On the one hand, some Republicans apparently realize that they have a problem when it comes to the economy, but their solution does nothing but demonstrate how deep their problem really is:
Get specific.
That’s the message conservative intellectuals and strategists have for the Republican Party as it faces an assault from President Obama and Democrats on issues resonant with struggling voters such as the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits.
For example:
“Republicans trumpet ‘free enterprise’, ‘personal responsibility’ like a college fight-song but they never explain how it is going to better the lives of people outside the conservative echo chamber,” strategist Ford O’Connell says. “It’s a major problem.”
Yeah, except opposing the minimum wage and opposing emergency unemployment benefits doesn't make people's lives better. In fact, it makes people's lives worse.
So here's a helpful hint for our Republican friends: The fact that you're having trouble explaining why you're against raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits isn't a sign that you need get better at spinning your position — it's that you need a new position that isn't impossible to explain. You're not having trouble spinning the public on why you're right because you're bad at spinning things. You're having trouble because you're wrong. The solution to your problems is to change your mind.