Republican straw men

       In the afterglow of the passage of Joe Biden's and Democrats' American Recovery Plan, many in the media are dragging up the post mortems of the 2020 election in an effort to throw cold water on a triumph with bipartisan support.  

    After the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that followed, the GOP strategists realized they could play on the fears of ordinary Americans who were distressed by activists' calls for defunding the police.   Once again, the culture war played to Republicans' advantage.  Instead of calling for a review of police procedures, Democrats were painted as the party of socialism and anarchy.  

     In light of the passage of the ARP and its overwhelming popularity, the culture war straw men the media and the GOP seem significantly less important to the average voter who are seeing tangible benefits flowing from the government and Democrats.