The Culture Wars Still Rage
Albert Hunt
Wall Street Journal
December 16, 2004
Moral issues, with Republicans holding the high ground, will continue to reverberate in American politics over the next four years, and this is dicey territory for the GOP as well as Democrats. .... Peter Hart, a pollster who conducted the survey, has no doubt that the cultural wars will continue to rage. The bases of both parties, he notes, are dug in, unyielding on these issues, while the political center is wary of any major movements. The upshot: "Anyone who doesn't think social issues are going to be a big part of the political debate over the next four years doesn't understand American politics." .... Democrats do well on universally shared values; asked in the December WSJ-NBC News poll which values are associated with the Democratic Party, Americans say ensuring equal opportunity, tolerance and compassion. But it's Republicans who score high on strengthening families, raising standards of public decency, religion and faith or personal responsibility. These are the politically defining social issues, the ones that affect votes.