Appearing on Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs Tonight on Monday to discuss Indiana's new religious freedom law, Democratic Strategist Doug Schoen revealed that President Clinton only signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 because of “electoral practicality.”
Speaking to Dobbs, the former Clinton advisor argued that there were two reasons why the media has obsessed over Indiana’s religious freedom law. First, “there is newly passed legislation on the subject and second the NCAA Final Four is in Indianapolis next weekend and that’s become a focal point for potential boycotts.”
The liberal Fox News contributor went on the say that he no longer supports the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law that his boss President Clinton signed into law in 1993 because “20 years later the social mores of the country have changed.”
When pressed by Dobbs as to what has changed in America, Schoen admitted that Clinton probably never supported the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and merely signed the law due to the “electoral practicality” of the day. The Democratic strategist went one step further and conceded that his former support for RFRA was “craven” to which Dobbs argued that “you’re doing far more then recanting. You’re being honest to a fault.”
Schoen’s revelation that President Clinton never believed in RFRA has never made it into the liberal media’s discussion of Indiana’s religious freedom law as it would force them to admit that President Clinton was deceiving the American people when he claimed to support federal legislation protecting religious liberty.
See relevant transcript below.
Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs Tonight
March 30, 2015
LOU DOBBS: I’m going to start with you Doug because your former boss is the one who started all of this and why is everybody focusing on Indiana when there are 19 other states that have basically the same law and the federal government thanks to Bill Clinton has the same?
DOUG SCHOEN: I think there are two reasons. One, there is newly passed legislation on the subject and second the NCAA Final Four is in Indianapolis next weekend and that’s become a focal point for potential boycotts.
DOBBS: Yes, I understand boycotts and I understand reacting to the law. But isn’t it idiotic to do so when other states and the federal government have the same law?
SCHOEN: I think in this time--
DOBBS: Is this more racial exploitation? What is this?
SCHOEN: I think it’s just misguided policy. It’s not something at this point that I would support. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.
DOBBS: Well you can’t recant from what you and your boss did.
SCHOEN: I just did.
DOBBS: No you can’t.
SCHOEN: Yes, I can.
DOBBS: No you can’t.
SCHOEN: I just did.
DOBBS: How unseemly of you.
SCHOEN: 20 years later the social mores of the country have changed. So thus I think the legislation--
DOBBS: So what were the social mores that drove this in 1996?
SCHOEN: Electoral practicality.
DOBBS: Oh, so you are--
SCHOEN: I’m craven and base I’ll admit it.
DOBBS: Oh, you’re doing far more then recanting. You’re being honest to a fault.
