Romney Hires Openly Gay Man as National Security Spokesperson

One has to wonder what was going through the mind of Mitt Romney as he hired openly gay Richard Grenell, a former spokesperson for the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations appointed by by President Bush, to be his national Security and foreign policy spokesperson. The Christofascist element in the GOP base will not be amused and I suspect some spittle will be flying amongst the Kool-Aid drinker set - think James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Maggie Gallagher and the usual hate group leaders - once they realize Grenell is gay and - oh the horror! - has a partner with whom he has been living for a number of years. Karen Ocamb at LGBT Pov looks at the development and ponders what it means. Here are highlights:

Rachel Maddow called it! Wednesday night she wondered why Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney delivered what was billed as a major talk in North Carolina – and never mentioned the antigay Amendment One on that state’s May 8 ballot. Mark this day, April 18, as the day Romney pivots to appeal to mainstream voters for the general election.

Well, given the Pew Research Center Poll two days ago indicating that gay marriage is the issue of least importance to voters, it may not be surprising then that Thursday afternoon the Romney campaign announced that Romney has hired openly gay Richard Grenell, a former spokesperson for the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations appointed by by President Bush, as his national Security and foreign policy spokesperson.

The Washington Post reports:

Grenell brings foreign policy chops and more than a decade of political experience to the aggressive but relatively young Romney staff. His is one in a series of hires as the presumptive Republican nominee rapidly expands his small staff as it moves into the general election against President Obama.

Grenell has also blogged on the Huffington Post, where he wrote this piece entitled: Gay Leaders Need a Tea Party Style Shakeup — 111th Congress a Total Failure. An excerpt:

Gay Americans from outside Washington should demand that they stop sacrificing progress to further their personal political careers. It’s time we found some young gay leaders who will work for equality and not be concerned about pleasing the Democratic Party.

Gay politics are not black and white. It isn’t true that all Democrats are good on gay issues and all Republicans bad. The outcome of the Prop 8 vote in California, where the traditionally Democratic state also overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama for president, proves that Democrats have a lot of work to do in their own party. Republicans have failed us, too. I am not suggesting we dismiss the GOP sins of advocating for small government policies while practicing intrusive, big government tactics. But Republicans who advocate laissez-faire principles can be great allies, just as liberal Southern Democrats can be strong opponents working against us.

OK – now that Grenell is probably the highest ranking openly gay member of Romney’s campaign, might we see the GOP candidate pivot in a more pro-equality direction?

Personally, I will not be holding my breath waiting for any shift in the GOP approach to LGBT Americans. It would mean that the leadership would have to collectively stand up to the Christianists - something they have shown themselves afraid to do time and time again even though long term it would be the best possible move for the GOP's future. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to watch for the Christianists' reaction to Grenell's appointment