Rachel Maddow: The Culture War Is Back (VIDEO)

Rachel Maddow declared Monday that the culture war is back.

Maddow was discussing the rise of GOP nominee for the Delaware Senate seat Christine O'Donnell. She noted that, after her primary victory, O'Donnell's website was overhauled, with some of its more controversially right-wing sections hidden away. This, she said, was reminiscent of the steps that some other Tea Party-backed candidates, such as Nevada's Sharron Angle, took after their own primary wins.

Maddow tied the O'Donnell makeover into what she said was a relatively hidden undercurrent in the current election season: the resurgence of right-wing cultural politics, even in an age when many in the Tea Party have said they want to de-emphasize social issues in favor of economic ones.

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Maddow said that, though the GOP was supposed to be "uniting Republicans and conservatives on all these fiscal issues and not dealing with these divisive social issues anymore," the 2010 crop of candidates was more extreme on issues like abortion than many in the past. Five of them want to ban abortion entirely, even in the cases of rape and incest.

All in all, she said, the culture war had returned:

"Culture war issues are back in Republican politics this year, even though everybody said they weren't. And they're back in a big way. The right is now starting to admit it amongst themselves, even as the Beltway media has failed so far to catch up."

She then played a clip of Indiana Rep. Mike Pence at the recent Value Voters Summit, where he said that banning gay marriage was essential to achieving fiscal solvency, because "you would not be able to print enough money in 1,000 years to pay for the government that you would need if the family continues to collapse."

Comments

[iconoclast6]

01:47 AM on 09/27/2010

OBTW, you can often find the old, pre-c_ensoerd versions of these clowns' websites at http://www.archive.org/web/web.php. Just type in the URL and choose the date you want.

[Joshy X]

01:31 AM on 09/27/2010

Democrats "interpret" the Constitution, Conservatives just quote it.

[iconoclast6]

01:45 AM on 09/27/2010

Without understanding what the phugg they're "quoting."

[jozzie]

08:49 PM on 09/26/2010

Finally, someone saying it like it is.
This is all about culture wars and has been for decades, but who's winning are the multi-national corporations. While we squabble, they rake in the dough -- and keep sçrewing the U.S. workforce. They'll keep the war fires burning as long as they can.

[EuropeWindAndFire]

07:04 AM on 09/26/2010

If enough Americans vote for the T-par-T and Reps, USA is almost back to the age before the founding fathers. Except the Redcoats are now disguised as "patriots".

Where did the people of the USA lose it?

Any document should be a "living"document, as times change, so should new insights be encapsuled into "it".

By not allowing to include some "new" things, you keep yourself lagging behind other people who do change for the future of their people.

When those Reps mentioned in this Maddow-clip do get hold of the White House, they are not the slightest better than a country like Iran, in my idea. (Also very religiouslike government in Iran).

[AllisonAEB]

10:21 PM on 09/25/2010

I'd go gay for Maddow

[Believein2012]

09:58 AM on 09/27/2010

Why not, you went insane for barry.

[FTBUTAME]

05:21 PM on 09/25/2010

Another insightful piece of journalism by Ms. Maddow.
I'm not sure if she's on the mailing list or not.

Taken from the latest JournoList II email circulation:--

"Important Notice, NEWSPEAK Dept., JournoList II

With immediate effect all journalists and commentators should stop referring to the Tea Party Movement as r@cist. The r@ce card simply hasn't worked in the way we anticipated.

We are now going to play the "Crazy/Insane Card". Until further notice all articles / opinions authored have to ensure that either crazy or insane is inserted as often as possible.
We will co-ordinate with all of Dear Leader's (Herr Soros) mouthpieces on a weekly basis to see how many gold stars will be awarded to each correspondent.

At present Chris Matthews remains in the lead with 40 gold stars, however Ms. Dowds has made up some ground over the past week.

Incidentally, the good news is that the Thrills Mr. Matthews' have been feeling up his legs is nothing more than a case of extreme adulation.

Remember that it's obviously extremely important for us to remain completely impartial when reporting on how CRAZY & INSANE these TeaBaggers are."

