Jill Lawrence: “If there’s one takeaway from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s ‘religious freedom restoration’ debacle, it’s that Republicans ignore today’s cultural environment at their peril. Conservatives can continue to live in a bubble if they want to, but they should expect blowback, because outside that bubble is a far different reality.”
“Maybe Pence simply decided to cross his fingers and hope for the best. Or maybe, cosseted in the Christian right echo chamber, he was oblivious to how all of this would be received in the wider world. Either way, his action, and its reflection on his party, is about as forward-looking as the revived Republican hostility to immigration reform. Forget about the future, it doesn’t even acknowledge the world as it exists today.”