The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Iowa Shows Social Issues Still Matter

The Spectacle Blog

Iowa Shows Social Issues Still Matter

By David N. Bass on 11.4.10 @ 12:30PM

In an election season dominated by fiscal issues, Iowa voters chose to oust three state Supreme Court justices (including the chief justice) who sanctioned same-sex marriage in 2009. It’s another example of social issues — marriage and judicial activism — being winners for Republicans at the ballot box, even in a year where jobs and budget drew most of the attention.

It’s time conservative-ish pundits stopped pooh-poohing non-economic issues as electorally harmful. Clearly, they’re not. Neither should they be seen as secondary or a distraction. Marriage and family are inextricably linked to our economic woes. You can’t deal with entitlements and the welfare state without acknowledging the harm caused by the upheaval of the traditional family during the last four decades. America’s fiscal crisis is a social crisis, too.

About the Author

David N. Bass is a journalist who writes from the Old North State. Follow him on Twitter.

http://spectator.org/blog/2010/11/04/iowa-shows-social-issues-still

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