According to Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan at Politico, the Republicans are going to campaign against two things: Obama and ObamaCare. According to Eric Cantor, they might talk about energy and education, too, but it’s basically going to be about the president and his health care plan.
The article suggests that polling supports this strategy, but it has no positive component and has no populist appeal. They aren’t even talking about the debt or the deficit, which is what supposedly animated the Tea Party. The answer to this is to first play strong defense by defending the health care law and the president, even in places like North Carolina. And then play offense: Sell a populist message, try to make Obamacare work better and raise lots of cash.
Although “work better” would be great, “sell better” is the key. And that means attacking Republicans for not supporting the bill and elements of the bill, regardless of how it polls.
The Democrats can’t afford to be nervous.