tom Foley and defeat Dan Malloy, A Public Voice is based at the West Chester, Ohio office of David R. Langdon, who was “instrumental in passage of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Ohio.”

A profile of Langdon says, “Perhaps no one understands better than David Langdon how much heroic effort is being poured into defending marriage against the nationwide onslaughts of the homosexual legal agenda.”

If voters want to know what company Tom Foley keeps, here’s their answer.

“Tom Foley has been cited endlessly for his inability to provide specifics on even the most basic policy. He won’t tell anyone what he’d do as Governor because he knows how out of touch his agenda is with Connecticut voters. He’s trying to snipe votes from extremist groups with extremist agendas to roll back the clock for women, on marriage equality, and on so much more,” said Devon Puglia, Democratic Party spokesman. “This is about the company he keeps — the FIC, Mike Pence, and now this dark money group bent on turning back the clock on marriage equality. If anything shows you that Tom Foley is a risk we cannot afford, this is it.”

Background:

FIC Executive Director Brian Brown: “Marriage Cannot Be A Salad Bar That You Make Up As You Go Along.” “The Massachusetts decision is “a galvanizing force for those who support traditional marriage,” said Brian Brown, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, which has worked against same-sex marriage. “This is real. If we don’t do anything about it, marriage will be redefined in Connecticut.” Brown and other opponents vow to push for a bill that specifically states that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. “Marriage cannot be a salad bar that you make up as you go along,” he said.” [Hartford Courant, 11/19/03]

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