I recall the popular GOP theme in 2012 (Romney/Ryan leading the charge ) was that all rich guys are job creators and if any of them pay less taxes WE will all benefit from it, and then we wont even need Medicare when we retire.
That led to the 2012 end years tax cut extension standoff where a number of Republicans like Lou Gomert took the stand that if Reid and Obama wouldn't accept extending tax cuts for these billionaires then nothing should pass and all our taxes should automatically go up.
Personally I wasn't interested in paying higher taxes just because they have to.
Clearly this meant that we should only be judged by the $$ we make.
That's a pretty skewed view on the message. Not to say their campaign wasn't flawed, but it wasn't that. They correctly identified that taxing the hell out of the successful is not a solution to any of the problems we face. They did not successfully make that case, clearly.
You recall wrong. Part of their message was not that "all rich guys" are job creators, but that many rich guys got that way by creating jobs and wealth for others. They did it poorly, but that was the message in part - the other part was being afraid of Mitt's wealth, which mitigated the first part. But there was never an "all rich guys" meme - and the Medicare when we retire thing????