Leverage, Part 2

Last week, some ... what you call it? ... soft economic power was brought to bear on the Governor of Georgia, and now this:

Georgia Governor Said He Will Veto 'Anti-LGBT' Bill

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said today he will veto the controversial “religious liberty” bill – legislation that critics argued would have prompted legal discrimination against the LGBT community.

The bill known as HB757 would have allowed clergy refuse to perform marriage rites that violated their religious beliefs. It also would have allowed churches and religious groups to decline services to someone based on their faith.

Proponents of the bill say it would have protected the religious freedom of those in the faith-based community, including churches, private schools and adoption agencies.

"I do not think that we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives," Deal said.

He continued: "Our actions on House Bill 757 are not just about protecting the faith based community or providing business friendly climate for job growth in Georgia. I believe it is about the character of our state. And the character of our people."

Hollywood and major U.S. companies have spoken out against the bill, including the NFL, which said the bill could jeopardize Atlanta's chance to host the Super Bowl.

Last week, Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights advocacy group in the nation, submitted a letter to Deal with a long list of Hollywood A-players, including Anne Hathaway and Julianne Moore, that said they won't work in the state unless the bill is vetoed. ...

And so on and so forth.

But let us, as they say in Hollywoodland, cut to the chase:

The guv was faced with two political choices. He could sign the bill, and win the hossanahs of those whose sensibilities would be damaged if they had to provide services for some of those icky people known as homo ... homo ... homosexuals.

Or, he could veto the bill and keep about two billion dollars worth of economic activity in the state. The strong possibility of seeing all that moolah fly away apparently led him to pick up his veto pen and keep Georgia safe for big-budget movie-making.

Leverage.