rube bait 

Essentially diversionary social issues like abortion or gay marriage.

“The primary purpose of the GOP these days is to provide tax breaks and other financial advantages... to their wealthy donor base. All the rest of their platform, all the culture wars stuff, is simply rube bait.” -Mike Lofgren, author of The Party is Over (2012).

rube bait by See also Hunter S. Thompson October 1, 2019