Culture wars engulf GOP 2016ers
Indiana #39;s religious freedom bill debacle has forced Republicans to address contentious social issues, pitting social conservatives against big business. Indiana #39;s religious freedom bill...
By: Thomas Bolduc
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Culture wars engulf GOP 2016ers - Video
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No One Has An Edge in the Culture Wars
Let #39;s Play: Far Cry 4: Ep. 25: Amita #39;s Mission: Culture Wars (PS4)
ABOUT THIS VIDEO Let #39;s Play/Far Cry 4: Ep.25- Culture Wars. PS4 Gameplay. Episode 25: Here is the walkthrough for the campaign mission, Culture Wars, for Far Cry 4. SUBSCRIBE TO ME:...
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Let's Play: Far Cry 4: Ep. 25: Amita's Mission: Culture Wars (PS4) - Video
Jonathan Martin in the New York Times:
The uproar set off by legislation in Indiana and Arkansas that sponsors billed as religious freedom measures not only signaled a revival of the culture wars, but also threw into stark relief the expectations and tensions in the coalitions that now make up the two major political parties.
The contrasting reactions to the proposals Democrats united in opposition, Republicans torn by dissent illustrates how the parties have effectively traded places.
Democrats, for decades a heterogeneous and often fractious amalgam of voters, have become overwhelmingly liberal on cultural issues like gay rights and abortion. Their belief reflects a party now dominated by a socially progressive coalition of millennials, minorities and wealthy, educated whites, many of them secular.
This is not quite right, if you look at the public opinion data.
Yes, Republicans are more divided than Democrats on basic support of same-sex marriage. Heres a graph from a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll:
But Democrats are actually slightly more divided than Republicans on the religious freedom measures. In this Pew survey, Republicans split 68 percent to 28 percent in favor of allowing businesses to refuse services for same-sex couples, while Democrats split 64 percent to 33 percent in favor of requiring business to provide services to all customers.
The other problem is this mixing of same-sex marriage and abortion under the broader label culture wars. (At one point, Martin throws in race under this label, making things even more complicated, but I wont get into that here.) Why shouldnt these issues be linked together?
For one, the politics of same-sex marriage and abortion are completely different. There is growing support for same-sex marriage, driven by generational differences. There is no growing support for abortion (or see here), and very modest differences across generations.
Second, it is not at all clear that Republicans are more divided on abortion than are Democrats. Republicans are more unified behind the label pro-life than Democrats are behind the label pro-choice. Democrats are slightly more unified on the question of whether abortion should be legal or illegal in all or most cases. Republicans are more unified on the question of whether abortion should be legal through 2o weeks vs. 24 weeks of pregnancy.
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Democrats are divided on culture war issues, too - The ...
At the last minute, on Thursday night, the US states of Indiana and Arkansas pulled themselves back from the brink by refusing to pass unamended legislation which had been condemned across the nation as anti-gay and discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Rarely before in US history has there been such an outcry mounted by a cross-section of church, business, sporting and entertainment leaders against bills which were promoted as defending religious freedoms but which were roundly criticised at the same time as being anti-libertarian in tone and intent.
If bad laws are legislation which has been passed too quickly then Indiana and Arkansas were in danger of subjecting themselves to measures they would come to regret. Last week, amid scenes of panic and mutual recrimination, the governors of both states were about to sign off new laws which were condemned by civic and business leaders as being overly discriminatory and reactionary. Both are versions of the existing federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The opposition was not just confined to church leaders and other libertarian organisations: amongst the most strident critics were the retail giant Walmart which has its headquarters in Arkansas and the clothing manufacturers Gap and Levi Strauss which have powerful business interests in both states. Among the individual critics were Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the novelist Stephen King and pop star Cher. Even Seth Hutchinson, son of Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, was moved to tell his father that it was a flawed piece of legislation and that he should not sign it.
Their main objection was that the new law would allow businesses and other organisations to discriminate unfairly against gays and lesbians on religious grounds. At the same time conservative supporters of the two bills claim that it simply mirrors a federal law that prevents the government from "substantially burdening" a person's exercise of religion unless there is a "compelling interest".
In other words, here was a classic American culture clash of interests with lawmakers claiming that they were simply upholding existing religious beliefs such as stopping the government from compelling people to do things they object to on religious grounds, such as catering or providing flowers for a gay wedding.
At the same time opponents countered that it was repressive legislation which was anti-gay in tone and content and would simply fuel existing prejudices.
"These bills rationalise injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear," argued Apple boss Tim Cook last week. "They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality."
Others were equally vocal with an array of business, sporting and entertainment figures threatening to withdraw plans to invest in Indiana or Arkansas or even to travel to either state. Suddenly it seemed as if both states could be closed for business in the immediate future.
This unprecedented display of opposition to the legislation brought a surprisingly quick result. On Thursday night in Indiana, legislators passed a series of alterations clarifying that changes to the religious freedom law would not permit anti-gay discrimination.
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Faith, freedom and flowers at gay weddings: the return of the American Culture Wars