Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) is signaling the all-clear: the tough times surrounding passage of Indiana’s controversial religious freedom law are now over.
“I think the difficult time that Indiana just passed through two weeks ago is behind us,” Pence said Tuesday, according to The Indianapolis Star.
Pence’s comments follow Indiana hiring the public relations firm Porter Novelli to repair the state’s image.
“We’ve got a great story to tell,” Pence added. “I really do believe that we are through the storm, that now’s the time to heal.”
Pence found himself under national criticism when he was poised to controversial legislation that opened the door to businesses being allowed to refuse to serve gay customers on the grounds of religious objections. Major businesses in Indiana and national figures criticized the law and Pence was eventually forced to call for a clarification.
More recently, on Monday, Pence’s communications director, Christy Denault, offered Pence her letter of resignation.
Denault stressed to TPM on Wednesday that the resignation was because she wanted to spend more time with her six-year-old triplets and she had been discussing taking other roles in the governor’s office for months.
If you want to make that so, get your GOP-controlled legislature to revive and pass the non-discrimination bill they killed a few days ago.
Otherwise, all of America and the world will know that nothing’s changed in Indiana. The state that elected a KKK governor in the 1920s, the state where you and other Republicans have worked hard against any rights for LGBT Americans, remains opposed to equality for all Americans.
When does he run for office again? I wish it was sooner than later, and if not his opponent will already have a hell of an ad all ready to smite him.
(Keepin’ it biblical, YO!)
After Pence made his stirring announcement he loaded his staff into charter busses and treated them all to lunch at Memories Pizza.
In your dreams, chump.
Couldn’t have said it better. Hiring a PR firm to put lipstick on a really stupid action by the governor and
legislature is compounding the injury for state residents and taxpayers.
They’ll wind up paying PN tens of thousands to try and convince the rest of the country that Indiana is just a wonderful friendly place full of people whose best friends are gay. Passing legislation that bans discrimination would make that reality, and prove the truth of whatever PN tries to claim…and cost a LOT less.
And to think Pence was thinking about a run for the Presidency. Horrors.