Republicans in Congress are being rightly criticized for their handling of the “payroll tax debacle.” They let Democrats and President Obama exploit some previously unexposed divisions in the party and portray themselves as middle-class tax cut heroes. And guess what? They are going to double-down on this strategy again in February. DNC stenographer Greg Sargent previews their gameplan in The Washington Post:
Dems are hoping the story they told during this battle — they are the fighters for the middle class, while Republicans revealed that their true priorities are protecting the wealthy even if it means more hardship for working families — will establish the narrative for the 2012 campaign. Crucially, they think they have put the battles over the deficit behind them — battles that unfolded on GOP turf — and can now make the fight all about the ideological differences between the two parties over how and whether government should act to create jobs and improve economic conditions for the middle class.
So how should Republicans respond? First, they have to abandon two arguments which proved to be total failures in round one:
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