(Editor’s Note: As the end of 2013 approaches, the Washington Examiner is shining a spotlight on its best columns of the year. Today, it’s senior political analyst Michael Barone’s call for Republicans to propose tax cuts to strengthen two-parent families. This column first ran on Nov. 22 and can be found in its original form here.)

Are Republican politicians trying to frame a policy agenda stuck in a Reagan rut? A good case can be made that they are — or have been.