A few points.
1. The Left, since the 1960s, has been the aggressor in the culture war. Liberals often object when conservatives point this out, but they brag about it amongst themselves. They are, after all, the “agents of change,” “forces of progress,” “enemies of the status quo,” etc. And when they meet resistance to the wheel of history or efforts to roll it back, they scream “culture war!”
2. Culture wars erupt because liberals urge expansion of the size and scope of the government, intruding into virgin territories of civil society where the party of government then imposes its preferred way (sometimes, as in the case of civil rights, this was justified). Culture-war issues sometimes erupt wholly in the private sector, but when they do, the intensity is much lower because tax dollars aren’t in play (and remedies involve boycotts, not roll-call votes).
3. The expansion of the size and role of government in this legislation is in and of itself a cultural issue. As we’ve been discussing around here quite a bit, part of America’s exceptional nature is that we do not look to the state for help the way many other countries do.
4. But on another level, this legislation is a superconducting super collider of culture-war conflagrations. It will throw off new and unforeseen cultural spectacles for years to come (if it is not repealed). The grinding debate over the Stupak amendment was just a foretaste. The government has surged over the breakwater and is now going to flood the nooks and crannies of American life. Americans will now fight over what tax dollars should cover and not cover. Debates over “subsidizing” this “lifestyle” or that “personal choice” will erupt. And when conservatives complain, liberals will blame them for perpetuating the culture war.