Romney's Gay Campaign Aide Resigns

Richard Grenell suffered from plenty of problems from the start. Those negative tweets. That history with George W. Bush. Those misogynistic comments. Now, the Washington Post broke the news today that Grenell resigned after so much negative pressure from anti-gay conservatives.

He issued a statement that read:

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.

But as The Advocate points out, it was actually a slew of rightwing conservatives who really had it out to get him, including Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association and Matthew J. Franck of the National Review.

However, Log Cabin Republicans executive director R. Clarke Cooper issued this statement to The Advocate: "Ric made the choice that he feels is best for the Romney campaign, and I respect his decision. It is unfortunate that while the Romney campaign made it clear that Grenell being an openly gay man was a non-issue for the governor and his team, the hyper-partisan discussion of issues unrelated to Ric's national security qualifications threatened to compromise his effectiveness on the campaign trail. Ric was essentially hounded by the cacophony of the far right and left. The Romney campaign has lost a well-known advocate of conservative ideas and a talented spokesman, but I am confident Ric will remain an active voice for a confident U.S. foreign policy."