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At Campaign 2008's Presidential level there has been precious little coverage of those culture wars wedge issues that were such favorites in previous cycles. Each network dug a little deeper and found them alive and well at the state level. NBC's Andrea Mitchell took us to North Carolina, "a state with a church on almost every corner," where the Constitutional prohibition against religious tests for office appears to be honored in the breach by both candidates for Senate. Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole ran an ad accusing her rival of raising funds from "Godless Americans." Democratic challenger Kay Hagan responded that she is a Presbyterian Church elder and Sunday school teacher and accused Dole of "bearing false witness against a fellow Christian."
CBS sent Kelly Cobiella off to South Dakota to weigh the pros and cons of Initiative 11, a ballot measure that would criminalize almost all abortions, save those to preserve the health of the pregnant woman or to terminate a pregnancy that was conceived after either rape or incest. Cobiella noted that the state already had one of the lowest rates of abortion nationwide--just 700 this year--and if passed and upheld by the Supreme Court, women who wanted one would likely cross state lines for a legal procedure.
As for ABC, its 50 States in 50 Days series turned to California, whose Constitution will be amended to prohibit same-sex marriages if Proposition 8 passes. Dan Harris ticked off funding from both sides--"religious groups like Focus on the Family, the Knights of Columbus and members of the Mormon Church against Hollywood celebrity donors like Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg and Ellen DeGeneres"--to call it "one of the most expensive campaigns in the country, second only to the Presidential race." Harris quoted the slippery slope arguments made by some evangelical Christians in support of imposing the ban: "If gay marriage is allowed to stand, it would force churches to marry gays; force schools to teach gay marriage; and open the door to pedophilia and bestiality."
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