Richard Grenell Resigns as Romney's National Security Spokesman — Policy Positions, Not Anti-Gay 'Hounding', Explain the Departure

See the report at the Washington Post, "Richard Grenell, Mitt Romney spokesman, resigns."

And Jennifer Rubin really went to town on the right for allegedly "hounding" Grenell out of the Romney campaign, "EXCLUSIVE: Richard Grenell hounded from Romney campaign by anti-gay conservatives" (via Memeorandum).

But actually, there's not a lot of evidence that hard-right conservatives "hounded" Grenell from the campaign. (Allahpundit has a huge roundup, "Openly gay foreign-policy spokesman for Romney campaign resigns; Update: “He wasn’t under wraps”.")

Sure, there was some pushback, but it was pretty localized around a few figures on the religious right, Bryan Fischer, for example ("Re: Richard Grenell: Romney has some splaining to do"), and Tony Perkins, "Conservatives Engage in Some Hire Learning":

Most conservatives have been anxious to see how the Romney campaign would react now that the strongest social conservative, Sen. Rick Santorum, is out of the race. Would the Governor try to fill the void left on values issues or would he stick to his more moderate approach? Some people believe that question was answered last week with the selection of Richard Grenell as Mitt Romney's foreign policy spokesman. Grenell, who served in President Bush's administration, specialized in the U.N., but the areas where he disagreed with his old boss are what concern conservatives most.

Grenell, who has been very open about his homosexual lifestyle, publicly condemned the Bush administration (shortly after leaving it) for opposing a U.N. resolution urging the full acceptance of homosexuality. While Bush (like nearly two thirds of the U.N. member states) refused to endorse the measure endorsing homosexuality, President Obama signed it shortly after taking office. Since then, his State Department, under the direction of Hillary Clinton, has tossed aside the cultural and religious beliefs of other countries to promote homosexuality as a basic human right, while downgrading the importance of religious liberty. Clearly, the strategy is for the State Department to force these policies (which most U.S. states reject) on the international stage and then build pressure on the U.S. to adopt measures like Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and same-sex "marriage."

In a recent column for the Washington Blade, Grenell hinted at where he falls on the marriage issue when he criticized gay and lesbian Democrats for supporting President Obama despite the fact that he hasn't done enough to redefine marriage. Still others point to Grenell's long-time partner and his desire to tie the knot, "It's not an option for us... but hopefully someday soon it will be." While past performance is not a guarantee of future results, there is strong evidence that Grenell would lobby for foreign policy more in line with the current administration than the last Republican one.

And see the comments from Gary Bauer as well, "Unforced Error, Governor":

While Governor Mitt Romney is clearly enjoying a bounce in the polls and a boost in momentum, his campaign still has some work to do when it comes to reassuring the conservative base and values voters. That's why his appointment of Richard Grenell, who worked in the Bush Administration, to be his spokesman on national security issues was a disappointment to many conservatives.

I share their disappointment not because Grenell is gay. He is not weak on defense. In fact, former Ambassador John Bolton is defending Grenell today. Conservative pro-family leaders are disappointed because Grenell has been an outspoken advocate of redefining normal marriage. For the overwhelmingly majority of folks who support Governor Romney that issue is starkly clear -- marriage is the union of one and one woman. But Grenell once caused a controversy by trying to have his partner listed as his spouse when he worked at the U.N.

Thankfully, Grenell is not going to be making policy on domestic issues. But his appointment was disappointing because it comes at a time when the Romney campaign should be reaching out to the conservative base. Instead, this appointment seems like a slap at the base.

Moreover, Grenell is known for having an acerbic personality, and critics have described his comments in social media as being "catty." He may be competent, but he is creating controversies on multiple fronts where the Romney campaign can least afford them.

That said, we should not exaggerate this. Homosexuals were part of the Reagan Administration and the Bush Administrations. Our concern is policy. One of the ways Governor Romney can reassure values voters is to make more statements in his speeches that speak to their concerns about the sanctity of life, the meaning of marriage and the importance of faith and family.

Pointing this out does not hurt Mitt Romney. I am making this observation precisely because it is so important that he defeat Barack Obama. There is no path to victory for a Republican presidential candidate that does not involve massive turnout by pro-family voters. The only way Mitt Romney will end up with a majority on Election Day -- and I will do everything I can to make sure that happens -- is to unite economic, defense and social conservatives behind his candidacy.

And with reference to Grenell's "catty" comments via social media, Politico's got that: "Twitter-happy Romney flack Grenell resigns."

And see Matthew J. Franck, "Who Is Richard Grenell Anyway?"

Finally, here's this from BuzzFeed, "In Romney's Gay Rights Mess, Silence Wasn't An Option: The candidate stayed mum while his gay aide was being blasted by the right. Now gay rights groups blame Romney, whose aides say it was never about sexuality."

It's clear from a look at Memeorandum that Grenell's departure is another chance for the left to frame the narrative that Republicans are "homophobic bigots." Unfortunately, there's a lot more folks like Jennifer Rubin willing to give the left a hand. The bottom line is that pro-gay marriage advocacy is a far left-wing position. If Republicans attempt to add gay marriage to their platform the voters will find them wanting. If voters are going to base their votes on progressive policy positions, they'll go with the real thing: the radical extremist gay-rights agenda of the Democratic Party. The GOP can try to co-opt the left's position on gay rights, but no matter what they do they'll still be branded as "haters" and anti-gay "bigots." Besides, a majority of Republicans continue to favor the traditional definition of marriage. Bauer is right: The GOP needs to unite economic, defense, and social conservatives around Romney's candidacy. It's not about sexuality. It's about policy.