I have paid a lot of attention to conservative politics, and from what I've seen I got an idea.
How about reversing conservative rhetoric and using it to support liberalism?
In 1980s, Reagan conservatives used hippie rhetoric to turn American liberalism on its head. The anti-establishment rhetoric was turned into rhetoric against the "liberal establishment" such as the academia, Hollywood, media and schools. The anti-government rhetoric was turned into rhetoric against the "big liberal government." The personal freedom rhetoric was turned into rhetoric in support of "economic freedom." The anti-elite rhetoric - you guessed it - turned into a class war against the so-called "liberal elites" - America's scientists, artists and journalists. And the people-empowerment rhetoric turned into supporting the "hard-working Americans" against the "big liberal government" and "liberal elites."
I see no reason why people on the Left should not be able to do the same thing to conservative rhetoric.
Conservatives have advocated for monetary prosperity. At this time in America, the most prosperous states vote Democratic, and the poorest states vote Republican. The reason is that Democrats favor innovation and ingenuity that is the true root of prosperity, whereas Republicans cannot tolerate ingenuity and demand of everyone absolute simility not only of conduct but also of thought. Another reason has been the Republican-orchestrated cuts in the academic funding, resulting in the brainy idealists who otherwise would have joined the academia instead joining the private sector and fueling its innovation. Also, the Democrats are more open to people from other countries, resulting in smart people all over the world going to Democratic parts of America and contributing what they have to contribute. In any respect, the Democratic areas of America these days are by and large more prosperous than the Republican areas of America, and in effect we see Democrats having beaten Republicans at their own game.
Conservatives have advocated for technological and economic progress. At this time, it's the Democrats who are the most willing to embrace technological progress, whereas the Republicans are most hostile to it. It was the vastly Democratic computer industry that was the true source of 1980s and 1990s prosperity and technological progress. It is science - a vastly Democratic endeavor - that is at the root of all technology. And in this day and age, it is the Democrats who advocate for progress in energy sector and biotech, whereas Republicans want ongoing reliance on oil and dirty coal and are hateful of both clean energy and biomedical progress. These days, technological progress is a vastly Democratic endeavor, whereas many Republicans have been standing in its way.
Conservatives accuse the Democrats of fomenting class wars. And yet it is the Republicans that are fighting the worst class wars ever fought on American soil. These class wars are against the so-called "liberal elites" - the same people who as scientists produce work that is behind everything that business sells; who as teachers make people employable; who as Hollywood dominate the world's airwaves; who as activists fight for human and civil rights. If the class wars fomented by the few Marxists in America are, as many on the Right say, un-American, then how much more un-American is this attack on the "liberal elites," to whom America owes as much as it does.
Conservatives have advocated for realism. And yet it is the Republicans once again that have been the least willing to face reality. They have aggressively denied the reality of global warming. They have been fomenting ridiculous fabrications such as that the world is run by a Satanic conspiracy, that Obama is totalitarian, or that 9-11 was God's punishment for America. Whereas it has been the Democratic scientists that have been most cognizant of reality and most willing to stand by it, even in face of malicious attacks from the American Right.
Conservatives have advocated consistently for responsibility. At this time, we likewise see this practiced more by Democrats than by Republicans. The Democrats advocate clean energy and fuel efficiency; the Republicans want to maintain irresponsible technologies that wreak havoc around the world. The Democrats, under Clinton, brought budget to balance; the Republicans under Bush destroyed that. Many in the Republican media are hoping for an Armageddon. Meanwhile Democrats - as scientists, as teachers, as computer professionals - are being far more responsible and are working to create a livable future.
Conservatives claim to speak for the family. And yet it is the Democrats that, by and large, make much better parents and husbands than Republicans. Democrats are less likely to batter their wives. Democrats are less likely to beat up on their children. Democrats are more likely to allow their wives their own lives, their own careers and their own attitudes. The best parents and husbands in America are Democrats, not Republicans; which means that they most fully practice family values.
Conservatives advocate for a limited government. One thing that a limited government means is a government that does not try to run people's private lives. The War on Drugs, the laws against prostitution and gay marriage, the demand that everyone be in a nuclear family, and the attempt to depose a president for a consensual sex act, are extremely invasive and do not constitute a limited government. Which means that real proponents of a limited government would not be promulgating such things.
Conservatives claim to champion freedom. I have been all around America, and the conservative areas had the least freedom of any part of the country. I found real freedom in California and New York and some other places scattered around the country; and these places have all been attacked by conservatives.
Conservatives claim to champion honesty and integrity. In fact, they are the least likely to practice honesty and integrity. They spread absolute lies, such as that AIDS is God's way of controlling the homosexual population or that a Satanic New World Order conspiracy is running the world. They stole the 2000 election and lied to get the country into a trillion-dollar war. They corrupt the police and social services in their communities in order to prevent women from leaving domestic violence situations or from protecting their children from incest. They have created an industry of lies that is the right-wing radio talk shows and tele-evangelism. Today's Republicans are the least honest people in America, and it is time that more people understand such things.
Conservatives claim to speak for America's traditions. Meanwhile they deny the fact that America was based, not in conservative Christianity, but in European Enlightenment thought that was radical and contrary to the Christian conservatism that was practiced at the time. The traditions of which they speak existed in Europe for 1500 years before America's founding, and most of Europe was a disaster zone throughout that time. America's liberties and prosperity do not come from God, and they most certainly do not come from conservative Christianity. If they had, then every conservative Christian society would have had liberty and prosperity, and they didn't. America's liberties and prosperity come from the European Enlightenment tradition on which America is actually based and the science and business that grew out of that tradition; and the less people in America understand such things the more there is a need to say this.
If Reagan Republicans can invert the hippie rhetoric to impose conservatism, then so can the liberal Democrats of today invert the Republican rhetoric. And I hope that the liberal Democrats of today do that and more.