Truthout just published an interview with G Lakoff.
He's a guru of political message "framing" and cognitive linguistics.
The interview has some useful pointers worth considering.
http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/27576-george-lakoff-progressives-cannot-succeed-without-expressing-respect-values
How can progressives successfully respond to a use of fear
since 9/11 to manipulate the public?
Progressives constantly ask how to "respond" to illegitimate claims
by conservatives, whether about fear or anything else.
That is because conservatives have an effective communication system
and progressives do not, and conservative marketers better understand real reason.
To deal with illegitimate fears, you don’t wait till you have to respond.
You need
(1) to build an effective communication system,
(2) to communicate the general progressive value system,
(3) repeat the truths that reveal what is right about those values,
(4) act with courage to promote the sense of courage, confidence
and hope that allows the truth to be meaningful and powerful.
Within such a context, one can honestly and openly discuss the facts
that undermine such fears, so that the illegitimate fears don’t get
established in the first place.
