Romney's foreign policy spokesman "resigns" for being gay

[Senator Snowstalker]

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/01/11489342-conservatives-force-grenells-ouster?lite

Not from the most unbiased source, but it's certainly worth a look.

[shua]

There's a difference between resigning and being fired.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/exclusive-richard-grenell-hounded-from-romney-campaign-by-anti-gay-conservatives/2012/05/01/gIQAccGcuT_blog.html

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.

[Lief]

More profiles in courage from the Mittens campaign.

[Senator Snowstalker]

He clearly didn't want to leave the job but was effectively forced to. I'll tweak the title if it pleases you.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Waiting for Winfield and Politico to jump in.

[Landslide Lyndon]

I guess Grover Norquist knew something more than us when he said that President Romney will be just a figurehead and that conservatives will run the show.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

He clearly didn't want to leave the job but was effectively forced to. I'll tweak the title if it pleases you.

Where does he make it "clear" that he was forced to leave?

[Torie]

No need to wait for P and W, when T is here.

Mittens has had gays work for him since rocks cooled, and I doubt much of "the base" cares. How mean, look at Cheney's daughter. No, she was fired because she was a loose cannon. You don't want your staff to be a distraction. Mittens deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one. He has started repeatedly that he opposes any form of gay discrimination ... except when it comes to calling their unions "marriage."

[Gravis Marketing]

He clearly didn't want to leave the job but was effectively forced to. I'll tweak the title if it pleases you.

Where does he make it "clear" that he was forced to leave?

By the fact of his resignation, given that there was no other reason for him to leave and no one is obligated to take "I want to spend more time with my family" at face value.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

He clearly didn't want to leave the job but was effectively forced to. I'll tweak the title if it pleases you.

Where does he make it "clear" that he was forced to leave?

By the fact of his resignation, given that there was no other reason for him to leave and no one is obligated to take "I want to spend more time with my family" at face value.

So, what you're saying is that when people resign, if you don't see a good reason for his/her resignation, that means we should assume he/she was forced out?

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

And how can you say there was "no other reason for him to leave"?  Perhaps the guy didn't want the attention that was being put on him.

[Torie]

From the left, Grenell proved to be controversial because of a series of social-media messages that targeted women in politics and media with sexist language.

Maybe he decided that he just wasn't very good at the job, and could achieve more self actualization in another venue.  And I mean, with all of the Dems' drums pounding out the Pub war on women message, I'm sure team Mittens agreed that Grenell's human capital could better be maximized elsewhere.

Guys, in short, I would have fired the "faggot's"  ass pronto, and hey some of my best "friends" are gay. Honest!  

[Gravis Marketing]

Here's what we know:

1. Lots of gays work for Republicans, way more than people think, and including severe conservatives.
2. Grenell had some mishaps and missteps that would not have been a firing offense.
3. Social conservatives who felt Romney still hasn't sealed the deal with him, or shown that he's really on their side, wanted Grenell out, and were making public complaints.
4. The fact they felt this way made Grenell more prominent by definition, and therefore made his tweets more newsworthy
5. All together, it made it easy for him to be asked to leave to both avoid further trouble and give Romney credibility with the socons who feel he's not one of them.
6. Romney, if elected, will surely hire some gays in his administation.

There's no black and white. Grenell was surely treated differently and asked to leave because he was gay. However, it's conceivable to see other gays working for the Romney campaign and administration and not being purged. It's just awkward but it is what it is. 

[Gravis Marketing]

And how can you say there was "no other reason for him to leave"?  Perhaps the guy didn't want the attention that was being put on him.

...by people who wanted him out because he was gay. Right?

[Landslide Lyndon]

Has anyone actually read Jenifer Rubin's post?

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. [UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Although Grenell also raised the ire of liberal commentators with now-deleted tweets about certain prominent women, none of the sources I spoke with mentioned the tweets as a factor in his resignation decision.]

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

There's no black and white. Grenell was surely treated differently and asked to leave because he was gay. However, it's conceivable to see other gays working for the Romney campaign and administration and not being purged. It's just awkward but it is what it is. 

You contradict yourself in the span of a sentence... you have NO proof that he was asked to leave, and certainly not because he was gay.

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

And how can you say there was "no other reason for him to leave"?  Perhaps the guy didn't want the attention that was being put on him.

...by people who wanted him out because he was gay. Right?

Why is that so hard to believe?  Maybe the guy didn't want to be hauled into the spotlight.  He was a foreign policy spokesman for a campaign... people in those types of positions typically like talking about what their boss wants to do.  A lot of political staff don't like it when the focus of the story shifts to them and their personal lives.

[Gravis Marketing]

There's no black and white. Grenell was surely treated differently and asked to leave because he was gay. However, it's conceivable to see other gays working for the Romney campaign and administration and not being purged. It's just awkward but it is what it is.  

You contradict yourself in the span of a sentence... you have NO proof that he was asked to leave, and certainly not because he was gay.

Your standard of proof is absurd and irrelevant, just as when you say that no precedent on federal recognition of marriage is binding because "it's not the same thing." I've never been to Venice so I have no "proof" it exists. I'm ok with that.

[Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aol News/Huffpo seems to state that Romney actually asked him to stay on and not leave.

It also states that numerous earlier reports were either incorrect or misleading.

[Secretary Polnut]

God help me... I'm going to defend Romney here... but surely it wasn't unknown beforehand?

[Torie]

Aol News/Huffpo seems to state that Romney actually asked him to stay on and not leave.

It also states that numerous earlier reports were either incorrect or misleading.

It is nice sometimes to wait for the facts, rather than go wild with speculation (no matter how much fun that may be), isn't it?  Anyway, on to the next contretemps. I expect a lotof them this election season. It is going to be a lot of silly in the season.  Fasten your seatbelt. 

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

There's no black and white. Grenell was surely treated differently and asked to leave because he was gay. However, it's conceivable to see other gays working for the Romney campaign and administration and not being purged. It's just awkward but it is what it is.  

You contradict yourself in the span of a sentence... you have NO proof that he was asked to leave, and certainly not because he was gay.

Your standard of proof is absurd and irrelevant, just as when you say that no precedent on federal recognition of marriage is binding because "it's not the same thing." I've never been to Venice so I have no "proof" it exists. I'm ok with that.

Why is the burden of proof on me?  If the burden of proof is on me to prove that he wasn't fired for being gay, then every wrongful termination case would place the burden of proof on the employer.  I'm sorry, but that's not how it works.  And what on earth are you talking about federal gay marriage for?

I'm asking for any shred of evidence that he was fired for being gay.  And you can provide none.

Again, it's much more likely that the guy didn't want to be subject to added attention and just decided to leave.

[mondale84]

This guy very clearly left because the wingnuts were upset that Romney had hired an openly gay spokesman, it's not very difficult to understand. They obviously hate DU GAYZ...

[Inks.LWC Supports Chuck Hagel]

This guy very clearly left because the wingnuts were upset that Romney had hired an openly gay spokesman, it's not very difficult to understand. They obviously hate DU GAYZ...

Yeah.  That much is obvious.  But why did he leave?  Because he was urged to resign or because he didn't want to suffer the brunt of unfair personal attacks?

[Landslide Lyndon]

When Jenifer Rubin and Ari Fleischer of all people don't buy the official Romney campaign story then why should we? Unless of course you consider them closet lefties who want to undermine the Republican candidate.