Jeb Bush appears to shift tone on Indiana religious freedom law

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FIRST THOUGHTS

*** Jeb Bush appears to tell two different audiences two different things on Indiana law: In this era of modern politics – with smartphones, social media, and constant events – one of the dangers for a politician is saying two different things to two different audiences. Or even appearing to. And that’s what Jeb Bush seems to have stepped into when it comes to Indiana’s controversial religious-freedom law.

• Here was Bush on Monday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in support of the law: “I think once the facts are established, people aren’t going to see this as discriminatory at all.” Those comments came BEFORE Indiana Gov. Mike Pence admitted on Tuesday that the law created a perception problem, and that it needed to be fixed.
• But then here was Bush on Wednesday at a closed-door fundraiser in Silicon Valley, according to the New York Times: “‘By the end of the week, I think Indiana will be in the right place, which is to say that we need in a big diverse country like America, we need to have space for people to act on their conscience, that it is a constitutional right that religious freedom is a core value of our country,’ Mr. Bush said. But ‘we shouldn’t discriminate based on sexual orientation,’ he said. He continued, ‘So what the State of Indiana is going to end up doing is probably get to that place.’”

To recap: On Monday, Bush was implying that critics were misunderstanding the law. Two days later, he was calling to strike a balance between religious freedom and discrimination. But there is some nuance here. Per Business Insider, which also got a recording of the remarks in California, Bush also said: “But I do fear that certain freedoms that historically have been part of our DNA as a country now are being challenged and I don’t think it’s appropriate. I do think if you’re a florist and you don’t want to participate in the arrangement of a wedding, you shouldn’t have to be obliged to do that if it goes against your faith because you believe in traditional marriage. Likewise if someone walked into a flower shop as a gay couple and said I want to buy all these off the rack, these flowers, they should have every right to do it. That would be discrimination. But forcing someone to participate in a wedding is not discrimination; it is, I think, protecting the first amendment right.”

*** The problem for Bush here: He ends up pleasing no one: So that nuance is important. But it’s also hard to ignore the change in tone from Bush on Monday (to Hugh Hewitt) and then on Wednesday (to an audience in Silicon Valley). The problem for Bush is that all of this only feeds the narrative that conservatives can’t trust him on these types of issues – compared with the rest of the GOP field. It also cuts against the identity he has created for himself – as someone who prefers running a general-election campaign instead of a race to please the base. It’s a tricky place to be in, because it ultimately ends up pleasing no one.

Read more http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jeb-bush-indiana-religious-freedom-law