Gay Romney Aide Richard Grenell Quits After Homophobic Conservative Backlash

Gay Romney Aide Quits After Backlash
By RICHARD A. OPPEL JR.

Richard Grenell, an openly gay and longtime Republican foreign policy
spokesman hired last month by Mitt Romney's campaign, resigned
abruptly on Tuesday after his appointment came under attack by
anti-gay activists in the party.


Stephen Hilger/Bloomberg News
Richard Grenell, pictured in 2006, resigned on Tuesday from his
position as Mitt Romney's spokesperson on national security and
foreign policy."We are disappointed that Ric decided to resign from
the campaign for his own personal reasons," Matt Rhoades, the Romney
campaign manager, said in a statement. "We wanted him to stay because
he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill."

Mr. Grenell served four American ambassadors to the United Nations
during the presidency of George W. Bush. But his selection had been
sharply criticized by some social conservatives soon after he was
named less than two weeks ago as Mr. Romney's campaign spokesman for
national security issues. In addition to concerns from some in the
party about his sexual orientation, Mr. Grenell had also been
criticized for sometimes-caustic tweets, including some about women
including Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC host, and Callista Gingrich, wife
of Newt Gingrich.

In a statement to Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post columnist who
first reported the resignation, Mr. Grenell said: "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."

More:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/01/gay-romney-aide-quits-after-backlash/

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy



--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

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