Hope: A word forever changed by the 2008 election. Once used in political rhetoric on occasion, it now brings up images of our current president. A triumphant word symbolizing victory for the Left and a word now forever tarnished and un-usable for the Right.

Its not just the words we say, or the gist of the message its how we string them together. A “turn of phrase” might be the most powerful political tool currently in existence.

I started thinking about this after hearing a very active conservative in a blue district get in a conversation with a voter. The Republican candidate he was volunteering on behalf of has a very liberal opponent has held the same office for upwards of fifteen years. He kept telling voters we need “change” in this district. Even hearing the word “change” in this context made my skin crawl. The word was accurate but still brought to mind the overwhelming campaign message of Barack Obama.

I was convinced at this point that Republican do not know how to market themselves or their message. We are slow on the pick-up, choose to use the same tired phrases instead of creating soundbites that voters can truly get behind. The liberal blogs create messages faster than we can respond, putting out mindless bite-sized phrases any Democrat can quote. They spread across the internet faster than Hurricane Earl’s windspeed. And by the time conservatives can even react, they’ve already created three-tiers of counter arguments and more slogans than anyone person should bother regurgitating.

Then I had a discussion with a frustrated Progressive. She said, “Republicans own debate because we let them choose the language to frame the discussion.” I balked. Democrats think we coin words that frame social debates? I protested that Democrats ruled the war of words. She began to point out examples: pro-life instead of anti-abortion, illegal immigration instead of undocumented workers, second amendment rights instead of pro-violence (her words) or pro-gun (my words). She said these phrases are created by the conservative think-tanks that Republicans sink their money into. She claimed that Democrats do not fund these kinds of organizations and Republicans tend to have bigger individual backers. I pointed to Soros and she countered that he tends to give money to movements like DKos or MoveOn instead of research-based institutions which I couldn’t argue with. The fact that Republicans and their think-tanks could have an effect not just on policy but on actually political debate was a though I hadn’t entertained before.

Of course, both political sides twist words when creating ad hominem attacks on opponents (both of their own party and the opposing side). These might be the most vicious examples of word selection with a specific desired effect. These are the kinds of phrases like “Well my opponent voted against saving children’s lives” when the bill they voted against also had an unaffordable price tag and unnecessary bureaucracy attached. The turns-of-phrase tend to discredit and smudge the facts. And both parties are guilty of it.

The mastery of language is the key to great marketing. We are seeing more and more that without great marketing a campaign is doomed. No matter how great the argument or even the candidate, it is words that will win the final war in the hearts and minds of the American voters. And for conservatives to win we must better master the Art of Words. We cannot rely on our think-tanks to make the Democrats nervous, we can’t even rely on the supremacy of our logic, we win on overall messaging and the turn-of-phrase.