(1) There is now a generational discontinuity in which traditional moral teaching and lifestyle discipline have diminished appeal or are strongly rejected by those under 25. If conservatives and the GOP do not effectively deal with that cultural division, we risk losing a substantial and even decisive slice of the electorate. This is a recipe for permanent minority status politically and culturally.
(2) The playbook of the news media and of our political opponents is geared toward using that generational and cultural division against us in a hostile and bullying manner. Conservatives need to be unflappable and fluent in meeting that challenge. It is not enough to be right on the cultural issues and well-informed on the facts, you must also convey a sense of compassion, a positive agenda, and an engaging manner that disarms voters with opposing views.
(3) For a sense of how this can be done, view and compare Reagan's speech for Goldwater in 1964 with his Republican convention speeches in 1976 and 1980. The Reagan of 1964 came across as an Old Testament prophet condemning the laxity and sins of his people. The Reagan of 1976 and 1980 had become The Gipper, pointing the way forward to a better future and inspiring hope.
(4) Christian conservatives need to keep in mind and to say at opportune times that as wrong as homosexual conduct is, Christ loves everyone -- including gays, criminals, and sinners of all kinds. Christ is humanity's Redeemer, not our Great Condemner. He offers us the hope to avoid what we otherwise deserve for our defects and sins.
(5) Our critique on cultural issues should be offered in a an approachable and informed manner. For example, it bears mention that where gay marriage is established, relatively few gays get married. Moreover, where gay marriage is established, the rate of marriage between men and women soon falls. This hurts children most of all because it makes it less likely that they will be raised by their mother and father living together in a committed relationship in a loving home.
(6) By definition, children raised by gay couples lack a parent of the opposite gender. Experience shows that children raised in gay households thus often have a sense of loss and inadequacy throughout their adult lives because they were deprived of care by parents of both genders.
Good points. But the states with gay marriage had lower marriage rates before gay marriage went in (they also tended to have lower divorce rates, later marriages, and older populations). It would take a while to sort out just what the effects of gay marriage are and how things have been in those states for some time.