Let's look at some examples of this. First you have abortion. Conservatives call themselves 'pro-life'. Where do you argue from there? If you argue against it, are you pro-death? Well, you're pro-choice but does that mean you would choose for a child to die? Certainly not because the two sides totally miss each other when it comes to understanding. But that's another diary for another day.
More analysis under the fold.
Next, look at the gay marriage debate. If you're against gay marriage, you're 'pro-family'. Can one be against family values? You would think not but somehow Republicans have grabbed a hold of this to convince people that they are on the right side of the argument.
Or you might argue that you want to expand marriage but most families look around and wonder how you can expand upon the traditional family. Through exposure to alternative lifestyles changes this but many Americans unfortunately don't have that opportunity and have a vision of what could happen to the traditional family. Again, the Republicans play the fear card.
Another example, the estate tax argument. Frank Lutz, a famous political consultant that works with the Republican Party, successfully changed the language of the 'estate tax' to the 'death tax'. In an instant, the Democrats are put in a place that is terribly difficult to argue from. Of course you would be against a 'death tax', right?
Why Republicans win so often is that they know how to convince people, they know how to get the ball on their turf and keep it there. They control the language and as a result, control the playing field. the crutch of the Democrat Party is complexity. We saw this with Kerry. People viewed him as an elitist because he talked too obtusely for the American people. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because the issues we face are complex and things are not in black and white. However, that's how many conservatives see the world. They have the ability to convince people of the 'us versus them' mentality as opposed to saying 'it depends'.
Another ability of the Republican Party to win is through fear. They tell the American People what they want to hear. There were many examples of this during the recent election with the William Ayers attack from the McCain camp. It played on the fear of Obama's middle name, Hussein. People would think someone with that name would be a terrorist and so when there was a connection drawn, no matter how tenuous it was, it cemented that thought into the American people's minds. It played on their fear.
Still, there is hope. As the world becomes more and more integrated, it becomes more educated as a whole. Voters, more than ever, are voting with their brains and not with their fears. Democrats are learning their ways around the battlefield and are tearing down the walls the Republicans have built up. They are learning to cut through the clutter and awkwardness of complex language with commonsense approaches.