Progressives Democrats, not content to accept incremental steps toward a larger, more powerful government, have invested their hopes and proposals in President Biden’s bloated reconciliation package. They want to use their party’s slender majorities to move the country as hard left as they can, fearing midterm election losses mean they won’t soon get the chance again.

Democratic leaders hope they keep their slim majorities by giving other people’s money to as many groups as possible, but they’re undermining their spending...

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Progressives Democrats, not content to accept incremental steps toward a larger, more powerful government, have invested their hopes and proposals in President Biden’s bloated reconciliation package. They want to use their party’s slender majorities to move the country as hard left as they can, fearing midterm election losses mean they won’t soon get the chance again.

Democratic leaders hope they keep their slim majorities by giving other people’s money to as many groups as possible, but they’re undermining their spending initiatives with extreme cultural positions. It is going to be hard for liberals to buy voters’ loyalty with “free” child care, paid family leave, community college and dental benefits at the same time they denounce their constituents as racist.

Progressives’ economic overreach is exceeded by their cultural overreach. In addition to reshaping America’s economy in Europe’s image by dramatically expanding the welfare state, they want to reshape America itself. Republicans can win voters across racial and socioeconomic lines by rejecting the left’s attempts to redefine the American dream into a nightmare filled with victims demanding compensation.

Democrats once aimed their proposals at helping those being left behind participate fully in the economy through training, the earned-income tax credit and affirmative action in hiring and contracts. They argued such policies would promote both fairness and economic growth. They now are content simply to redistribute wealth, even at the cost of slower long-term growth after the sugar high of spending. Democrats once championed reforms to lower the cost of healthcare, education and other critical services; now they simply seek to transfer the costs to taxpayers.

Democrats hide the true cost of their ambitious proposals by phasing in benefits, setting artificial expiration dates, and assuming imaginary revenues from social spending disguised as “investments.” The press conveniently ignores that the actual price of their $3.5 trillion bill is more than $5 trillion. They attack corporations and billionaires for not paying income taxes, while proposing to raise taxes on those with much lower incomes. Their increased marginal rates and credits for green energy won’t stop companies from using previous losses, accelerated depreciation, or research-and-development credits to offset tax bills and may increase the number of companies paying no income taxes. Even these massive tax increases won’t be enough to fund the spending, which would lead to more deficit spending, higher taxes, and slower growth for future generations.

It has been too long since Republicans made the case for smaller government. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the Budget Control Act of 2011, Congress’s most recent attempts at fiscal constraint, occurred when Republican majorities fought Presidents Clinton and Obama. Republicans should attack the record-breaking reconciliation package for its waste, inflationary impact, work disincentives, government intrusion and unintended consequences.

Yet their most effective attacks will have nothing to do with economics, taxing or spending. “It’s the economy, stupid,” observed James Carville when he was helping elect Mr. Clinton. In 2022 it’s the culture, stupid. Conservatives must bluntly fight the progressive agenda with the urgency it deserves.

Liberals have accused Republicans since Ronald Reagan of cynically distracting voters with cultural issues to convince them to vote against their own economic interests. Media elites can’t imagine conservative leaders are sincere in their convictions about guns, patriotism or prayer; they assume rational working-class voters should vote for “free” government spending paid for by taxing others. Conservatives should proudly celebrate patriotism and faith and point out that America has provided more hope, opportunity and protections for minorities than any other society in history. Republicans should convey optimism that America’s best days are yet to come.

Conservatives should defend equality of opportunity, not outcomes. Progressives tell lower-income white Americans they are racists benefitting from “white privilege” and force critical race theory into classrooms; conservatives should decry attempts to treat Americans differently based on the color of their skin. Conservatives should proclaim the virtues of high standards, as opposed to rewarding students based on race and sex. Progressives ignore rising violent-crime rates and the breakdown of urban order; conservatives should oppose efforts to defund the police and normalize homeless encampments.

Progressives support open borders as America’s obligation to the world; conservatives should defend the rule of law, border security, assimilation and compassionate immigration policies that promote America’s interests. Progressives censor opposing views via cancel culture; conservatives should stand up for free speech, open debate and religious liberty. Liberals dismiss sex as a social construct; conservatives should defend the equality of men and women and acknowledge the biological differences between them. Voters scoff at politically correct terms like “birthing people” (mothers) and worry about losing their jobs for speaking up. Progressives want ballot harvesting and mass distribution of unsolicited ballots; conservatives should fight for voter ID and other election-integrity policies that make voting easy but cheating difficult.

Progressives have responded to Covid-19 by becoming petty tyrants, taking pleasure in telling others what to do. They have insisted beyond the science that children stay away from in-person instruction or activities, and that the vaccinated remain subject to unreasonable restrictions. Conservatives should make the case for freedom, personal responsibility and trusting the American people.

Liberals chafe at conservative populism, deeming it inauthentic. They refuse to see prioritization of limited government, economic growth and low tax rates as reflecting genuine concern for working-class Americans. They accuse conservatives of betraying voters’ economic interests by appealing to their cultural interests. Liberal attempts to attract voters with lavish government spending is undercut by betrayal of their cultural interests.

Mr. Jindal served as governor of Louisiana (2008-16) and was a candidate for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

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