Rick Perry campaign pollster Tony
Fabrizio has been outed as gay in the wake of a GOP group's criticism
of Perry's anti-gay ad titled Strong.
In the ad, released Tuesday in early
caucus state Iowa, Perry linked faith to anti-gay sentiment and
lamented that there's something “wrong” with a country where gay
and bisexual troops can serve openly but children cannot openly
celebrate Christmas.
In blasting the ad, GOProud co-founders
Jimmy LaSalvia and Christopher Barron also outed Fabrizio.
“I've just about had it with faggots
who line their pockets with checks from anti-gay homophobes while
throwing the rest of us under the bus,” wrote LaSalvia on Twitter.
Barron later added that LaSalvia was
referring to Fabrizio.
However, The
Huffington Post reported that the ad had divided Perry
staffers and quoted Fabrizio as calling the ad “nuts.”
“The ad is beyond anti-gay, it's
anti-American,” Barron told The
Daily Caller in an email. “If Governor Perry honestly
believes that one of the 'problems' facing our country today are the
brave gay and lesbian women serving in our military who put our life
on the line every single day for our freedoms, then he lacks the
moral authority to be president.”
According to POLITICO,
Fabrizio joined the Perry campaign in October. Recent clients
include Tim Pawlenty and Rick Scott.
(Related: Rick
Perry described as having “special a-hole privileges” in video
spoof.)