For 2014 midterm elections, Republicans may decide to be cautious

From The Washington Post:

Coming to the end of a year that has bitterly divided their caucus, House Republicans are grappling with how bold they should be in shaping a legislative agenda for 2014.

Some want a modest approach focusing on oversight of the Affordable Care Act, while others are pushing for a broad alternative to President Obama’s health-care plan, hoping that it would stand as evidence of a positive GOP agenda heading into next year’s midterm elections. Some believe that a jobs agenda is critical, while others want to craft unique proposals related to education and poverty.

And across their ideological spectrum, House Republicans now say that they want to avoid shutting down the federal government and other blunders that Democrats could turn against them in the election year.

The 2014 agenda is still several weeks away from being formally crafted, which typically occurs in late January at the annual issues retreat. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) has already begun holding meetings with GOP lawmakers to try to figure out which items need attention and which need to be on the back burner. An election year almost always brings an extra layer of political sensitivity, and history suggests that the midterm election in year six of a presidency is troublesome for the party of the commander in chief. That, combined with Obama’s falling approval ratings from the troubled rollout of the federal health-care Web site, has some Republicans envisioning pickups next November.

That is in stark contrast to mid-October, when Republicans feared their majority might be in jeopardy because the public was so outraged by the shutdown. Some are cautioning against any new, big proposals that might give Democrats an opportunity to distract from the health-care quagmire by targeting new GOP proposals.

Republicans want to resolve government funding by the time they break next Friday for the holiday season. The House is slated to return Jan. 6 with only a few days before current funding authority expires Jan. 15, and the GOP consensus has been that lawmakers do not want the specter of another shutdown hanging over their heads throughout the holidays at home.