The resignation of Richard Grenell, the recently appointed and openly gay foreign policy spokesman for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, was as sudden as it was shocking. It was also yet another disturbing sign that the Romney campaign is still in pander mode when it comes to the anti-gay right.

Which is exactly the wrong direction for the presumptive GOP nominee to be moving in. Because according to a wide variety of poll data, Republican voters, unlike most of the politicians vying for their support, largely support gay rights…

Yet in nearly every primary, he lost the evangelical vote to other, more authentic candidates such as Santorum, who emerged as the clear favorite of the anti-gay movement after most of the other contenders dropped out. Inexplicably, Romney still seems to crave its support and is apparently willing to do almost anything to get it.