UPDATE: The Culture Wars Are Back!

Article: Focus on Social Issues Could Shape Battle for Women

Source: New York Times

"In an election that until this point has been almost totally defined by the economy’s struggles, the abrupt return of the culture wars has introduced a volatile new element." 

Wait...the culture wars have just abruptly returned? They left, it left, what left? I could have sworn in the past ten years I have witnessed a culture war via the media, internet, and outside my dorm room window freshman year. According the New York Times, the only thing that has been on the Presidential radar has been the economy, while I understand that a significant role of the past four year's legislation has taken on an economic perspective and emphasis, this has certainly not been the only role that has been taken. In the past decade drug abuse and addiction has been a significant issue in the legislature, healthcare, and social security, all have been social issues that have claimed a large amount of legislative and executive time.

There are any number of ways in which the politics might play out, but perhaps the biggest question is the degree to which the new attention on social issues might shape the battle for one of the most important electoral swing groups: moderate and independent women voters.

The author of the article is referring back to issues mentioned prior in the article: "Rick Santorum creates a stir by speaking out against prenatal testing. Virginia’s governor and legislature get caught up in an emotional debate over requiring women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound. President Obama, under pressure, recalibrates his position on health-insurance coverage of contraception for employers with religious affiliations." Topics such as these hardly refer to those who are moderate or independents. Issues regarding prenatal testing, abortions, and "fetus versus human life" are all issues that have been historically significant amongst "conservatives" and "Republicans", not "Moderates" and "Independents."

"Democrats, including Mr. Obama, have traditionally relied heavily on the female vote. From 1992 to 2008, Democrats won the overall women’s vote in every presidential election, with Mr. Obama defeating Senator John McCain four years ago 56 percent to 43 percent among women, according to exit polls. (Republicans have tended to win white women and married women, with Democrats winning nonwhite women and single women."

Again, I feel like I want to refer back to the very first reading assignment in this class over the way Political Scientists would write news articles...What candidate WOULDNT rely on the female vote? They are one of the LARGEST voting electorates, an electorate that tends to sway back and forth. 

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Overall, this article was quite disappointing seeing as it was released by the New York Times. The writing was skewed and written with a lack of political prowess that allowed for misrepresentation and over dramatization of the issue at hand.