I love Republicans. I mean, they create a fictional narrative and they pound away at it until people really start to believe it.
They've created an image in the minds of voters---mostly less educated, less engaged voters---that they are warriors against pork spending, big government, gun control, the radical secular liberal agenda, abortion rights.
My favorite of these is probably tax cuts. We can't raise taxes in good times (2000). No, no, give the money back to the people and things will get even better. We can't raise taxes in bad times (2010). No, no, that kills jobs.