Anti-gay conservatives are to blame for the resignation of Richard Grenell (bio), Mitt Romney’s short-lived spokesperson for foreign policy and national security. It was assumed Grenell, were Romney actually elected, would have held high-level post in a Romney administration. Grenell was immediately plagued by revelations from the left he had made misogynistic comments via Twitter, and from the right merely for being openly-gay. The only groups who apparently supported Grenell’s hiring was the gay Tea Party organization, GOProud, and the gay Republican group, Log Cabin Republicans.
Grenell “resigned in the wake of a full-court press by anti-gay conservatives, Jennifer Rubin writes today in an exclusive report at The Washington Post:
In a statement obtained by Right Turn, Grenell says:
I have decided to resign from the Romney campaign as the Foreign Policy and National Security Spokesman. While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama’s foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign. I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Grenell decided to resign after being kept under wraps during a time when national security issues, including the president’s ad concerning Osama bin Laden, had emerged front and center in the campaign.
Pieces in two conservative publications, the National Review and Daily Caller, reflected the uproar by some social conservatives over the appointment.
In the National Review, Mathew Frank wrote late last week: “Suppose Barack Obama comes out — as Grenell wishes he would — in favor of same-sex marriage in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. How fast and how publicly will Richard Grenell decamp from Romney to Obama?â€
…
The ongoing pressure from social conservatives over his appointment and the reluctance of the Romney campaign to send Grenell out as a spokesman while controversy swirled left Grenell essentially with no job.
Talking Points Memo published this statement from the Romney campaign:
We are disappointed that Ric decided to resign from the campaign for his own personal reasons. We wanted him to stay because he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill.
Last week, as The New Civil Rights Movement reported, American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer came out attacking the Grenell appointment, calling Grenell a threat to national security and promiscuous, among other equally unfounded criticisms.
During the segment, Fischer had said, “you cannot separate religious liberty from the issue of the homosexual agenda. In fact, the homosexual agenda represents the single greatest threat to religious liberty and association in America today.â€
Fischer added that many “homosexual groups†came out “celebrating†Grennell’s appointment — which is false. Only the Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud, the gay Tea Party group, spoke in favor of Grennell. Most LGBT people and groups oppose him after learning of his homophobic and misogynistic attacks on MSMNBC anchor Rachel Maddow and on Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.
But on Grenell’s first day, as Think Progress reported, Grenell accused President Obama of treason, via Twitter. Apparently even that doesn’t make up for being gay in the GOP.