Democratic party officials have reportedly warned their swing-district members that they cannot avoid talking about the health-care bill during the Easter recess:

“You don’t run away from this,” said one top party aide who has advised lawmakers and their staffs in the House about the recess strategy. “We have told them: ‘You need to go talk about it. You need to go out there and go on the offensive on it. You will not be able to turn public opinion immediately, but the key is your constituents understand your rationale for supporting it.’”

But as Reuters reports, it is Republicans who, keen on harnessing voter dissatisfaction with the passage of the health-care bill and the process leading up to it, are maximizing their exposure to constituents, while some Democrats are avoiding public appearances on the subject.

The list of Democrats treading lightly during the break includes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has no plans to speak on health-care during his trip home to Nevada, where he faces tanking approval numbers and a difficult re-election bid. Neither will Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.), he of the Cornhusker Kickback, hold any public events on the topic of his ever-evolving position on the bill, which seemed annoy constituents both to his left and right.

Rep. Bart Stupak, whose pro-life Democratic coalition was crucial to the bill’s eventual passage, has no plans to speak on his yes-vote, or the dubious executive order it took to achieve it, during his trip home in Michigan.

One exception to the Democratic rule is Oregon liberal Sen. Jeff Merkley, who will hold not one but six town halls throughout the state during recess.

Meanwhile, Republicans are anxious to keep the issue at the forefront of voters minds in the long months until November. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), facing a primary challenge to his right in the form of J.D. Hayworth, will take a strident message of full repeal to his constituents in Arizona.

Sen. Tom Coburn, a physician and a key leader in the Senate’s opposition to the bill, will hold a series of town halls in his native Oklahoma.

In a memo to members, Rep. Mike Pence urged his House members to follow their lead:

“Use every opportunity to visit with area business leaders, senior living centers, medical professionals, and local press to carry our message to every corner of the country,” he said. “There is simply too much at stake to let up the pressure.”