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 -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
