McCrory and Pence: Two Discriminatory Peas in a Pod

McCrory and Pence: Two Discriminatory Peas in a Pod

Godfather of RFRA campaigns in the home of HB2 

As Indiana Gov. Mike Pence campaigns in Winston-Salem today, he should feel right at home with Gov. Pat McCrory’s discriminatory House Bill 2 on the books in North Carolina.

For their part, Pence and McCrory are the two GOP governors most synonymous with job killing anti-LGBT agendas. Both signed sweeping discrimination laws that provoked sharp backlash from business community, led to expansive economic and job losses, and was followed by desperate PR spin to help explain away the damage.

Watch this video below to see the eerie similarities between Mike Pence’s RFRA law in Indiana and Pat McCrory’s House Bill 2 in North Carolina:

“With the Godfather of RFRA campaigning in the home of House Bill 2, the GOP’s job-killing discrimination agenda will be on full display,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Instead of focusing on growing the economy, Mike Pence and Pat McCrory both signed disastrous anti-LGBT laws that drove away jobs from Indiana and North Carolina. Worse yet, after all the public outrage and economic fallout, McCrory still refuses to repeal HB2. With HB2 dragging McCrory further and further underwater, it’s no wonder he is 2016’s most vulnerable governor.”

In 2015, Pence signed the anti-LGBT “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” in a “private ceremony”, provoking a sharp backlash from citizens and businesses that led to job losses and a $60 million loss to convention revenue. Faced with a PR crisis, Pence recited stale talking points about discrimination, lashed out at the media, and became a subject of late night TV jokes.

 In 2016, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory repeated the exact same playbook. A quick bill signing, rapid backlash, job losses, and a desperate attempt to blame the media for a problem he created. 

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