GIVING THE MINORITY A WEDGIE:

'Culture wars' shaping election (Bill Sammon, March 25, 2004, Washington Times)

"He sort of wins on a lot of these issues without even firing a shot," said Democrat Manfred Wolf, an English professor at San Francisco State University. "It's just a feeling that a lot of people have that the country is growing soft, and they don't like it.

"The Republicans tend to cash in on this," he added. "I would hate to see the Democratic Party get caught in this, because the Democratic Party will lose on these cultural issues."

The Bush campaign agreed.

"The Democrats' position on almost all of these issues is anti-majoritarian," said a senior campaign official. "Their position is: Because we don't trust the majorities in defining marriage, or in establishing appropriate laws in their states on things like abortion or on so many other fronts, we need to step in and have an elite group of people who share our values tell the majority what to do."

For example, he said, the left warned that Mel Gibson's "The Passion," which graphically depicts Jesus' crucifixion, would incite anti-Semitism.

"Think about what they're saying: You can't be trusted to go see this movie. You can't be trusted, or your passions will rise up," said the Bush campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Is Mr. Wolf saying he'd rather see the culture destroyed?

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 26, 2004 4:19 PM