Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warned “corporate America” Saturday that it needed to “be careful” and not ally itself with liberals on cultural issues. Jindal, a 2016 Republican presidential hopeful, issued the warning in a speech at a multi-candidate event in West Des Moines, Iowa.
While many at the event argued that the Christian faith was being antagonized from both the cultural left and government entities, Jindal added a third entity that is usually seen as being on the side of conservatives, big business. He cited the recent controversies in Indiana and other states over adoption of religious freedom bills liberals opposed as discriminatory against homosexuals, in which some business leaders also opposed the law.
“We saw something very unusual in Indiana. We saw corporate America team up with the radical left to come after our religious liberty rights. Corporate American needs to be careful. The same radical left that doesn’t want us to have religious liberty rights doesn’t want us to have economic liberty rights,” Jindal said. “They want to tax and regulate these companies out of existence. They think profit is a dirty word,” he added.
The chief executive officers of nine companies that employee large numbers of Indiana residents wrote the state’s Republican governor, Mike Pence, in March stating they were, “deeply concerned about the impact (the law) is having on our employees and on the reputation of our state.” The signers included the heads of Eli Lilly and Co., Anthem and Indiana University Health.
Apple CEO Tim Cook last month called on Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to veto a similar bill in his state.
Jindal boasted that his state had the same kind of laws that provoked the Indiana controversy and twice said that he will not be “bullied” by corporate America. It was a big applause line for the audience.
It resonated with Des Moines resident Tim Overlin. “I am surprised more people haven’t talked about it,” he said. “People are bowing down to pressure from a vocal minority.”
