Gay Republicans Call On Romney To Support Nondiscrimination Protections

Today, in the wake of Ric Grenell’s resignation, the Log Cabin Republicans’ executive director R. Clarke Cooper took the bold step of pushing Mitt Romney to come out in support of policies that protect the LGBT community from employment discrimination. Writing for the Washington Times, Cooper suggested Romney is not “bigoted and antigay” like the Republican stereotype, and thus should show “unambiguous support for federal protections from workplace discrimination.” It seems Cooper is trying to redraw Romney as an LGBT-supportive candidate, even though his predecessor, Patrick Sammon, said in 2008 that Romney “lacks integrity” and “uses gay people as a political issue.” Considering that reports suggest that the campaign forced Grenell out by silencing him instead of defending his qualifications to the religious right, Cooper’s going to have to shake that etch-a-sketch first.