Liberal CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin attacked Governor Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday's At This Hour, after the Arkansas Republican asked the state legislature to bring a proposed Religious Freedom Restoration Act closer to the original 1993 federal law: "This was political double-talk....The idea that you can compromise and find some language that allows people to not do business with gay people; and also, protect them...from discrimination, it's just impossible. There are no compromises available here." [video below]
Toobin also tried to play up the supposed distinction between Arkansas and Indiana's legislation and the twenty-plus-year-old statue signed by then-President Bill Clinton:
JEFFREY TOOBIN: Remember, the federal law...only says the federal government cannot impose on people's religious beliefs. It says nothing about private business. Trying to let florists and photographers and the people we've all been talking about for several weeks – to letting them discriminate is not something that was covered by the federal law at all. So it really is not much of a valid comparison.
Anchors John Berman and Kate Bolduan brought on the legal pundit, as well as CNN political analyst Gloria Borger moments after Governor Hutchinson concluded a press conference about the religious liberty bill. Bolduan pointed out to Toobin that the "big question here [is] that the governor was trying to strike a distinction – that he says that this measure in Arkansas was not similar enough to the federal law, that he was comfortable signing onto it."
The CNN legal analyst, who likened the newly-passed Indiana law to Jim Crow on Monday, immediately launched into his "double-talk" blast in his reply, and continued with the left's misleading spin about the Indiana and Arkansas legislation:
TOOBIN: You know, this was political double-talk. There is only one issue going on here, which is whether private businesses should be allowed, in the State of Arkansas, as in Indiana – as in Georgia, where these controversies are going on – do these individuals allow private businesses to not do business with gay people? That's what these cases are about. The idea that you can compromise and find some language that allows people to not do business with gay people; and also, protect them from non-discrimination – from discrimination, it's just impossible. There are no compromises available here. People either can do business – can refuse to do business or they can't. And all these politicians trying to pretend that there's some middle ground, there's none. And that's why none of these amendments, so far, have succeeded.
Berman followed up by noting that "there are people who say that the intent, largely, of the religious freedom act when it was passed at the federal level back during the Clinton administration, was to protect religious minorities – you know, Native Americans who want to wear a headdress." He then asked, "Could you keep that part of it; and then, specifically annunciate that this bill would not be allowed – would not be used as a course to discriminate against gays and lesbians, even in private businesses – could you do that? Is there a legal avenue?" Toobin replied with his "not much of a valid comparison" assertion.
Bolduan then turned to Borger, who seconded Toobin's take on the legislation. She also touted the apparent shift inside the Republican Party itself:
KATE BOLDUAN: Gloria, I want you to jump in on this. Jeff Toobin calls it political double-speak. I want to understand what you think this is. I mean, I think, at the very least – John and I were talking – this shows the enormous amount of pressure that this governor clearly saw coming on – coming at him.
GLORIA BORGER: Well, yeah – I mean, governors respond to business in their states. And when a business like Walmart says, sorry, folks, we don't want this – you have no choice but to listen. I think what the governor also said was striking to me, because we had talked about it a little bit before he came out – which is – he said, 'These are not ordinary times.'
In fact, these – this is the new ordinary. And the new times are that members of the Republican Party – this is a – this is a governor who said he was lobbied by his own son, right, to veto the bill – that the Republican Party itself is changing. There is the evangelical right who believes that these laws ought to be passed. But it is a new world, and when you see – in this Pew poll that I was talking about – that 61 percent of young Republicans are now in favor of gay marriage, that you see how the Republican Party is having a very difficult time trying to figure out how it positions itself in a general election, in which they know very well they need to broaden the tent. The governor of this state is not running for the presidency. The governor of this state is just trying to keep business in this state and trying to keep peace.
I agree with Jeff. I think it's very difficult to figure out a way around the elephant in the room here. He didn't outright veto it. This doesn't mean, by the way, that down the road, he won't say – you know what? You didn't fix it, and I'm going to have to veto it. But he's not running in the Iowa Caucuses-
BOLDUAN: Or you didn't fix it, and I'm still signing onto it-
BORGER: Right-
JOHN BERMAN: Look, we don't know what solution they're going to come up with. We'll have to wait and see, and we'll measure that on the law and the politics-
BORGER: Exactly-
BERMAN:. But one thing we do know is that this governor has reversed statements he made just in the last few days. Look, he said he was going to sign this. Today, he's not signing it. And Gloria, as you say, that just shows the political pressure. Jeffrey Toobin, Gloria Borger, thanks so much.
