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bitterly opposed any "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, out of fear that their constituents were unsupportive of immigration reform. Some
Democrats pitched in to keep the issue alive as they recognized the issue was deeply dividing the Republican party between advocates of reform and advocates of the status quo. The result was a bitter division in Republican ranks and a stalled bill in Congress. After the election of
236:(ALP) had a slight majority of people strongly favouring more sympathetic treatment, and was hence perceived as internally split. This provoked a fierce debate within the ALP on the relative merits of siding with national opinion (in favour of the Government's actions) or standing on party principle (opposing). But with over 90% of some television polls supporting the government's stance, the leader of the ALP
25:
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operated as a wedge issue in 2007. Some
Republican legislators, with the backing of President George W. Bush, sought to address the dual issues of ongoing illegal immigration to the United States and the illegal status of an estimated 12 million people currently living in America. Other Republicans
140:
Political campaigns use wedge issues to stoke tension within a targeted population. A wedge issue may often be a point of internal dissent within an opposing party, which that party attempts to suppress or ignore discussing because it divides "the base". Typically, wedge issues have a cultural or
290:
memos dating to 2009 were released that stated that they sought "to drive a wedge between gays and blacks" by promoting "African
American spokespeople for marriage", thus provoking same-sex marriage supporters into "denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots", and to "interrupt" the
182:
To prevent these consequences from occurring, the opposing party may attempt to take a "pragmatic" stand and officially endorse the views of its minority faction. However, this can lead to the defection of supporters of the opposing party's majority faction to a
294:
Likewise, Democratic strategists have hoped that the issue of stem cell research could be used as a wedge issue against the right, since some
Republicans support the research while others are morally opposed to the use of embryonic cells in research.
214:(asylum seekers arriving on unauthorised vessels), there having been several widely publicised landings of hundreds of people. On August 24, 2001, a ship illegally bearing 460 such people became distressed, and its passengers were picked up by the
165:. A party may introduce a wedge issue to an opposing population, while aligning itself with the dissenting faction of the opposition. A wedge issue, when introduced, is intended to bring about such things as:
175:
The legitimising of sentiment which, while perhaps popularly held, is usually considered inappropriate; criticisms from the opposition then make it appear beholden to special interests or fringe ideology.
282:, a traditionally Democratic voting bloc, yet also one that possesses some of the most conservative views on matters of homosexuality, may be more inclined to vote for the Republican Party because of
240:
chose to silence the majority and agree to the tougher policy—though it ended up opposing certain elements of proposed legislation, which the
Liberal Party blasted as "weak on border security".
129:
which is controversial or divisive within a usually-united group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt to strengthen the unity of a population, with the goal of enticing
243:
The damage was done, with the party appearing inconsistent and divided. The
Liberal Party campaigned largely on a platform of border security and increased its support at the
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in 2016, the views of
American voters shifted to align more closely with their parties along partisan lines, reducing immigration policy's status as a wedge issue.
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In an extreme case, a wedge issue might contribute to the actual fracture of the opposing party as another party spins off, taking voters with it.
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individuals to give support to an opponent or to withdraw their support entirely out of disillusionment. The use of wedge issues gives rise to
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291:"assimilation" of Latinos into "dominant Anglo culture" by making the stance against same-sex marriage "a key badge of Latino identity".
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The defection of supporters of the opposing party's minority faction to the other party (or independent parties) if they lose the debate.
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mantra "God, guns and gays" typifies the
Republican wedge strategy crafted alongside other famous wedge issues beginning in the
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473:"National Organization For Marriage Memos Reveal Plan to Drive 'Wedge' Between Black, Gay Communities"
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A case study of the use of wedge issues in practice comes from the 2001 federal election campaign in
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A debate, often vitriolic, within the opposing party, giving the public a perception of disarray.
591:"From Wedge Issue to Partisan Divide: The Development of Immigration Policy Opinion after 2016"
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Heinkelmann-Wild, Tim; Kriegmair, Lisa; Rittberger, Berthold; Zangl, Bernhard (May 3, 2020).
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564:"God, guns and gays: The old third rails of politics take center stage in 2020 campaign"
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526:"God, Guns and Gays: The Supply and Demand for Religion in the U.S. and Western Europe"
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had an active role in making the Tampa incident a wedge issue for Howard to exploit.
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210:. In early and mid-2001, a great deal of public attention was focused on
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It was later claimed that the controversial campaign strategists
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394:"Divided they fail: the politics of wedge issues and Brexit"
306:, aiding the party in winning the South from the Democrats.
251:. Some who would typically vote Labor voted instead for the
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took the opportunity to appear tough on asylum seekers. The
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in protest against what they saw as the ALP's complicity.
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For example, some
Republican strategists have hoped that
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499:"Gay-Marriage Foes Sought to Split Gays and Blacks"
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
440:"National silent on strategists, claims Clark"
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141:populist theme, relating to matters such as
1651:Political terminology of the United States
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524:Norris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2006).
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
311:illegal immigration to the United States
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589:Gimpel, James G. (October 1, 2019).
562:Huey-Burns, Caitlin (May 16, 2019).
47:adding citations to reliable sources
1666:Political terminology in Australia
471:Portero, Ashley (March 27, 2012).
