The candidates who fill the crowded conservative lane of the 2016 Republican primary have all sought ways to brand big business and Wall Street as enemies that they can take on. Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, said that Cruz’s comments speak to a concern that a nationwide assault on religious liberty goes beyond the political class.
Cruz “must have valid information” that big business is ganging up on the religious community, he said. “Why these big corporations think they have to get involved in this, I really don’t know,” said Scheffler.
Cruz is taking an issue head on that will prove critical in Iowa, he said. “This nonsense is going to come to the churches, intimidating people of faith if it’s not stopped,” said Scheffler.
The corporate backlash to Indiana’s RFRA was a key reason that the state’s Republican legislators quickly passed a “fix.” General Electric Co., Angie’s List, Wal-Mart Stores, and Apple Inc. were among the businesses loudly decrying Indiana’s move, and a simultaneous RFRA campaign in Arkansas. Tim Cook, the most powerful openly gay CEO in history, played a key role in toxifying the Indiana law with a weekend op-ed in The Washington Post. “The days of segregation and discrimination marked by Whites Only signs on shop doors, water fountains and restrooms must remain deep in our past,” wrote Cook.
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