Culture in Politics

A recent article in the WSJ addressed the "culture wars" that seemingly define our electoral politics. Find it here (subscription req'd). Mr. Siegel writes:

...one stark distinction stands out among the differences between contemporary liberals and conservatives (the real differences, not the manufactured ones). Liberals always think that there is something broken in politics. Conservatives always think that there is something wrong with the culture.

After explaining why conservatives dominate the electoral dynamic that flows from this, he concludes:

No, there is no culture war. There is only the Republicans' unilateral mastery of the cultural strategy. The Democrats consider any attention to the practices and prejudices of everyday living a mendacious diversion from the "issues," while the GOP, the party of the status quo, has proven itself astoundingly skillful at using its cultural antennae to adapt to new times. Who knew? The Republicans may or may not be the party that will effect change. But they are certainly the party that knows how to ride it.

Naturally, Mr. Siegel's argument attracted all kinds of negative reactions from liberal dissenters, but this is exactly the problem he's elucidating. Urbanites don't seem to understand that outside the metro lines culture is how people define their lifestyles. Another reason why Thomas Frank misses the big picture.