Business Leaders Stand Up To Religious Right On Judges; Why Can't Microsoft?

"Justice Sunday" is creating a real quandary for Republicans. It plays well with the fringe far right religious groups -- what do they care about responsible government when the Rapture is coming any day now?

But the LA Times reports major business groups think the "nuclear option" is bad for business. While the radical Religious Right will be thrilled if the government is shut down, major business lobbies like the US Chamber of Commerce and Roundtable are telling Frist they'll be annoyed if their legislation gets bogged down and they won't be supporting his radical agenda.

So if Big Business can stand up to the radical far right, why couldn't Microsoft? Why couldn't Microsoft simply say, "We believe in equal rights for ALL of our employees?" Is that radical? Some fringe groups can try and claim you're "offending" them by not attacking your employees and customers by trying to deny them basic rights under company policy and the law, but ultimately that dog won't hunt -- no one can pretend you're prejudiced by calling for equal rights for everyone. But Microsoft got scared of the religious wrong.