Framing is telling your story. Through our story, we can control how others receive and understand our message.
Here are two excellent examples of political framing.
When Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English Language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” He successfully framed government as something bad. Conservatives were then able to cut government programs, cut regulations, and cut taxes.
All these things helped the rich and corporations, but the middle class, working people, and the poor agreed to it because they bought into the frame that the government is bad.
For many years liberals framed gay marriage as a right people should have so that they could file taxes as a married couple or get other benefits such as health care. But when we framed gay marriage as a matter of love, we were successful. Who can argue with love?
Remember to always use liberal framing in our messages. Talk about our values of empathy, protection, empowerment, and good government. These frames will create powerful messages.