Aside from the fact that he is a misogynist who likes to tweet his disgust for women, Romney’s new foreign affairs spokesman has another tiny little problem:
Gov. Mitt Romney stepped on a landmine by appointing Richard Grenell, an out, loud and proud homosexual, to be his spokesman on national security and foreign policy issues. Grenell has for years been an outspoken advocate for homosexual marriage. In fact, word is that he left the Bush administration because President Bush would not formally acknowledge his homosexual partner.
Since, as the saying goes in D.C., personnel is policy, this means Gov. Romney has some ‘splaining to do. This clearly is a deliberate and intentional act on his part, since he was well aware of Mr. Grenell’s sexual proclivities and knew it would be problematic for social conservatives. It’s certainly not possible that there are no other potential spokesmen available, men who are experts in foreign policy and who at the same time honor the institution of natural marriage in their personal lives.
So this has all the appearances of a deliberate poke in the eye to the pro-family community, and a clumsy one at that, coming right on the heels of endorsements from Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Dallas and the National Organization for Marriage, and right after the governor accepted an invitation to deliver the commencement address at Liberty University.
Fischer lets on more than he intends to, here, and lets his bigotry freak flag fly loud and proud. Normally, these guys spew some nonsense about “hating the sin and loving the sinner” and at least try to pretend it’s about policy issues. But here, we’ve got a gay man who will not be addressing same sex marriage or gay issues whatsoever, but working on foreign affairs issues, and for Bryan Fischer and company, the simple fact that he is gay disqualifies him for service.
The difference between these “respectable” bigots and Fred Phelps is that at least Fred Phelps has the balls to carry signs saying what he really thinks:
The rest of the evangelical community that Fischer represents doesn’t have that kind of courage.
deep
Don’t worry, it’s just another attempt to shake up the etch-a-sketch.
Zifnab
Gay agenda, what-what! They’re taking over, and when they do it’s going to be fa-bu-lous!
SiubhanDuinne
Also too, Fischer poses incoherent questions:
wvng
“Tomorrow: “I can’t have gays on my team! I’m running for President for crissakes!!!!!”
Emerald
I still have some hope, albeit faint, that the wingers will be so disgusted with Romney’s etch-a-sketch moves that finally they’ll stay home and let us take the downticket races. It probably would require them to believe that they can’t win anyway and with this media, that’s doubtful, but it remains a possibility.
Got an email last night from my winger friend who still believes Newt can win. She detests Romney.
So.
Maybe.
cathyx
He hired him to help get the gay republican vote. All 3 of them.
Jesse
This story seems off to me, John. Shouldn’t we be at least mildly pleased that Romney made this decision? Sure, there are all sorts of jackals who want to tear Romney a new one for his choice, but we know only too well what they are like. I think it would be more noteworthy if Romney decided to dump this guy based on all the blowback he is now facing. But till then, I will credit the guy for his choice (and believe me, I am very reluctant to type that).
Clime Acts
So whatever else this may be, since Romney clearly knew who he was hiring, isn’t this also a clear signal to us Friends of Toto that he is cool with the gays after all? That the recent ugliness during the primaries was just doin’ what had to be done? Didn’t mean anything?
Hey, it’s politics! Obama supporters can certainly understand the necessity of saying one thing and doing another, right?
Villago Delenda Est
@wvng:
Win
Cassidy
@Emerald: You’re better than me. I fired my conservative friends…well, more like I mocked them into no longer contacting me, but oh well.
ET
Is Grenell Romney’s attempt to move to the center and represent that Etch-a-Sketch comment? Like you said he had to have known Grenell is gay because it doesn’t seem to have been a secret so he either didn’t care what impact pro/con it would have, didn’t think it would have any impact, or did it looking to send some sort of message.
I am not sure why Grenell would take this job. I know this is foreign policy and not domestic but still. He has either been assured or convinced himself that Romney really doesn’t hate gay people. Of course when the shit storm happens hope he holds on and is wearing hip-waders.
While much of America won’t give two hoots, it is the base Romney is (still) chasing that will care and he has problems with them already. Maybe he figures many in the GOP base will vote for him anyway no matter what they say now, because they will be more scared of Obama being re-elected. Whether that is a safe assumption I don’t know. If I were him I would be worried about people not showing up to vote at all.
Shari
Wonder if the folks at Liberty University know about this?
Joel
Must read, must read, must read….. (Walmart bribery case).
As for the FIscher piece, it actually reads like PR from Romney’s campaign. As you say, the appointment is insignificant on social issues. And now you have the Atlantic flogging Romney’s “pro-gay’ credentials. Seems fishy to me.
