Corporations speak – Indiana Governor Mike Pence caves
It was wonderful to watch as Indiana Governor Mike Pence was forced to state he will modify his anti-gay religious freedom restoration act law. He is singing a different tune. It is however a double edge sword. It points out a deficiency in our politics.
After the damage he did by signing an anti-gay religious freedom restoration law, Pence is backtracking in a face saving manner. When interviewed by George Stephanopoulos, he was unable to specifically state that the law does not discriminate against gays. He could hardly say the word gay or LGBT. He was unable to say that the law does not allow a florist to discriminate against gays.
In his press conference today he says in absolute terms it does not discriminate against LGBT Americans. Of course that is a lie until the bill is fixed specifically to state it cannot be used to deny goods or services to anyone.
This was a very fast turnaround of events. Why? It was a fast turnaround because corporations spoke. Corporations threatened to leave the state of Indiana.
Americans want many things from their government that the government is not providing. They want higher minimum wages yet the government won’t pass legislation to raise the minimum wage. They want the wealthy to pay their fair share yet government won’t pass appropriate tax legislation. When only citizens speak, politicians rarely listen. When corporations speak action is swift.
Is it time for citizens to change their tactics? It is known that the corporations have the ear of the politicians more so than the citizens. May be it is time for citizens start targeting corporations in n organized fashion to demand political action. There are many tactics that could be very effective in accomplishing this. Mike Pence’s retreat may provide a learning experience.