“Now, we’re seeing the arrogance. We’re seeing the cronyism in practice in this second term,” Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin recently asserted, sounding a lot like his vice-presidential candidate self from 2012, when Republicans spent a good deal of time attacking the president as a self-satisfied autocrat who used his power to reward friends and punish enemies. …

Now, as the White House grapples with questions about what it knew about the improper targeting of Tea Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service and growing anger over the Justice Department’s seizure of journalists’ phone records, some top Republican strategists say they are still incorporating the lessons of 2012.

“Americans for Prosperity has not been out there personally attacking the president,” said the group’s president, Tim Phillips. Instead of narrowing their focus on the president and the White House’s alleged misdeeds, they believe it is more effective to portray the I.R.S. and Justice Department controversies as outgrowths of big Democratic government.