Gay Republican Obamacare Critic Turns to Crowdfunding After Accident

Alex Newman, known on Twitter as "Sassy Gay Republican," famous for his opposition to being forced to pay for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, has turned to crowdfunding because of his lack of insurance coverage after an auto accident.

Newman, 21, of Mesa, Ariz., was in a crash September 12 while on the job as a pizza delivery driver, according to his GoFundMe page. "The hospital they sent me to didn't take my insurance, so now I'm having second thoughts about not having free healthcare cause this is bad," he tweeted.

He set up a GoFundMe page, but found out workers' compensation would cover treatment for his injuries -- on which he did not provide details -- and created another fundraising page because his car insurance was not covering the damage done by the accident, The Arizona Republic reports. He said he crashed into the vehicle in front of him because he was distracted by the sight of another car on fire.

Newman rose to notoriety about a year ago by becoming a Republican and tweeting his denunciations of the ACA, also known as Obamacare. "As a young adult in perfect health, why should I be FORCED to pay for insurance I don't want and likely don't need?" went one of his tweets. In another, he claimed that "many are dying" because of "massive wait lists for 'free healthcare.'" He has also tweeted common right-wing talking points, such as saying liberals hate America and think all conservatives are racists, sexists, and homophobes.

After he set up the crowdfunding page, he was relentlessly dragged on social media as a hypocrite. A sample:

The response amounts to bullying, he told the Republic. "You don't hear about gay conservatives too often because look at what they're doing to me; they're tearing me down," he said.

Some critics have accused him making up the accident, the Republic reports. The Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed there was a three-vehicle accident at the time and place he specified -- 6:43 p.m. September 12 at milepost 25 of Loop 202, a beltway that goes around the Phoenix metropolitan area. The department did not release the names of the people involved in the collision, and the Republic was not able to view the accident report before it published the story today.

Department of Public Safety officials said no one was taken to the hospital after the crash, but Newman told the paper he decided to go later because he was in pain. He provided the Republic with documents showing he visited an emergency room that night and received pain medication, along with documents showing that his car was towed and that he received a speeding ticket.

He has raised $3,000 of his $15,000 goal. He told the Republic he already used some of the money to buy another car so he can work again, and said he initially thought his medical costs would be greater than they turned out to be. He has also claimed God was watching out for him.

"People aren't supposed to survive accidents like this which proves to me more that God is real & He doesn't want me out yet. I'm so blessed," he tweeted September 17.

Newman has ambitions to become a political commentator in the vein of Tomi Lahren, who recently joined Fox News Channel after being fired by The Blaze because of her support for abortion rights.

"I want to prove to the world there are gay conservatives out there and they don't need to be shut down," he told the Republic.