GOP: Don’t Back Down, the Voters Are With You

Congressional Republicans arrived in Washington with a mandate from voters to shake things up. While compromise is inevitable, given that the Democrats control the Senate and the White House, Republicans should do all they can to sharpen the differences between themselves and the Dems. They should be encouraged to stand their ground by today’s poll data indicating that likely voters trust Republicans over Democrats on every key issue, often by stunning margins–nine points on the economy, fourteen on health care, ten on Social Security (!), fifteen on national security, nineteen on taxes:

It is not hard to see where the Democrats’ enthusiasm for “bipartisanship” comes from. In the end, compromise will be necessary on most issues. But Republicans nevertheless should press their positions hard and with clarity, so that voters can see that Republicans are doing everything they can to fulfill their campaign promises.