Tag: culture war

Most Americans Consider ‘Woke’ Positive

Buck Banks

56% to 39%

A new USA Today/Ipsos poll finds that by a 56% to 39% margin, Americans say the term “woke” means awareness of social injustices, not excessive political correctness. “The findings raise questions about whether Republican campaign promises to ban policies at schools and workplaces they denounce as ‘woke’ could boost a contender in the party’s primaries but put them at odds with broader public opinion in the general election.”

Study: Dems Are ‘Preachy,’ Focused on ‘Culture Wars’

Buck Banks

“And the party’s House campaign arm had a stark warning for Democrats: Unless they more forcefully confront the GOP’s ‘alarmingly potent’ culture war attacks, from critical race theory to defunding the police, they risk losing significant ground to Republicans in the midterms.”

— Democrats’ own research shows that some battleground voters think the party is “preachy,” “judgmental” and “focused on culture wars,” Politico reports.

GOP Governor Says There’s More to Conservatism than ‘Owning the Libs’

Buck Banks

“There’s more to being a conservative than just owning the libs. … I still believe in a Republican Party and a conservatism that lifts everyone and really is about opportunity for everyone, and we don’t do that by turning people away or ruining people’s lives or again just these fake controversies, these false choices that we keep presenting people.”

— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) told Matt Lewis that Republicans must focus less on the culture wars with Democrats.

It’s Not About Being a Competent Public Servant; It’s About Being an Effective Culture Warrior

Buck Banks

“Ideally in a democracy, when politicians govern poorly, the voters punish them for it. Real life is obviously more complicated, and politicians who fail at their duties aren’t held accountable for all sorts of reasons. … But in the contemporary Republican Party, governance has taken a back seat to waging the culture war. Whether you are a competent public official who serves your constituents well matters less than your ability to illustrate your contempt for the rival party’s constituency in word and deed.”

— Adam Serwer

Virtue Losing to Liberty in Culture War

Buck Banks

Social conservatives are greatly outnumbered (a byproduct of having lost the culture war argument). We hear a lot about the supposed ‘three-legged-stool’ of the conservative movement, but in fighting the culture war, social conservatives are on their own. In fact, it’s wrong to think of this in terms of a left versus right paradigm. It would be better understood as part of the continuing struggle between virtue (as social conservatives define it) and liberty (defined by our modern secular society to mean the freedom to do whatever we want). In that light, liberty is murdering virtue.

— Matt Lewis, writing in the “Bullpen” column in The Week.