Politicians respond to public input. Thus it is important to keep selling your ideas and their merits or the opposition will cement in the public mind mischaracterizations of it and get even good ideas beaten. Look at the Health Care reform. The opponents portrayed the number of people the CBO estimated would not buy ACA policies if the mandate was eliminated as "losing their health insurance" instead of what they really were which is people if given a choice did not chose to buy overpriced, overbroad insurance they did not need. Constant messaging is essential to passing public policies as any vacuum in information will be filled by the other side.