Zifnab
@Emerald: Ron Paul is still in it, didn’t you hear? He won Minnesota! 20 EVs!
Steve
This Grenell guy just seems like a flat-out nasty piece of work. I guess it’s okay if people want to give Romney credit for picking an out gay man, but look, if John Bolton were gay would you have been any more enthused about Bush nominating him? If Romney named Allen West, Marco Rubio, and John Yoo as advisors, would anyone feel like applauding his commitment to diversity? I really couldn’t care less that the guy is gay, what I care about is that he appears to be a hawkish asshole.
Ash Can
Awesome. The right wing detests Grenell because he’s gay. Everyone else detests him because he’s a mendacious, misogynistic schmuck. Romney’s probably on his sixth or seventh pair of britches trying to figure out how to handle the blowback. Comedy gold.
Joel
@Steve: This.
Joel
@Steve: This.
Napoleon
@wvng:
It is not for “crissakes” but for “petessake”.
Villago Delenda Est
@Steve:
Yes. This.
This guy is scum. Who he fucks has nothing to do with that.
Emerald
@Cassidy: Haha. I never reply to the emails. I rarely see her, but she’s been a great friend for decades. Manically anti-abortion, but actually helps find adoptive homes for babies she “saves.”
Politically, she’s a wonderful barometer to the extreme right. Ultra conservative Catholic, believes Obama’s a Muslim planning to destroy America, all that stuff.
Unlike Santorum, however, she sometimes follows the Vatican when it diverges from Republican dogma. She’s against the death penalty, for example. I haven’t heard yet what she thinks of the Ryan budget.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Curious action from Mitten’s, forget his evangelical friends what about the Bishop’s Mormon ones? Grenell is pushing for gay marriage is which is a big no no for Mormons (I mean who wants to force The Baby Space Jesus to give out full planets to gays?)
What’s next, alcoholic beverages at Romney campaign dinners?
Suffern ACE
@Jesse: I get the sense that this heading towards “Dole Return’s Log Cabin Republican Check During Press Conference” only with a termination of the this twitter twit.
MattF
Mitt’s placing a little piggy in the etch-a-sketch waters, and now we’ll see what happens. That he chose a misogynist gay as a national security spokesman is comedy gold, but not immediately relevant. The trend has been that when people get to know Romney better and better, they like him less and less. I expect this to continue.
mainmati
@Jesse: The original story arose not because he was gay, which probably many of the ordinary public did not know about but because of his totally humorless, meant to be snarky tweets about political women. The ones with the media were crude and unimaginative. But the point is that there were a lot of them. So, as a political adviser, he’s also kinda stupid.
Clime Acts
@Ash Can:
Nine out of ten people don’t know about it and don’t give a shit.
The only significant “blowback” against Romney is taking place in your mind.
PeakVT
Nm, read that wrong. But there’s still a lot more than three.
Redshift
@Ash Can: Everyone detests him except the Log Cabin Republicans, who apparently think that having a gay asshole on Romney’s team to complement all the straight assholes is a great advance for the gay community.
Forum Transmitted Disease
@Jesse: Hitler (yeah, I went there) didn’t throw in with Rohm because Rohm was gay, he threw in because Rohm was a psychopath who would serve as a useful idiot and
killclear out all the liberal opposition.Romney didn’t hire this guy because or even in spite of him being gay; he hired him because he’s an amoral lunatic who will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
EDIT: And thank God for Fred Phelps, that motherfucker advanced the cause of gay rights in this country 100 years by forever stamping the anti-gay movement with his insane, insensitive, and vicious “protests”.
pragmatism
@Cassidy: i hear you about conservative friends. a longtime (20+ years) winger friend demanded last week that i no longer express my political opinions to him or in shared company on an email to our group of mutual friends. i told him that i’m not interested in friendships with such stringent one-way requirements and that i’m busting him down to acquaintance. he expected the rest of the group to follow his lead but they refused and mocked him. restored my faith in humanity.
kindness
The ‘pivot’ that Romney is going to have to make sure seems like he’ll need a ‘wide stance’ to complete it.
What else isn’t Romney telling us about him that we should know?
Cassidy
@PeakVT: Considering how many have been caught with their pants down in the vicinity of a rentboy, I think 30% is a really conservative estimate.
Suffern ACE
@Clime Acts: I will have to agree with that. Since I’ve been to the break room three times today and each time there were serious discussions about prostitutes, I don’t think there is much room for the serious discussion of the twitter twit.
