Summary of How Everything Became the Culture War

The election of President Donald Trump has re-invigorated and intensified America’s culture wars. An early indicator of the highly partisan direction of American politics, however, was the 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain. The senior Arizona senator initially campaigned on the promise of putting country over party and seeking common ground with Democrats. Yet he could not resonate with his Republican followers until he started to castigate the US Congress for failing to address rising gas prices and called for a ramping up of oil production across the US. The issue connected with the Republican base on a visceral level – less because Republican voters took an interest in energy policy, but because they knew their political opponents hated the idea of opening up new oil fields for drilling.