Actually, you just hit on the tactic. The answer is to have a Republican in leadership position tell the press, "This is the old Democrat tactic that they've been working since the Clinton Administration -- refuse to apologize, back down, and ride it out."
Make that a talking point for a few days until it resonates with the public.
Force the Dems to come up with another tactic, this one having been lost to them by exposure.
The Republicans fail to openly analyze these dem tactics and political issues and properly educate the public. Perot's approach with the charts was very effective although he ultimately became a joke. Newt is also very effective at playing professor and providing an analysis people can understand. What we need are more Newts (without the condescending facial mannerisms) and Perots (without the twangy voice) that plainly explain what's going on. These dem tactics are predictably lame and should be effectively exposed to reach that middle 20% out there. Forget the 30% leftist diehards.
I'd rather see this statement: "This is the old Democrat tactic that they've been working since the Nixon Administration -- assisting America's wartime enemies by telling lies about atrocities by American troops."
This is a typical stradegy employed by loosers.