Looking at the post presidential election many political analysis cite the increase number of voter concern with
‘Values’ was actually much bigger than, or with a much larger meaning than just gay marriage. Gay marriage was used as a wedge in the south and the plains states: it was a kind of sealant to prevent leakage of, for lack of a better term, redneck or red-state voters. Gay marriage also helped convince black urban and exurban voters, especially in swing states, to vote for Bush. It’s biggest effect in the swing states, though, was as a separate ballot issue designed to turn out the vote for Bush - to give swing-state voters, in Ohio finally, a reason to go to the polls.
Brown v Topeka BOE is safe, I believe; Roe v Wade is not (but see Tigerman’s analysis of the likely impact, somewhere around here).
Other values, though were just as important. For instance, Bush clearly convinced Americans that he placed a higher value on defending the US than Kerry.
A far more conclusive clash of values, though, was in the role of party. In other words, I think the Republicans did a far, far better job of convincing Americans that Bush was proud of, and possessed, a strong head-heart connection when it came to his core principles. Kerry and the Democrats, otoh, did a very poor job, imo, of doing this. In fact, the very existence of Democratic core values was put into question very effectively by the GOP.
Other values that were relevant: international relations, or Kerry’s ‘global test’ and Bush’s rejection of same; attitudes about the locus of federal power; attitudes about the locus of religion in American life and government.
[url=http://www2.townonline.com/brookline/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=119073] "I think a large part of the public likes the conservatives’ theme music.
Now they will be tested on whether they like the lyrics."[/url]
–Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA
