- Language is important in framing concepts. For instance, when President George W. Bush took office in 2001, he used the term "tax relief" where the common term had been "tax cut." Relief here indicates an alleviation of suffering and so makes arguing against tax cuts difficult because many people want relief. This tactic worked because the Democrats were soon using the term, a turn of events which worked in favor of the Republican agenda to lower tax rates.
- Pictures and other images provide powerful tools for reframing debates. For instance, anti-war groups often use images of war's devastation on humans and cities to frame their position against the use of force in settling disputes. The photos from Abu Ghraib were successful in framing the debate around torture and the treatment of war prisoners. Withholding images can be just as important. The release of images of coffins returning from Iraq was once forbidden.
- Not only must a politician devise a new way to frame a debate with language or image, but he needs to have the new frame repeated. One way political parties do this is by having the media repeat language or images. Repeating a message helps to make it effective. In this way, Democrats were able to frame President George W. Bush as lacking gravitas. Republican education reform became known as "no child left behind," a position that few could argue against without appearing to be against children.
- The Republican education reform bill known as "no child left behind," is thought to have been taken from a progressive organization whose motto was "leave no child behind." Although superficially similar, the education reform bill is more widely known due to repetition and, arguably, catchier phrasing. One political camp was able to take a frame from another and reframe the frame to support its own cause.
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