Why the GOP Is Winning: It Has a ('Very Bad') Big Idea

The Democrats are getting their butts kicked in the debt debate because conservatives have a big, easily communicated idea and Dems don't, writes Eugene Robinson for the Washington Post. The GOP's idea—which is, in Robinson's opinion, a terrible one—is that "taxes are always too high and government spending is always wasteful," he writes. The House, Senate, and White House are working within parameters defined by that idea and everybody appears to have accepted the result: raising the debt ceiling must be tied to spending cuts.

Democrats should take back control of the debate by expressing its argument for government's role in securing America's future in a way that "fits neatly on a bumper sticker," Robinson argues. Because here's the reality: "People may dislike paying taxes, but they dislike unemployment more," Robinson writes. "Progressives should talk about bringing the nation back to full employment and healthy growth—and how this requires an adequately funded government to play a major role." Instead of talking about "winning the future," Democrats should simply say "jobs, jobs, jobs." (More debt ceiling stories.)