I’ve written a lot lately about how Congressional Republicans are rooting for the economic recovery to fail — in fact, it’s central to their electoral strategy. Despite their best efforts, though, the recovery appears to be gathering strength. That’s why they’re resorting to desperate tactics like demanding the Federal Reserve stop trying to improve the economy.

But there’s one potent weapon left in the Republicans’ arsenal: they could kill the payroll tax cut that’s expiring at the end of this month, costing middle-class workers money and weakening consumer demand. More and more, it’s looking like they may actually happen:

Top Democrats are openly calling into doubt the chances that Congressional negotiators will reach an agreement to renew the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of the month. The culprit, they say, is a deep schism within the Republican conference over whether the the tax holiday is a good policy or just a political gimmick to help President Obama win re-election.

The consequences of failure would result in a typical middle-class worker taking home about $1000 less this year, just as demand is starting to return to the U.S. economy and the unemployed are beginning to find work.

As a fiscal stimulus goes, the payroll tax cut is a weak one. However, it has at least had some effect, and our economy stills needs all the help it can get. Taking this money out of consumers’ hands could do a lot of economic damage. Unfortunately, that may be just what the GOP wants.

Rick Santorum? Really?

It’s a sign of just how much the Republicans hate Mitt Romney that they’ll even vote for Rick Santorum over him. Santorum won all three of yesterday’s caucuses, prolonging the awesome spectacle that is the GOP primary.

I’ve never really thought of Santorum as anything more than a joke. This is a guy who couldn’t even maintain his Senate seat in his home state of Pennsylvania; he’s not going anywhere against Barack Obama. I suspect Republican voters realize that, too, but they can’t seem to stomach Romney at all.

Now that he has a few wins under his belt, we can expect multi-millionaire mitt Romney to spend millions of dollars smearing Santorum. Man, I love this race.

I know, the DFL caucuses this year don’t seem particularly exciting in many districts. We have a choice between Barack Obama and Uncommitted in the presidential straw poll, and a sitting Senator who will cruise to re-election. Even if you’re in a district without a contested Congressional or legislative endorsement, though, the caucuses are a worthwhile use of an evening.

Attending your local caucus is a great way to get involved in your party at a local level, or even beyond if you’re so inclined. You’d be surprised how far you can go simply by showing up.

So take an hour tonight and head to your local caucus to help build our party. Bring a resolution for the party platform. Sign up as a convention delegate, a precinct chair, or some other position. Politics is shaped by those who show up, so make sure your voice is heard tonight.

Republicans can never come right out and admit that their policies are all about heaping money on the richest 1 percent. That would obviously be political suicide. Instead, they rely on phony language. For example, they’re not the super-rich, they’re “job creators.” Similarly, Republicans falsely claim that taxes on the rich are actually targeting “small businesses.”

In fact, a large majority of small business owners believe millionaires don’t pay their fair share in taxes, according to a new poll [PDF], and believe their taxes should be increased.

It should be noted that 50 percent of the respondents of the poll identified themselves as Republicans or “independent leaning Republican.” Yes, even Republican business owners believe the rich are getting special treatment. As it turns out, the only people who support continued giveaways to the rich are establishment Republicans and the millionaires and big corporations that fund them. 

The Republicans are getting desperate for some change in the economy — by which I mean they really need it to start failing again. They spent over a year trying to hold the economy back, but they failed. Now they’re going to ever-more ridiculous lengths to try to salvage the 2012 election, even if it means harming out-of-work Americans.

For example, did you ever think you would see a news story like this?

Republicans Sharply Question Bernanke for Fed’s Focus on Job Market

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans criticized the Federal Reserve on Thursday for working to reduce unemployment and revive the housing market rather than maintaining a single-minded focus on inflation….

Really? You don’t want the Fed — which should actually be doing a lot more to help the economy rebound — trying to restore the economy? That’s one of the most insane things I’ve heard in a long time.

[Via Nancy Pelosi’s press office]

In pushing for the Governor’s proposed $775 million bonding proposal, it looks like the Dayton administration will focus on the proposals’ abilities to jumpstart private spending and the creation of permanent jobs. On Friday, the Governor’s team posted an example — a $25 million project to revitalize Nicollet Mall:

The revitalization of Nicollet Mall as a signature business, pedestrian, and retail corridor will help leverage $2.7 billion dollars in private investment to Downtown Minneapolis, creating 13,000 new permanent jobs by 2025. These jobs will generate $174 million dollars in direct revenue to the State of Minnesota. Additionally, reconstruction and redevelopment along the mall will create 22,000 construction related jobs.

Governor Dayton’s bonding proposals strengthen the Minnesota’s economy by using state resources to leverage increased private investment. Reinvigorating Nicollet Mall will help bring new jobs and investments to downtown Minneapolis, continuing a trend towards a more vibrant downtown. Governor Dayton is committed to growing our economy, improving quality of life, and Building a Better Minnesota through important projects like Nicollet Mall. [Emphasis added]

The administration’s focus on leveraging private investments is smart, because it really emphasizes the point of a stimulus program. It’s not just to spend money directly to create jobs — it’s to provide sparks to jumpstart the private economy. The Nicollet Mall project is a perfect example of that.

Even if the estimates above end up being significantly over-confident, a small public investment will jumpstart private investments many times larger than the relatively small cost of the project. This small public investment could leverage billions in private funding, creating thousands of jobs and ultimately paying for itself. How many Minnesotans would really object to that?

Hooray! This is the sort of thing I’m enjoying hearing more of from Barack Obama:

President Barack Obama on Thursday tied his proposal to raise taxes on wealthy Americans to his faith, telling leaders gathered for the National Prayer Breakfast that Jesus’s teachings have shaped that conclusion.

The rich should pay more not only because “I actually think that is going to make economic sense, but for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’s teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required,’” Obama said…

It’s really important that Democrats stop ceding the moral high ground on issues like taxes. That can mean tackling taxes from a religious perspective, like Obama does here, or simply discussing our moral imperative to provide for the poor and sick.

For years, the right has somehow made giving millions of dollars to the super-rich seem like the height of morality. They’ve tarred progressive taxation as un-American “socialism.” That’s absolutely absurd, but for decades, we have refused to push back.

One of the reasons I voted for Obama in 2008 was that I thought he could make our case effectively. In 2012, he’ll have that chance, and I hope he’ll rise to the occasion.