Boehner and Cantor

Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor say this session will be about jobs, really.


Where have we heard that before?
The 2012 GOP playbook is a poll-tested group of bullet points that seems to illustrate a fresh start for the majority. That means tackling issues that unify the party, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, domestic energy production, infrastructure spending and tax reform. It also means dodging the spending and deficit battles that hurt the party last year.

In fact, much of the 2012 agenda will be the mirror opposite of 2011.

In 2011, Republicans talked about cutting spending, trying to convince the public that doing so would create jobs. That message — along with talk of the size of government — isn’t strong, Republicans were told in a polling briefing. need to stick to the mantra of “Where are the jobs?

The fact that they’re coalescing around a fresh set of principles shows that leaders are aware of the discontent in the conference and recognize that a fresh start is necessary to maintain their majority. It’s an attempt to scuttle the sense of crisis and improvisation that was the backdrop to governing in 2011.