Why Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton aren't fighting the culture wars

The Week ^ | September 28, 2016 | Damon Linker

[C19fan]

The most momentous thing about Monday night's presidential debate wasn't anything Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton said. It's what they didn't say.

Not a word was spoken about abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom, "family values," or any other issue championed by the religious right over the past few decades. True, those issues didn't fit naturally with the economic, race, and national security topics on the agenda Monday night. But in previous presidential contests, that wouldn't have stopped the Republican nominee from inserting a comment somewhere about protecting unborn life or the importance of traditional families. On Monday night, we heard nothing about that from the debate stage — and the silence was deafening.

[C19fan]

American is following what happened in Europe just a decade or two behind.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Where’s Huma?

[goldstategop]

Liberals have won the culture wars.

Liberals dominate the culture. What more do you want to say?

[CapitalistCrusader]

This is because Trump changed the subject early on in the primary race. The presidential election issues are those chosen by Trump. Immigration, trade, border security, the economy, etc.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Reclaiming ground in the culture wars will require taking back control of the Federal court system.

In order to do that you have to win elections.
Clearly that had ceased to happen with a socially-driven agenda.

Just being fully pragmatic here.

[DesertRhino]

Because most Americans realize this is for all the marbles. You are in a sinking boat, you better focus on survival before thinking about where you are going to go.

The economy is bad no matter what the establishment says.
Tens of millions of hostile foreigners are pouring in.
We are in countless wars and they are pushing for shooting wars with China and Russia.
It is clear they intent to wipe America out.

There will be no country to argue over if we don’t win THIS one.

[Buckeye McFrog]

We are in countless wars and they are pushing for shooting wars with China and Russia.

Anyone who would push for shooting wars with those countries is CERTIFIABLY INSANE!

[bert]

Yep

[sparklite2]

I’d point out that the first debate was supposed to be about the economy and national security. There’s be plenty of time for stirring up the various ‘warriors.’

[stars & stripes forever]

[The presidential election issues are those chosen by Trump.]

DONALD TRUMP has emphatically stated he will appoint pro-life Supreme Court Judges, fight for the religious liberties of Christians, and repeal the tax law that has held the Church in bondage to the government.

TRUMP has made PRO-FAMILY, PRO-LIFE, PRO-RELIGIOUS LIBERTY issues a priority in his campaign.

[Boogieman]

While they touched on a few issues, really, there was only one issue they talked about in depth: Donald Trump. This is how I judge he has probably already won the election. Nobody spends that much time focusing on a loser.

[LS]

Wrong. Immigration IS the culture war. It is the front line. Until you control your borders you have no control at all over what kinds of people and/or morality you bring in.

[jonno]

Bingo.

[Boogieman]

Exactly, if we don’t focus on the immediate existential threats, there won’t be an America left to fret over it being full of tranny snowflake serial aborters.

[Yashcheritsiy]

At this point, *talking* about them is useless on the national stage.

Better to get into office, and spend three of the four years *doing* something about them, and then the last year pouring foam on the firestorm.

We know Trump is pro-life, pro-federalism, etc. I’m not worried about him doing any major swings for the Dems on these.

[Blacklisted]

The TEA Party eschews social issues because they're nothing but a waste of time.

[Dr. Sivana]

Liberals have won the culture wars.

Liberals dominate the culture. What more do you want to say?

The war isn't over yet just because they say it is.

New coalitions and alliances means the battles get fought differently.

Yes, the public schools are long gone,a nd so is much higher education. Our retreat involves a retrenchment people with homeschoolers and others who are privately educated combined with those raised by parents who are temperamentally outfitted to pushback against the public schools and raise their children accordingly.

While leftists dominate the largest channels of communication, there are far more than there were 40 years ago. No one institution (e.g. NR) being co-opted means the end of anything.

Besides the expansion and political victories of homeschooling, we have political victories on the 2nd Amendment question. The leftists are looking to short-circuit both and also stomp on religious freedom with the courts and regulations. They haven't finished the job yet. Just keep clingin' to God, family and guns, and don't surrender, even as the price of non-compliance goes up. And it will.

[Behind the Blue Wall]

Abortion is still out there and the trends are going against the left on that most basic and fundamental of culture war issues. Gays getting married pales in comparison.

[kearnyirish2]

That’s right; the “culture war” is over and the left won.

Our culture is now only allowed in private.

[kearnyirish2]

No, the TEA Party avoided the culture war because they are an anti-tax/smaller government movement (TEA = Taxed Enough Already). The NRA is the same: They are focused on a particular issue.