House Dem groups focus on social issues, GOP on taxes ahead of State of the Union

By Cameron Joseph - 02/12/13 04:17 PM ET

Dueling press releases from House Democratic and Republican campaign groups released Tuesday show Democrats want to focus on social issues while the GOP wants to zero in on taxes heading into Tuesday night's State of the Union speech.

The competing messages reflect the reality that the GOP feels its strongest arguments are on economic issues, which they rode to great success in the 2010 midterm elections, while Democrats want to keep the focus on social wedge issues that helped them win big in 2012.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out an email hitting a number of House Republicans on gun control, while the pro-Democratic outside group House Majority PAC sent out press releases keying in on the Violence Against Women Act, which the Senate reauthorized on Tuesday and now awaits House action.

"With Republicans working overtime to rebrand their party in light of the GOP’s abysmal standing with women, the question remains: Will Rep. Mike Coffman stand in the way of long-delayed renewal of the Violence Against Women Act?" reads one version of the House Majority PAC release.

Republicans have sought to soften their tone on some social issues since the November election, and the GOP has been actively seeking to rebrand itself as a more inclusive party — something Democrats are working hard to undermine.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, meanwhile, sent out an email blasting President Obama for saying yet again he'll pivot back to the economy.

"President Obama claims that tonight's State of the Union will focus on creating jobs, but we've heard that before," NRCC spokesman Matt Gorman said in a statement. "In what has become almost a yearly rite of passage, he and Democratic leaders are full of empty promises vowing to 'pivot' to job creation, but they quickly become distracted with more tax and spend policies."

Obama plans to focus much of his speech on job growth, though the GOP wants to focus more on taxes and spending.