Great to see the Fourth Estate is alive & well.......

[PlainBread]

06:32 PM on 09/26/2010

LOL. Same ol tactic. Fear the fear. Did you take your pills now?

[FTBUTAME]

06:50 PM on 09/26/2010

Yeah, they were great!!

[tttony]

02:04 PM on 09/25/2010

Rachel, you are amazing.

[BocaMom]

11:44 AM on 09/25/2010

Talking about a culture war, we need to focus on the current administration and Congress. Unfortunately, if we keep taxing everyone, there will be no one left to donate money to the arts!

[lightist]

05:14 PM on 09/24/2010

"Someone hide the National Endowment for the Arts, quick." .... R. Maddow

Someone put the NEA on the front burner, quick, because it's already been all but 'disappeared'.

[Daniel Spears]

02:12 PM on 09/24/2010

You want to show Tea baggers whats up, ask them questions! If they say X is unconstitutional, ask them how! Ask them 'what part of the constitution it breaks and why'. Ask them to quote verbatim. They live on rhetoric and propaganda, not logical facts or arguments. Get Socratic with them and watch them melt in moments! It's so fun! Just ask the simple questions: Why? How so? etc. Show them how they don't know what they're talking about then mention that maybe they shouldn't talk.”

[takeabigdeepbreath]

05:22 PM on 09/24/2010

So few questions are asked, or even better, pursued by the media. There seems to be great tolerance for illogic.

[BuckCarson]

09:17 AM on 09/25/2010

I would urge you to do so. Teabaggers would gladly answer such questions. Just be prepared to answer some questions yourselves.

[Daniel Spears]

10:00 AM on 09/25/2010

I'm always willing to answer questions and have a discussion without name calling, argumentum ad hominem or anything of the such (you know, other logical fallacies). However, I've already gotten a cold "NO" from teabaggers. In fact, I was told "I'm not going to be your dancing monkey doing homework assignments for you." But, I'll admit, that's sample error bias. Maybe this person does not represent the modal or average teabagger.

[StanleyYelnats]

01:25 PM on 09/24/2010

Of course it is. It is what Republican tBaggers do best.

[veganzombie1]

05:11 AM on 09/24/2010

My god, talk about scapegoating. My father was one of the worst womaniser I know, so yeah, I don't think gays have anything to do with my family collapsing.

[minerva117]

10:46 AM on 09/25/2010

Yeah, my father broke my mother's back when she was pregnant in 1960. I doubt that gays had anything to do with that either.

[Sister777]

12:42 AM on 09/27/2010

As far as I know, gays had nothing to do with BP oil spill, Katrina, starting wars, the financial meltdown, lowering wages, moving jobs over seas or unfair trade agreements.

They do seem (the ones I know) to have great taste, well educated, fun and intelligent, spiritually minded (not religious) and have great senses of humor. Pillars really.

[Hardyman1966]

01:58 AM on 09/24/2010

There are more reasonable voices out there than there are fanatics.

The problem is, the fanatics vote.

This November is probably more important than 2008.

We have a brief window of opportunity to crush a potentially lethal infestation masquerading under the guise of false religion, values and nationalism.  It's your choice.

Unless you don't mind going back to twin beds and cellophane on the davenport.

[Genius]

04:36 AM on 09/25/2010

If I could vote today, I would do so.

[Catherine Dmedici]

10:37 PM on 09/23/2010

How did we become a fearful nation? Anyone...? (Yes, 9/11 fueled this, but obviously was not the root...). Commentary, anyone???

[wrightthewrong]

10:37 AM on 09/24/2010

We have been a fearful nation since we have had public media (Radio and TV, and now other media). Fear sells, and it is selling now more than ever. I cruise the news shows at lunchtime and get my exercise by getting worked up over the RIDICULOUS stories on all of the news channels. BTW -- the Right is now scared of carrots taking away our french fries.

[FantasticFourFan]

08:23 PM on 09/23/2010

The culture war never went away. The libertarians influence is greatly exagerrated. Downplayed doesn't mean done away with.