There is no need to become pro-abortion or pro-same-sex marriage, but at the same time a realization has to be made that putting these issues at the heart of a campaign or even allowing the media to do so is simply not working and it is turning people off to the rest of the message.
That's not to say you give up on it. It is to say you stop making it the central issue of things and you don't let the media make it a central issue. While that is being done, don't let Democrats make it a central issue.
Without those two social issues which liberals frame as "rights" and "fairness" issues -- language which really can't be overcome and is used like a club to bludgeon the GOP with -- you lose.
How you do that is a question to be debated. That something along those lines needs to be done is evident.
There are many ways to skin a cat as the old saying goes. We need to find a few new ones so new voters can be attracted to the ticket.
I disagree that the language can't be overcome. I also disagree that you need to (or can) "tamp down" those issues and stop the media from focusing on them. They're going to focus on whatever they want to and you can't stop them. Your language and answers should be so good that they won't want to focus on them.
For one thing, we have actual survivors of attempted abortion and of pregnancies from rape seen on conservative programming. Those people should be brought in to speak at the convention. And their personal stories should be highlighted in the response to these questions.
The marriage answer has to be more than "I believe marriage is between a man and woman." There could be an explanation of how traditional marriage is an institution we use as an example to raise our children into a stable, balanced family unit and perpetuate our society and way of life. And an explanation of the slippery slope when we try to claim gender differences don't matter, such as the banning of father/daughter dances.