Juan Cole: So to believe that the 20% hard line support of 2001 has become 63% in 2009, we would have to posit that Iran is less urban, less literate and less interested in cultural issues today than 8 years ago. We would have to posit that the reformist camp once again boycotted the election and stayed home in droves.

..

So observers who want to lay a guilt trip on us about falling for Mousavi's smooth upper middle class schtick are simply ignoring the last 12 years of Iranian history. It was about culture wars, not class.

According to James Dobson, the culture wars are over, and we won.



Or, if you prefer:

Is the Christian right finished as a political entity? Or, more to the point, are principled Christians finished with politics?

It's not the end of Christian America, but this period could mark a change in the way conservative Christians understand their relationship with the state, and in particular put an end to the toxic alliance between the Christian right and the Republican party.

Shankar D: "This Is What A Culture War Looks Like."

After Wednesday night’s RNC proceedings, the contrast between Senator Obama’s calls to unity and the GOP’s calls to cultural warfare couldn’t be clearer.