Redshift
@PeakVT: Uhh, thirty percent of the 2010 Congressional electorate is not thirty percent of all voters.
rikryah
SEE, my problem isn’t with Phelps. he is who I thought he was. My problem’s with the gay Republican who thinks it’s ok to be a misogynist.
Lex
Speaking of Richard Land, he has problems of his own.
Brian S
@Napoleon:
I thought it was “forpetecrisssake” myself, though that may just be for Kiss fans.
PeakVT
@Redshift: Yeah, I mixed up the percentage of the gay vote (30) vs. percentage of the total vote (4). Anyway, there’s a whole lot more gay Republicans than I would expect given the party’s public stance.
Comrade Dread
At this point, Romney could march at the head of a pride parade, and while the social conservatives would complain, what else are they going to do? Vote for Obama?
Mark S.
Regardless of what happens in November, if Romney were to unequivocally tell Fisher and the other anti-gays to fuck off, it might be a watershed moment in American politics. But what will probably happen is that Mitt fires him and blames it on mean liberals complaining about the sexist tweets the guy made.
Chyron HR
@Clime Acts:
At last, the True Progressives have found an excuse to go vote for Romney instead of just staying home in protest. How nice for them.
Mark S.
@Comrade Dread:
Stay home and not vote. That’s what scares Mitt more than anything else.
Jesse
@mainmati: OK. I am more than willing to concede that this guy is a total jackass. What I found curious is that John decided to bring up all the virulently anti-gay freaks and their foaming-at-the-mouth opposition to this guy. As a contribution to the dynamics between Romney and his supporters and maybe-supporters, this is indeed a weird pick and I will just sit back and eat popcorn as I watch these guys kill time, money, energy, and their bodies and minds bitching about Romney’s choice. We can be grateful that this kind of thing has no analogue in Democratic politics. We waste our energies on other things, but not foaming at the mouth about teh ghey.
I guess my confusion about John’s point is this: of course Romney is going to be shot at, hard, for his choice. Bigots gonna bigot, after all. Nothing new here. The title suggests that this is about Romney, but it’s really about his base.
Comrade Dread
@Mark S.: Ah, but this is the most important election EVAR!!!! They has to saves us from der shoshalism! Or so says the GOP noise machine.
beergoggles
@rikryah: You do realize that assholism isn’t restricted to members of the majority right?
One thing I’ve noticed with republicans is the inability to empathize. Stick republican with gay, or female, or black, or hispanic and u have a recipe for projection and wankery with no sense of self-awareness.
Culture of Truth
Indeed, expect more of this now that Mittens has the nomination wrapped up. He pandered to the nuts just as long as took to get it, and now he is (almost) done with them. So how will they react? I agree few voters will notice this hire or care. But those that do will not be happy.
But who they gonna vote for, the kenyan socialist?
Russ
Mitt should have spoken with Joe Manchin about pissing into the wind…
Jebediah
@pragmatism:
So they are beginning to realize that their ideas cannot survive the competition of the intellectual free market?
AA+ Bonds
Uhhh clearly a calculated move here
The response should be to attack Grenell
Lojasmo
@Clime Acts:
Know how I know you’re an idiot?
Steve
@Mark S.: Romney’s next act of political courage will be his first.
pragmatism
@Jebediah: hit the nail on the head. he told others that he feels judged by my political opinions. so he took the winger’s way out and declared that it must be the mean librul’s fault and tried to control things.
Suffern ACE
@PeakVT: I don’t know why that completely catches people off guard and how high they expect the vote to be. There are a lot of people who live in places where the Republicans run against us AND the Democrats do, too. There was a lot of “well, if no one is really for us, I want lower taxes, too.” Now, it’s changing and there is a lot less handwringing and running away by Dem pols at various levels, but why one would think that automatically every gay and lesbian would switch to Dems is a bit much to expect from any group.
Cassidy
@pragmatism: Did he plan on reciprocating said offer? That was my biggest problem with my conservative former friends: they would run their mouth and post FB stuff thinking they were being witty, but would get butt hurt when I’d call them out for posting racist shit or bringing facts into an argument.
pragmatism
@Cassidy: No. He tried to play it like this, “I don’t know as much about politics as you do and I don’t send overtly political emails or call you to talk about politics.” That is complete bullshit because he does both and I welcome him doing both.
Sly
And the worst kept secret in D.C. is that the Republican Party has a veritable army of gay men working as staffers on Capitol Hill. Fischer either doesn’t know this, and thus has no right to offer advice to any national politician on matters of personnel, or he’s feigning ignorance for his mongrel-idiot readers, in which case he’s just another pathetic Liar for Christ.
