OPINION: Sen. Wiener Spews Jealous Vitriol Against Richard Grenell

The Republican party of California honored Richard Grenell yesterday on the Senate floor for his work in the Trump administration. Under the former president, Grenell worked as Ambassador to Germany, Special Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, and finally interim Director of National Intelligence—making him the first openly gay US Cabinet member in American history.

This honor comes just after Grenell’s help at deescalating conflict in Kosovo. Grenell arrived in the area unannounced in hopes of keeping peace and helping secure the release of three Kosovo police officers from detainment. Having previously served as the special envoy under President Trump, Grenell has a uniquely qualified insight and invested interest in peace in this area of the world. He selflessly went to lend any help he could in hopes of maintaining a semblance of peace, a gesture in its own right that is worthy of honor and appreciation.

However, one of Grenell’s political opponents has taken to Twitter to spew his seemingly jealousy-fueled vitriol. Upon learning of Grenell’s honor, California state Senator Scott Wiener tweeted, “Today, GOP is honoring Richard Grenell on our Senate floor, after having protested our actual Pride celebration. Grenell is a self-hating gay man. He’s a scam artist pink-washer for Trump & spreads anti-LGBTQ, anti-vax, election-denier conspiracy theories.” Sen. Wiener then attached GLAAD’s “Accountability Profile” for Grenell to the tweet, a series of falsehoods and misinformation compiled by a politically bought-and-paid-for organization.

Today, GOP is honoring Richard Grenell on our Senate floor, after having protested our actual Pride celebration.

Grenell is a self-hating gay man. He’s a scam artist pink-washer for Trump & spreads anti-LGBTQ, anti-vax, election-denier conspiracy theories https://t.co/Edz2omQWvz

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 26, 2023

Sen. Wiener’s words are vile, untrue, hypocritical, and unbecoming of his office. But then again, most jealous rhetoric is. Richard Grenell has a legacy of success and honor to tout. Sen. Wiener has a record of being an apologist for child rapists, as made clear by the legislation he sponsored. Perhaps he is jealous of Grenell’s honoring, seeking recognition on the Senate floor for his protection of sex offenders.

Sen. Wiener called Grenell “self-hating” and “anti-LGBT.” These accusations would be laughably ignorant if they were not so damaging. While part of the Trump administration, Grenell convinced President Trump to begin an initiative to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe. Currently, homosexuality is illegal in 62 countries, and in many of those, the crime is punishable by death. That number has decreased since Grenell and President Trump launched their initiative in 2019. Helping keep LGBT citizens in other parts of the world alive is as far from “anti-LGBT” as possible. 

As for “self-hating,” this is a more personal attack for me. Like Grenell, I and many other LGBT conservatives have been falsely accused of loathing ourselves. I do not presume to speak for Mr. Grenell, but I personally find the moniker absurd. Conservatism, especially in the gay community, is marked by a sense of morality and love for oneself. We respect the institution of the family and, more specifically, we value monogamy. When sexually transmitted infections among gays are on the rise, especially with the advent of PrEP, and outbreaks of illnesses like Monkeypox appear, gay conservatives tend to have less to fear. We have enough self-love and self-worth not to engage in risky and debaucherous behavior. 

Sen. Wiener, like most Democrat politicians of his ilk, is above all a hypocrite. He champions “Pride celebrations” while pretending to condemn “anti-LGBT” behavior. The overt sexual acts and lewd costumes worn in front of children and Pride parades has, in my opinion, done more to turn the straight community against us than anything else. On top of that, pushing an agenda of sexualization of children and quietly lowering consequences for child molestation are not far behind.

The LGBT community has fought long and hard not to be labeled as deviants, perverts, and pedophiles. But when those exact people surface from our community, people like Sen. Wiener look to protect them and sometimes even champion them. As this begins to become apparent to LGBs of the community, more and more are walking away from the ranks of the Progressive left, and they have role models like Richard Grenell to thank and look up to.