Last week, departing Georgia Governor Nathan Deal paraphrased Mark 8:36 in another missive lobbed at the Republican candidates vying for his post. What good is it to preserve religious freedom, the Republican governor mused, if one thus forfeits the chance to attract an Amazon headquarters to the city?
Deal sent his top aide, Chris Riley, to a cozy event at a Democratic watering hole to send a clear message to Republican lawmakers and candidates: do not attempt to resurrect the religious liberty bill the governor vetoed last year, or else Amazon will cross Atlanta off the list of cities to which they might bring their new $5 billion corporate headquarters.