Mitt Romney presents himself as strong leader who can take
on the difficult issues that the nation faces.
He presents himself as a man of principle who can face down
adversaries.
Mr. Romney currently opposes same sex marriage, but has
frequently stated that he defends the other civil rights of gay Americans. He has stated that, aside from depriving gays
of the right to marry, he will not discriminate against them. To his credit Mr. Romney appointed Richard
Grenell, an openly gay man, as his campaign’s foreign policy spokesman. Mr. Grenell comes with impressive right wing credentials
for this post having served as the United States spokesman at the United
Nations under four different ambassadors in the Bush administration. One of the most notably conservative of these
ambassadors, John Bolton, strongly supported Mr. Grenell’s appointment to the
Romney campaign.
Two weeks after he was hired, Mr. Grenell was no longer with
the Romney campaign. The religious right
denounced the appointment of a gay man to a prominent position and soon Mr.
Grenell was gone.
What does this episode tell us about the character of Mitt
Romney? Did Mr. Romney, who already has
the Republican nomination sewn up, stand by his enunciated principles and
support his own appointee? Did Mr. Romney
take this opportunity to demonstrate that he is a strong principled leader who
cannot be bullied by anyone and that his staff can depend on his loyalty to
them? No, Romney without a whisper of
protest caved into the demands of the religious right and uttered not a public
word in support of Mr. Grenell who made the mistake of being born gay. Apparently gays can serve openly in the US
military but not in the Romney campaign.
Mr. Romney’s behavior supports the notion that Mr. Romney,
who has changed his well publicized positions on virtually every important
issue, is in fact a weak individual who is subservient to those whose favor he
is attempting to curry at any given moment no matter how venal their demands. Romney’s views and his people appear to be
highly disposable items.
Can the United States afford to have a President who is so
easily intimidated and whose only invariant core value appears to be his own
advancement? Will allies of the US
admire and trust such an individual? Will the adversaries of the US respect
such an individual and fear to cross him?
Mr. Romney’s visage is not a profile in courage.
Rick Santorum where are you?
ReplyDeleteMr Cohen...you state that "No, Romney without a whisper of protest caved into the demands of the religious right and uttered not a public word in support of Mr. Grenell who made the mistake of being born gay."
ReplyDeleteYou should do your research better. Mr Grenell, by his own admission, voluntarily elected to leave the Romney campaign. Mitt and his staffers tried to convince him to stay, but he refused. There was no cave-in on Romney's part.
And you believe your lying self? He was pushed out quietly...convienced to leave for the good of the campaign.
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