If this week is any indication, the economy won’t be the only issue in the 2012 elections.
Two events this week have led pundits to believe that social issues could play a significant role in the 2012 elections. First, the Komen Foundation controversy and the backlash against them, driven largely through social media, demonstrated that people care and will be active on the issue of abortion and women’s health care. Republicans also jumped on the Obama administration’s decision to require religious organizations like charities, hospitals, and schools to cover contraception in their health care plans for employees. They see this issue as both an attack on religion and the harmful effects of ‘Obamacare.’
Democrats also think these issues will play a role in the election — and that they will work in their favor. In a memo, Priorities USA Action noted that Republicans and Republican candidates in particular have moved far to the right on the issue of contraception this year and are far outside the American mainstream.
