I'm sure the movers and shakers on the right are ever so grateful that the twin issues of abortion and gay marriage have had such traction over the years in keeping their masses distracted like you say. Imagine how much more difficult it would have been to sell their bill of goods without them. Of course, they've since added xenophobia and Islamophobia to the mix for good measure in order to make up the bases lost by the growing acceptance of gay marriage, so they're nothing if not resourceful.