A really insightful take from John Halpin and Ruy Teixeira of The American Prospect.

As the country is evolving, so are the American people’s views on what government can and should do. Start with the likely diminution in the culture wars that have bedeviled American politics for so long. While cultural disagreements remain, their political influence is being undermined by the rise of the millennial generation, increasing religious and family diversity, and the decline of the culturally conservative white working class. Culture-war issues such as abortion and gay marriage, which so conspicuously failed to move many voters in the last couple of elections, will lose even more force in years to come.

Instead, we are likely to see more attention paid to health care, energy, and education–issues Americans care about and in which government has a positive role to play. The public holds distinctly progressive views in each of these areas, supporting health care for all, a transition to clean energy, and building a 21st-century education system, including a major infusion of resources to improve K-12 education and college access. The public’s commitment to these progressive goals is only likely to intensify, since rising demographic groups tend to be especially supportive.

I’ll only add that if this study proves true- and the electorate makes decisions based on the long term policy implications that a candidate espouses, as opposed to a candidate’s ability to politically meander controversial wedge issues, then we’re likely to see a smarter electorate emerge in the decades to come. Blogs and facebook and twitter enable candidates and even elected officials to engage in off the cuff, unscripted conversations with their constituents. The benefit of this is that it’s conducive to education and accountability. Granted, this assumes that our representatives want to educate the masses (Claire McClaskil for instance, is extremely thoughtful on her twitter page taking time to respond to specific policy questions that get tweeted her way).

The point is that if we can remove some of those stigmas that tend to frame political debate (ie: Pro-life, Pro-Business) to get down to the specifics, (ie: What are you going to do for students strapped down by college loans, what are you going to do for small businesses who can’t meet payroll)- then we’re likely to see a more complicated debate, which is something I’m not entirely sure the Right is prepared for.