Only about a month after he joined the campaign and amid tons of backlash, Richard Grenell, the openly gay man recently hired to serve as Mitt Romney’s campaign spokesperson on foreign policy, resigned from the position.
Conservatives completely destroyed Romney for the decision, claiming that Grenell would jump ship if President Obama ever announced his support for marriage equality, accusing Romney of giving in to the “homosexual lobby,” and making other outrageous claims. What’s funny is that Grenell was certainly not the first gay person ever to work for Romney, but in this particular election season it became a hot topic.
“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,” Grenell said in a statement issued today to The Washington Post. “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.”
That was certainly short-lived. It’s really troubling that our country is still so sharply divided that things like this have to happen.
This man felt that his ability to do his job was affected by the prejudice and actions of haters. And that’s a huge issue.
