The Republicans, of course, find debt reduction useful as a way of avoiding increased government spending. But the issue of debt reduction has become conflated in their minds with their desire to preserve and protect the Social Security system. This confusion has become useful for the Democrats in a narrow and short-term partisan sense. No doubt, this is an effective way to tar your opponent, as the Democrats have been happily doing for several years, even if the longer-run consequence is to radically limit the scope of Democratic spending initiatives. A new public mood is emerging.
Tax cuts are yesterday's red meat.
This makes a Republican quest to resuscitate the issue, as well as a Democratic strategy based around warding off the issue, misguided. They're still fighting the last war, while the public is looking for something new. The Democrats, the party of government, have rehabilitated a pro-government approach by showing toughness on issues like crime, welfare, and debt reduction. Perhaps most important, an economy that's finally delivering the goods has put voters in a better mood about the potential of government and the country as a whole. And that potential has yet to be met in a new economy that, despite its strengths, is doing little to solve critical problems in areas like health care, education, retirement security, and economic inequality.