Why are Republicans so weirdly hesitant to talk about America's middle class?

The American middle class didn't get much love over the weekend at the Iowa Freedom Summit — at least not directly. The event was the Republican presidential race's de facto kickoff. And if the C-SPAN transcribers got it right, all those potential 2016ers only used the phrase "middle class" nine times during the nine-hour affair. The number gets even lower when you note that Sarah Palin — more performer than serious pol these days — accounted for three of the nine mentions. And it's not a question of language: "Middle income" workers got one measly shout-out, from Chris Christie.

The paucity of "middle" mentions is bizarre.