re: #370 HappyWarrior

That and I think the rise in cultural issues being a big decider in votes. I believe Gore’s loss in WV which looks tiny compared to Kerry and Obama’s was attributed to guns. Abortion I believe pushed one of my own great aunts to vote for W over Kerry which stumped my grandmother since her sister had voted for pro-choice Dems before and she’s actually voting for HRC this year.

I think cultural issues have been important for a while, that is, things like abortion, patriotism, etc.

But the election of a Black president, the rapid and dramatic shift towards gay rights and gay marriage, coupled with the continuing economic decline in some pockets of the heartland, has magnified the racial and cultural resentment on the part of some. Put it another way, while cultural issues have always mattered, the stakes have gotten higher.