Choose the terrain that makes the fight as easy for you as possible. But be careful. American politics takes place in a pluralistic framework, where constituencies are diverse and ofen in conflict. Fairness and tolerance are the formal rules of democratic engagement. In political warfare, the aggressor usually prevails.
Republicans often pursue a conservative strategy of waiting for the other side to attack.
In football, this is known as a prevent defense. In politics it is the strategy of losers. Aggression is advantageous because politics is a war of position, which is defined by images that stick. By striking first, you can define the issues as well as your adversary. Defining the opposition is the decisive move in all political war.