Southern Beale
Meanwhile, the kids at Falwell’s Liberty University are mighty peeved that Falwell Jr. invited Mitt Romney to be their commencement speaker. They said they want “a real Christian” not “a member of a cult.”
Oh, this is fun to watch the Right-wing Taliban eat its own.
karen marie
@Jesse: Yeah, great, Rmoney hired a gay guy who is a serial misogynist and an acolyte of John Bolton. Hoo-freaking-ray!
PurpleGirl
@Lex: Fred Clark (Slactivist)(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/) has had several posts about Richard Land and the Southern Baptist Convention. He basically wants Land fired for all the things he has said over time. (Clark is not a Land fan.) So it’s nice to see that the SBC leadership has realized that they have a problem in the person of Land. Clark’s current top post is about Colson, but by tonight he’ll probably have something new about Land.
runt
So Grenell fights for equal rights for gay people like himself, but don’t care much for equality for women? Sounds like a solid Republican to me.
As the Norwegian poet Arnulf Øverland wrote: “You must not so eagerly tolerate that injustice which does not affect yourself.” But he was a communist, so what did he know…
RalfW
I also delight in the tell that Fischer can’t even imagine a female foreign policy expert. I wonder how Condi feels about this:
Of course, Condi is not to be considered since she – as a 57 y.o. single person – clearly disdains natural marriage.
Mnemosyne
@runt:
Fix’d. I haven’t run into them very often, but I have occasionally come across a gay man who’s also a virulent misogynist. So, yes, there are some gay men out there who, like Grenell, would be more than happy to make women second-class citizens again.
Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony
Ssocial conservativesss..
Don’t give Romney the preciouss.
He hatess you.
He mockss you.
He doesn’t desserve the preciouss.
Bruce S
@PurpleGirl:
The only reason the Southern Baptist Convention exists is because of their imperative in defending slavery and segregation for a century and a half. The decent thing to do in the wake of the collapse of that ideology would have been to dissolve the denomination and rejoin the American Baptists rather than pass a back-tracking “resolution.” When their core value became impossible to defend, they got slippery and have had to satisfy themselves with bigotry against women, against gays and contempt for the poor – which is why Richard Land is the perfect spokesman for this pack of right-wing creeps. They’ve been moderately successful in using their “Baptist” credentials to recruit minority members, but they are utterly retrograde as a national denomination, and always have been – theologically and politically. Refuse to ordain women as pastors, firmly entrenched as part of the “Religious” Right and prone to purges, making it impossible for faculty at their seminaries to embrace any aspects of modernity at risk of being “outed” as heretics and fired. The egregious Richard Land typifies their values. Plagiarism is the least of his “sins.”
Mnemosyne
Also, too — at certain points in European history, it wasn’t that unusual for gay men to be higher up in the hierarchy than women, especially if they were in the clergy. So, yes, there are still men out there like Grenell who long for a return to the good ol’ days when just being a pen1s owner (even a homosexual one) was enough to boost you above the entire other gender.
Felinious Wench
@Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony: Win
Reginald Perrin
“Given the propensity for members of the homosexual community to engage in frequent and anonymous sexual encounters, the risk to national security of having a homosexual in a high-ranking position with access to secret information is obvious.”
I thought we were supposed to judge the person based on his individual actions, not membership in a group. I thought only evil liberals did the latter. So it is unfair, maybe even unChristian, to assume this fact about Mr. Grennell, solely on the basis of his membership in a group. Furthermore, he is in a committed relationship; even if it could never be a Biblical marriage in Fischer’s eyes, it is unfair to assume Grennell is unfaithful to his same-sex partner.
However, if Mr. Fischer wishes to judge Mr. Romney by his actions, in this case hiring Mr. Grennell, then fine. If he believes that this action by Mr. Romney shows his support for gay rights, and is contrary to the teachings of an important group to which he belongs, the LDS church, then he should not offer him political and electoral support. (And let’s hope he doesn’t.) But the spite shown Mr. Grennell is not necessary to make the valid point, and reveals Fischer’s true motivation — hate alone.
Plus, also, what is this, the ’50s?
Roger Moore
@Mnemosyne:
Like Andrew Sullivan?
Roger Moore
@Reginald Perrin:
Only if that group is “straight white christian male”. They’re rugged individuals, each of whom forges his own path in the world. Everybody else is defined by their membership in one or more non-SWCM group.
The Sheriff's A Ni-
From the revised book of Moroni, May 2012 edition:
“And lo the prophet Mitt stood before the golden tablets, his chosen Richard beside him as he triumphantly held the severed head of the Frothy One before the cowering Evangelicals. ‘Where’s your messiah now?’ he asked, his voice ringing atop the perfect height trees of Michigan. ‘Where’s your messiah now?'”
