part of a budding trend across the nation, with states pushing measures that proponents call religious freedom bills but opponents label state-sanctioned discrimination. Kansas and six other states are mulling similar legislation. “In other words, we are learning that futile gestures that have only symbolic impact do the GOP cause more harm than good.”īut Katy Steinmertz at Time magazine says the controversy in Arizona could be just the beginning. “It tells us the Republican Party is learning the difference between standing for principle and standing in the middle of a busy intersection,” said GOP strategist Alex Castellanos. So some GOP strategists were quick to applaud Brewer for a move they say shows Republicans are listening and adapting to changing times –and changing views on gay rights. Tolerance is an issue for Republicans among key voting blocs, especially independents and younger voters. In the fall of 2012, just 24% of Republicans backed legalizing the unions now 40% do so. “It would have been catastrophic, economically, if that bill had been signed.”ĬNN’s John King believes Brewer’s move reflects changing attitudes in her party toward gay marriage. “I’m not a military person, but it was a DEFCON 1 situation,” said Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. What Arizona proved, as much as any other in recent American politics, is that there’s currently no more powerful constituency for gay rights than the Fortune 500 list … Business leaders in Arizona and Washington called the campaign to kill 1062 a moment of triumph for the corporate world, and a reflection of how the need to attract talented employees and project a tolerant image to consumers has overridden virtually any other political imperative businesses face in a state like Arizona. Lee of Politico look at the role of big business played in scuppering the law. In an otherwise foreboding political landscape, it’s a blazing sunrise.Īlexander Burns and M.J. The change is, as Governor Brewer says, dramatic.
That it was delivered by a Republican governor in a Republican state - and delivered with every sign of sincerity, even passion - is simply the latest astonishment in an astonishing American revolution. t was a damn good speech - unequivocal, ungrudging, and stern. What was a surprise was the powerful, profoundly un-weaselly nature of her statement. Her hard-hitting speech was remarkable for coming out of the mouth of a Republican, says Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker. In a matter of days, Governor Jan Brewer pulled the plug.
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