Openly gay staffer resigns from Romney campaign in the face of anti-gay attacks

Richard Grenell

Recently appointed Mitt Romney spokesperson Richard Grenell has resigned from the GOP hopeful’s presidential campaign, citing pressure from anti-gay conservatives as a primary motivator for his decision.

Grenell, who is openly gay and a staunch Republican, was hired to assist Romney in articulating his foreign policy message along the campaign trail. However, according to Washington Post opinion blogger Jennifer Rubin, Grenell stated that he found his “ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues.”

In his resignation statement, Grenell expressed his appreciation of Romney’s “clear message” that “being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team” – a stance that lies in direct contrast to that expressed by many social conservatives.

Those who opposed Grenell’s position with the Romney campaign argued that there was no way the foreign policy spokesman could be trusted to stick with the GOP for the long haul – especially, as Matthew J. Frank recently wrote in the National Review, if Obama ultimately speaks out in favor of gay marriage.

Upon receiving Grenell’s resignation, Romney and his campaign managers made unsuccessful attempts to keep him on board. Today, they responded that they are “disappointed” in Grenell’s decision.

“We wanted him to stay because he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill,” said Romney’s campaign manager Matt Rhoades.

Richard Grenell has made no further comments on the matter at this time.

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Posted by LGBT Weekly on May 1, 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Online Only, Top Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry