Nope, this is preparing the 2016 political battlespace; from Betsy’s Page (emphasis mine):
As we observe all this manufactured outrage, get used to it. This is just a skirmish before the real battle – the efforts to persuade the public that whoever is the 2016 GOP candidate is eager to conduct a war on gays and women and whichever other group the Democrats want to motivate to vote against Republicans. I noticed that my students who are mostly 10th graders and not all that politically aware about the day-to-day stories on current events all knew about Indiana’s law and the ensuing outrage. Young people are more likely to vote on cultural issues rather than economic or foreign policy issues. This skirmish is preparing the ground for 2016. The Republicans should figure out how they’re going to defend against such attacks or, what happened to Romney, will happen again.
The Progressives have just signaled that they will stay ensconced in the Culture War knowing that Republicans have already disarmed themselves.
Frankly, the Rs disarmed themselves decades ago and ceded the territory to the Dems who promptly realized the value of that space and have been exploiting it ever since. Change the culture and the politics will follow – a lesson that the Rs may well learn to their dismay. Glenn Reynolds keeps harping on this all the time – some conservative billionaire should start buying up a bunch of media outlets and start their own change instead of relying on the political operatives to blow their cash on lots of ads that missed the point (e.g. Karl Rove’s outfit blew hundreds of millions last Prez cycle and got bumpkis for results).
Instead of #WarOnWomen that the Rs are gonna get smacked around with, it will be #WarOnGays. And each and every time the Rs (and conservatives, libertarians, and people of faith) flinch, the other side just keeps for the throat just that much harder. But this is what happens when you are DYING just to be liked and don’t understand that they will NEVER, EVER just leave you alone.
