Stephen Colbert: Why the GOP’s culture war is a last resort

Mr. Potato Head. Dr. Seuss. Meghan Markle. These are the biggest issues facing America right now according to Republicans. At least that’s the impression they are giving Stephen Colbert. The Late Show host explained the motivation behind the GOP’s culture war in last night’s monologue.

The debate around “cancel culture” was reignited recently when Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would stop publishing six of the author’s books due to racially insensitive imagery. This came on the heels of Hasbro announcing that its Mr. Potato Head toy would be rebranded as “Potato Head.”

These stories were bumped from the headlines following Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The Duchess of Sussex detailed allegations of racism against the Royal Family and bullying from the tabloids.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden scored a major legislative victory with the passing of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill. But Republicans, who refused to support the bill, seemed more focused on a culture war than the war on the pandemic.

Stephen Colbert’s monologue last night explained why this is the case. The comedian detailed how the GOP has failed to vilify President Biden, forcing them to stir up a culture war in order to rally support.

Stephen Colbert has called out the Republicans’ culture war before

It was clear during the campaign that Republican and conservative attempts to delegitimize Joe Biden were not working. For whatever reason, he didn’t elicit the same levels of anger as Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Barack Obama.

Now that Biden is in office and fulfilling promises about the pandemic, Colbert says it’s even harder for Republicans to portray the president as a “boogeyman.” So with no other way to rile up its base, the GOP is using a culture war as a last resort.

This is hardly the first time this tactic has been used. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been critical of culture wars in the past.

Last summer, Colbert blamed former President Donald Trump for creating a culture war over masks. By politicizing the issue, Colbert argued that Trump failed in his presidential duties and made the pandemic worse than it had to be.

Colbert hopes that the country doesn’t buy into this false outrage and keeps the focus on issues that actually matter. The overwhelming support for President Biden’s relief bill suggests that Republicans may be running out of options to control the narrative.

What did you think of Stephen Colbert’s monologue? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.