Sen. John McCain returned a $2,300 campaign donation late last week from Jonathan Crutchley, co-founder of Manhunt.net, the leading online dating and sex site for gay men. Crutchley and Manhunt faced severe criticism from its membership base over the contribution — and the McCain campaign decided it didn’t want any part of the controversy.

Featuring Manhunt in its August issue, Out! Magazine asked "Has Manhunt Destroyed Gay Culture?" and mentioned the founder’s politics as "a liberal Republican." The revelation led activists to look into his political contributions and, in turn, his financial support for John McCain. "Yes, I am a Massachusetts Republican, which is about the same as being an Alabama Democrat," he wrote in response to criticisms. "But don’t call me a ’liberal.’ That’s an insult."

Crutchley wrote: "I believe McCain will be a better commander-in-chief than Obama, who also opposes gay marriage. If we have an experienced, seasoned person defending the country in this dangerous age, we will be able to argue about the gay agenda later."

But not everyone at Manhunt, which has nearly a million members, agreed, and the board asked for and accepted Crutchley’s resignation. Manhunt co-founder Larry Basile responded to criticisms over the donation: "It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley’s donation to McCain left the entire Board in disbelief. I am disappointed that we have lost some customers, and I understand the anger. It is too bad for the web site if we lose customers, but PLEASE never refer to me as a Republican. I consider it an offense. Earlier today, at the request of the Board, Jonathan has stepped down as Chairman."

Crutchley has indicated that he will donate the contribution that the McCain Campaign returned to the campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, but Basile said he thinks Obama will return the donation too.

"Barack can’t endorse this kind of adult content. It’s sort of like a third rail."