Heck no the GOP doesn't want to talk policy in public. They try to frighten us with the "Commies" instead.

Don't underestimate the power of "commies" as a political message. Not because it's frightening, but because it's an effective heuristic for criticizing socialism (in the true economic sense of either a collective or centrally planned economy) or significant government control over the economy.

There's a recent analysis of the difference between the political attitudes of college-educated progressives and working-class voters that's been getting a lot of discussion recently. You can find it at the below link. It's a discussion of "The Left's Coalition Crisis," basically trying to figure out why Democrats are doing so poorly among non-college-educated working class folks. It's worth a read. But one finding on this point is this:

Working-class resentment reflects the power college grads wield in everyday life, where managers’ power is often resented (see box above). Resentment of professionals extends to bureaucrats, who may be seen as yet another set of college grads who “know nothing about my life but are perfectly willing to tell me how to live it.”

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All this shapes attitudes toward government and regulation. Polling by Gallup found that only 28% of working-class respondents want to increase government regulation of business, with a huge (+45 points) class gap. Meanwhile, trust in government is near historic lows, at 17%.

Google: The Left's Coalition Crisis: Understanding the Massive Divide Between Working Class and College Educated Voters, and How to Bridge it

That's why "commie" is such an effective way of communicating to working-class voters that they shouldn't vote for Democrats, and especially not democratic socialists. Voters are concerned about the costs of food, housing, energy, health insurance - but working-class voters are generally very skeptical about increasing government involvement in those sectors. So shouting "commie!" is a very effective way to message that Democratic solutions to those problems will take a form that working-class voters tend to be skeptical of.