What they "really are" is Democrats using the dead horse that Republicans beat to a mass of jelly against the very same Republicans who beat that poor horse (cultural issues) to death in the first place.
Republicans used cultural issues to ostracize and alienate segments of society. Now Democrats are using them to include and help segments of society.
And how can you use the word "fabricated" when the Bush campaign (and Republicans in general for decades) have been using cultural issues as a mainstay of their platform? Suddenly these same cultural issues are somehow "fabricated"?
It reminds me of how Republicans ranted about "welfare queens" and then turn around and claim "class warfare" when someone mentions that the wealthy need to receive fewer tax breaks.
