Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence has long been a big fish in conservative circles. And this week he looked every bit the part, raging and writhing like a shark caught in a net after the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that he signed to cheers from social conservatives provoked a furious backlash, not only from gay-rights and liberal groups but pillars of Indiana’s business community.
Pence’s agonies underscore the challenge Republicans face reconciling the demands of their culturally conservative base with the evolving realities of an America steadily growing more diverse, secular, and tolerant. That widening gap may be the biggest obstacle to Republican hopes of recapturing the White House next year. CONT.
Ronald Brownstein, National Journal