Will hog castration be in GOP rebuttal?

White House press secretary Josh Earnest’s hope for the Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address Tuesday night? No references to hog castration.

Freshman Iowa senator Joni Ernst, who surprised political observers with her come-from-behind win in last year’s Republican primary, saw her national profile elevated by a television ad in which she spoke about castrating hogs on an Iowa farm — and her pledge to “make ‘em squeal” in Washington.

{mosads}Earnest told CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday he hoped Ernst’s rebuttal to Obama’s State of the Union would include less colorful rhetoric.

“I think I speak for most of America when I say, ‘I hope not,’ actually,” Earnest quipped.

The White House spokesman did acknowledge that it “certainly advanced her career pretty tremendously for her to include some colorful farm references throughout her campaign.”

“We’ll see if she’s willing to do that on the national stage,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last week that Ernst’s remarks would outline the Republican vision for addressing the middle class concerns President Obama is expected to center his State of the Union around.

“Americans voted for change,” McConnell said. “And Senator Ernst will explain what the new Congress plans to do, and what it is already doing to return Washington’s focus to the concerns of the middle class and away from the demands of the political class.”

Earnest argued Tuesday that Republicans haven’t done enough to provide “specific proposals” for what they are doing to help the middle class.

“We hear them use the middle class as a talking point a lot, but we don’t actually see Republicans fighting for the middle class,” Earnest said, adding that GOP lawmakers would “have to make a decision” about where to stand on the president’s new tax proposal, which will be unveiled Tuesday night.

That plan would raise $320 billion in new taxes on the wealthy and big banks, and spend it on infrastructure improvements, free community college, and tax breaks for lower-income workers.

“If they have a fundamental disagreement with the president, they’re welcome to articulate that view,” Earnest said. “I just don’t happen to think that the vast majority of the American people are going to agree with them.”