ExplosiveAmnesia
@pragmatism: First Amendment only applies to “Real Americans” I guess. What a tool. Did he basically say, out loud, that he gets to say his opinions but you can’t say yours?
ExplosiveAmnesia
@PeakVT: sometimes being white and male trumps all. Check out LCR and GOProud. Lily white sausage fest.
gex
@Cassidy: Typical bullies. Can dish out, can’t take it. Unable to run away when his friend punched back, he declared punching second to be against the rules.
ChrisNYC
I think this AFA piece is a fake, smoke and mirrors. I think it’s part of the pivot — social conservatives and other “real” conservatives loudly attacking Romney. Because, you know, he’s so moderate and geez doesn’t really hate gay people. Hear that GE election voters? Hear that American people who favor gay rights by a majority for the first time in ever? Those crazy cons are attacking Romney for hiring a gay guy. What a damn reasonable guy that Romney must be.
Same with E Erickson’s recent posts about “Romney needs to give REAL conservatives something.” These people only lie. And they certainly don’t tell the truth in internet posts.
gex
Anyhow, sounds like this guy is solidly in Sully land. So misogynistic he can’t even sleep with women AND hate them like so many of the rest of his right wing tribe.
@RalfW: After a certain point, it may be okay. Marriage is ONLY about making babies after all. Once she’s past child bearing years she doesn’t need to be married. Although, I think she’s supposed to be in the nunnery or something.
burnspbesq
I could honestly care less whether Grenell is gay, straight, bi, a furry, has a dominatrix on speed-dial, or whatever else.
The real issue is that he has no foreign policy chops to speak of. He’s a professional flack. His job at the US mission to the UN was to clean up after John Bolton.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is Mitt Romney’s idea of competence. It has nothing to do with actual competence.
gex
@burnspbesq: True. Although I enjoy watching the trust fund/fundie coalition in-fight. Only real butter on the popcorn please, or I’ll eat Mike & Ikes.
pragmatism
@ExplosiveAmnesia: He chuckled when I suggested that his expectation that all liberals act like punching bags or token libs on fox news was misplaced.
Clime Acts
@Lojasmo:
So is it your position that the Romney campaign didn’t know anything about this guy being gay or his past history of advocating for gay marriage?
Oh, obligatory name call: Fart Breath!
gex
@pragmatism: I for one am glad that he made himself look so small, petty, and insecure in front of the group. Boy, you’d think if he’s right, he’d have no trouble pointing out where you are wrong.
bobbo
God I hate it when they say “homosexual” instead of “gay.” It’s just as bad if not worse than “Democrat” instead of “Democratic.”
GoodGuyGreg
Oooooh…This Fisher guy is totally nuts.
When I’m feeling too good about myself, I’ll listen to 15 minutes of his show – it totally ruins my day & gets me back to hating the world.
Clime Acts
@bobbo:
That’s exactly why use both terms…regularly.
pragmatism
@gex: thx gex.
Jesse
@ChrisNYC: That sounds possible to me. I have to admit, it seems to have worked on me (see me initial post in this thread). This guy is as toxic to my mind as Fukushima, but when I saw the ridiculous pile-on because of Romney’s choice, my thought was “wtf? You guys are all horrible. Choosing a gay guy ought to be unremarkable.” And therein a tiny sliver of credibility enters, as intended. Damn.
rea
@Steve: Equality means we gays are free to be assholes, just like everyone else!
rea
the perfect height trees of Michigan
I can never let this pass without pointing out that the reason all those trees are that perfect height (and it’s true that Michigan’s trees are all notably the same height) is that Michigan was logged off in the late 19th-early 20th Centuries, and then replanted with trees by the WPA in the 1930s . . .
con-cerned
@Roger Moore: ding ding ding!
Chet
@ChrisNYC:
“But Obama’s an Arab!”
“No he’s not, ma’am, he’s a decent family man!”
AA+ Bonds
The proper response to gay Republicans is to ask them if they expect a nicer bunk in the camps
AA+ Bonds
@burnspbesq:
Yeah I would go with the “Republicans purge gays” line because I doubt anyone gives a shit about any of that
“The REAL scandal is that on an objective measure of foreign policy experience as determined by lawyers at a party, this particular individual in question . . .” ~(entire country dies of boredom)~
Just point out that Republicans want gays dead and don’t make this about John Bolton who had lower name recognition than Mitch Daniels this election cycle