What the &$#% is wrong with Romney?!

[Morrison_Lad]

OK, that's a rhetorical question, really.

But yesterday, Richard Grenell, the Romney campaign's spokesperson for foreign affairs and other issues, resigned. And, as far as I know, Romney has been totally mute on the subject. The issue? Mr. Grenell was openly gay. God forbid!

Grenell said, in a comment:

"

While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama's foreign policy failures ... 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," Mr Grenell said in a statement received by the Washington Post.

A guy from the American Family Association (read: We hate gay people), Bryan Fischer, claimed it was a "Huge win."

Are these people SO totally against anyone living his or her own life that they see every single gay person as an attack? What the hell is wrong with these people?! Who cares with whom someone is in love? Why should it matter to anyone? I honestly, seriously, don't get it.

[Hugin]

I don't necessarily blame Romney for this. He obviously wanted the guy for the job, regardless of sexuality, until it became a political issue. His decision to cater to the far-right instead of courting the middle is silly, but we've discussed that(seriously, who else is Focus on the Family going to support). What I don't get is why FotF cares. This is literally just a gay man living his life and doing his job, their decision to get him fired is pure, blatant bigotry, and I hope people call it out as such.

[C.B. Nerdlinger]

I don't necessarily blame Romney for this. He obviously wanted the guy for the job, regardless of sexuality, until it became a political issue. His decision to cater to the far-right instead of courting the middle is silly, but we've discussed that(seriously, who else is Focus on the Family going to support). What I don't get is why FotF cares. This is literally just a gay man living his life and doing his job, their decision to get him fired is pure, blatant bigotry, and I hope people call it out as such.

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say. Romney seemed to want the guy and have no problem with him until he became a liability. So I guess to answer the rhetorical thread title - What's wrong with Romney is that he'll throw out any of his personal beliefs or feelings if he thinks it can gain him more power.

[zemo]

I am surprised a homosexual man would work for or with the Republican party. I mean, as we see, even if he's working with people that don't care about his sexual preference, at some point some of the nastier members will find out, and then it's only downwards.

Also, I assume that the FotF guys are suspecting he was trying to infiltrate the US government to further his gay agenda :3

[Stressfactor]

I don't necessarily blame Romney for this. He obviously wanted the guy for the job, regardless of sexuality, until it became a political issue. His decision to cater to the far-right instead of courting the middle is silly, but we've discussed that(seriously, who else is Focus on the Family going to support). What I don't get is why FotF cares. This is literally just a gay man living his life and doing his job, their decision to get him fired is pure, blatant bigotry, and I hope people call it out as such.

Actually, it's kind of WORSE.

Romney's trying to have his cake and eat it too.

HE didn't ask Grennell to go. That way HE gets to take the high ground with independents and say "I didn't agree with this. I wanted Grennell. It was his decision to go." TOTALLY ignoring the fact that he never stood up for the man, never told the haters to shut it, and never let the man get out there and actually do his job in front of the cameras.

At the same time the conservative groups get to claim their "victory" so Romney gets to pretend like he agrees with them so he doesn't lose the ultra right wing vote by telling them to shove their bigotry where the sun don't shine.


It's a truly dick move all the way around but it's a win-win one in a way.

But it clearly shows that Romney has no spine either way. He didn't have the spine to stand up to the haters and tell them to 'sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up' nor did he have the spine to at least admit 'Yeah, we're letting him go because of the controversy.'

[jhota]

he's a politician.

[zemo]

he's a politician.

You know, that's kind of unfair. There are a dozen politicians that are hard working and took the job to help people for every single scumbag. It's just that the scumbags get all the press, because they're ruthless enough to be found in the higher-up positions.

[Stressfactor]

Yeah, before I left St. Louis there was a Republican State Rep (whose name I forget) who attended a Log Cabin Republican function. Before the function the ultra right wing put pressure on the guy not to attend the function -- which he was the main speaker at -- because the Log Cabin guys are 'teh ebil, ebil GAYS!' (clutch pearls in shock and have a case of the vapors)

THAT politician? He told the haters to shove it. Publicly. In the the media. AND when his talk was covered in the paper one of the things he addressed directly was how foolish the Republican party was to be anti-gay. That there was no reason for it and if the party ever wanted to truly show itself as all-inclusive then it should actually start BEING all-inclusive.

Of course, this was in the days before the ultra right wing had become so catered to that it had become THE WORD OF GOD.

Also, you see more Republicans being better about gay rights at the state level than at the national level. THere have been a few who voted for marriage equality in their states and spoke up for marriage equality as well.

At the national level though -- well.... it seems that those who used to have spines have officially lost them.

[AndrewCrossett]

A gay Republican is like a black Klansman.

And that's the truth.

[Stressfactor]

A gay Republican is like a black Klansman.

And that's the truth.

Back a few years ago it wouldn't have been.

The original core planks of the Republican party were actually about fiscal conservancy and small government.

Aaaannnnd then the party got taken over by the Social Conservative wing. And that's when it all went to hell in a handbasket.

There are a number of gay people who believe in fiscal conservancy and small government and they would NOT be comfortable in the Democratic Party. They ARE Republicans.

They believe that if they keep hanging on and keep shouting loud enough they can dislodge their party from the Social Conservative Wing and get them back to the original core principles. It's a fight they'll probably lose but it's a fight I can't blame them for trying to have.