Guess what: The Wisconsin recall battles aren’t just about budget cuts, collective bargaining and union rights. They’re now about the culture wars, too.

In a development that raises the stakes in the Wiconsin recall fight, a number of religious conservative groups — anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, and pro-intelligent design organizations — have quietly joined the fray in Wisconsin, blanketing the state with flyers and TV ads backing GOP recall targets and aggressively attacking their Dem challengers.

Even national groups are getting involved: Ralph Reed’s group has dropped mailers in the state supporting Republican state senators that are facing recall elections. This is a big deal, because it suggests another motive driving those who want to keep the state senate in GOP hands: It would give a boost to socially conservative causes, and not just economic ones.