DANA PERINO (HOST): I just read where Jim Tankersley of the Wall Street -- New York Times, excuse me, said that he's done this review of all the ads in Ohio, always a battleground state, and that most Republicans are not actually talking about the economy but it seems counterintuitive, that they should be talking about it. Why not? 

CHRIS STIREWALT (FOX NEWS POLITICS EDITOR): Well, it depends on what you're trying to do. Now, the conventional wisdom, very much, is that midterm elections are base versus base elections. You've got to get more of your true believers out than their true believers out, and what Republicans have found is that culture wars, wedge issues, work better than other things when it comes to frightening or enraging the people who they want to get to the polls. Saying, hey, everything is great, the economy is cooking is not a message that meets that conventional wisdom test. It might sound right and it might even be better for moving persuadable voters, but it's not the same as sort of affecting the lizard brain of the voter that responds to strong stimuli like hatred and fear. 

Previously: 

How the media helped the GOP sell their fear-based appeal

Fox cites white nationalist writer to fearmonger about refugees

Fox uses flawed data from DHS to fearmonger about immigrants

Fox & Friends uses Massachusetts court ruling to fearmonger about sanctuary cities