288:National Organization for Marriage
16:Divisive political or social issue
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398:Journal of European Public Policy
542:10.1111/j.1070-3535.2005.00406.x
284:their opposition to gay marriage
247:that November despite being the
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1293:Party platforms (or manifestos)
497:Crary, David (March 27, 2012).
187:, should they lose the debate.
34:needs additional citations for
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410:10.1080/13501763.2019.1683058
309:Reform of the laws regarding
1381:Rally 'round the flag effect
477:International Business Times
1682:
227:Liberal Party of Australia
199:
722:Manipulation (psychology)
900:Criticism of advertising
1562:Promotional merchandise
1273:Character assassination
1210:Narcotizing dysfunction
1084:Photograph manipulation
797:Guerrilla communication
1545:Product demonstrations
974:Historical negationism
530:Public Policy Research
445:The New Zealand Herald
338:Cross-cutting cleavage
234:Australian Labor Party
1477:Reputation management
1396:Psychological warfare
1245:Political campaigning
1054:Firehose of falsehood
608:10.1515/for-2019-0024
373:Third rail (politics)
1512:Corporate propaganda
353:Negative campaigning
348:Dog-whistle politics
286:. In 2012, internal
43:improve this article
1600:Media concentration
1472:Non-apology apology
1462:Cult of personality
1190:Emotive conjugation
944:Burying of scholars
503:New York Daily News
333:Cleavage (politics)
1656:Political concepts
1583:Influence-for-hire
1376:National mythology
1346:Crowd manipulation
1235:Tabloid journalism
1104:Video manipulation
1049:Fictitious entries
772:Civil disobedience
658:Media manipulation
505:. Associated Press
125:is a political or
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1404:Airborne leaflets
1283:Election promises
1137:Product placement
1012:Alternative facts
752:Alternative media
570:. CBS Interactive
300:political science
280:African Americans
155:same-sex marriage
147:national security
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1630:Media proprietor
1454:Public relations
1434:Public diplomacy
1419:Information (IT)
1298:Name recognition
923:Media regulation
905:Annoyance factor
762:Call-out culture
677:Crowd psychology
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1170:Agenda-setting
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452:. July 1, 2008
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787:Deplatforming
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692:False balance
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58:"Wedge issue"
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54:Find sources:
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32:This article
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1615:Media ethics
1535:Door-to-door
1530:Cold calling
1507:Weasel words
1414:Fifth column
1317:
1308:Push polling
1258:Astroturfing
1220:Pseudo-event
1200:Infotainment
1175:Broadcasting
1094:Urban legend
1017:April Fools'
890:Testimonials
860:Infomercials
687:Dumbing down
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41:Please help
36:verification
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1487:Sound bites
1467:Doublespeak
1318:Wedge issue
1278:Dog whistle
1253:Advertising
1079:Lying press
1064:Gaslighting
842:Advertising
817:Occupations
707:Obfuscation
697:Half-truths
456:December 2,
268:Mark Textor
238:Kim Beazley
212:boat people
185:third party
123:wedge issue
1645:Categories
1588:Media bias
1444:Subversion
1409:False flag
1386:Techniques
1328:Propaganda
1288:Lawn signs
1268:Canvassing
1162:News media
918:Censorship
850:Billboards
802:Hacktivism
792:Grassroots
717:Persuasion
379:References
358:Propaganda
231:opposition
200:See also:
69:newspapers
1550:Promotion
1429:Political
1336:Bandwagon
1263:Attack ad
1142:Publicity
1114:Marketing
1027:Fake news
989:Religious
984:Political
964:Euphemism
959:Cover-ups
954:Corporate
822:Petitions
712:Orwellian
682:Deception
617:1540-8884
595:The Forum
574:April 19,
547:April 19,
509:March 28,
482:March 28,
426:211402189
418:1350-1763
363:Push poll
328:Attack ad
304:Nixon era
257:Democrats
249:incumbent
216:Norwegian
208:Australia
196:Australia
151:sexuality
131:polarized
99:June 2020
1661:Populism
1497:Transfer
1439:Sedition
1303:Negative
1215:Newspeak
1205:Managing
1147:Research
1122:Branding
1074:Literary
1039:Fakelore
1032:websites
1022:Deepfake
979:Internet
870:Modeling
827:Protests
807:Internet
740:Advocacy
732:Activism
568:CBS News
322:See also
255:and the
220:MV Tampa
191:Examples
159:abortion
1576:Related
1555:Spaving
1540:Pricing
1482:Slogans
1424:Lawfare
1361:Framing
1341:Big lie
1132:Product
1127:Loyalty
1059:Forgery
1004:Hoaxing
885:Slogans
865:Mobiles
757:Boycott
665:Context
83:scholar
1180:Circus
1089:Racial
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253:Greens
153:(e.g.
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1522:Sales
1225:Scrum
1185:Cycle
1099:Virus
969:Films
934:Books
875:Radio
855:False
832:Youth
812:Media
745:group
702:Media
422:S2CID
143:crime
90:JSTOR
76:books
1492:Spin
1069:List
994:Self
672:Bias
613:ISSN
576:2021
549:2021
511:2012
484:2012
458:2011
450:NZPA
414:ISSN
266:and
163:race
62:news
880:Sex
603:doi
538:doi
406:doi
161:or
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