Steve Deace: Why Conservatives Lost: Part 2 – It’s about the culture, stupid

Source: Conservative Review | August 8, 2016 | Steve Deace

“Socialism will triumph by first capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches, and the media by transforming the consciousness of society.” Antonio Gramsci

He’s perhaps the most important figure of the 20th century many Americans have never heard of. He’s the spirit animal of the modern progressive Left, although many of them probably have never heard of him, either. If you seek to understand the framework by which the Left has ruthlessly pursued its agenda since the dawn of the counter-culture, he’s the name to know.

For before there was Saul Alinsky and Cloward-Piven, there was Antonio Gramsci.

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But real upheaval–the “fundamental transformation” Leftists like President Obama seek – would require what Gramsci called “the long march through the institutions.” In other words, the very infrastructure a free and capitalistic society creates to insulate itself from such insurrection would need to be captured, co-opted, and then corrupted to the point of being used against the culture those institutions were designed to protect and defend.

See, Gramsci understood one of the most important lessons of history — politics always flows downstream from culture.

Thus, the Left plotted a course for winning a generation, while we conservatives remain focused on winning “the most important election of our lifetimes” every cycle. One team played to win, the other not to lose. One team went for broke, the other into a prevent defense.

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Pro-lifers are told to vote for pro-killing Republicans because “the economy will suffer if you don’t and nobody likes a single issue voter.” The Left is so far down its checklist on the long march through the institutions that they’ve made it all the way to the women’s bathroom. They laugh at us as we fret over a single judicial appointment. Meanwhile, they control the board of regents/trustees for every public university chain in the country. Not to mention every school board of significance, as well as every editorial page/major broadcast network.

As long as the Left remains in control of culture, conservatives’ best hope is to stop the new bad stuff coming down the pipeline. Forget even rolling back the decades of damage the Left has already done.

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Conservatives are making the same mistake the pre-Gramsci Marxists made. So focused on filling our bellies and portfolios, we’ve lost the country to the larger cultural narrative framed by the Left. As a result, now even the churches — our last line of cultural defense — are under siege as never before. All people want to believe in something bigger than themselves, and the Left is offering that grander cultural vision while we offer economic growth charts.

We need to completely change our approach to activism, by putting a priority on the culture over partisan elections. Notice I didn’t say abandon partisan elections, but re-prioritize. Learn from our opponents, because at this point in time the Left controls so many sectors of the culture they are largely insulated from any electoral success conservatives may have. For years, their movements on abortion, gay marriage, race-baiting, and humanism that would’ve never won the day on the ballot advanced nonetheless. All because they fully took advantage of the cultural machinery available beneath the hysteria over every allegedly make-or-break election.

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After all, the Rainbow Jihad lost 31 consecutive elections from California to Maine for more than a decade. But they are now the most powerful and feared advocacy group in American politics,  are in complete control of the Democrat Party, and are now making major inroads within the GOP.

It’s about the culture, stupid. 

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