I'm a Conservative, and I Don't Know What the GOP Stands For

[babylonsister]

Opinion
I’m a Conservative, and I Don’t Know What the GOP Stands For
KNOW NOTHINGS
Free markets? Nope. Limited government. Uh-uh. Strong foreign policy? No, America first. Rule of law? LOL.
Matt Lewis
Senior Columnist
Updated Aug. 12, 2022 4:18AM ET / Published Aug. 11, 2022 10:01PM ET


snip//

The fundamental goal of conservatism in America was to conserve democracy. Today’s illiberal right wants to destroy it. Conservatives lionized the Founding Fathers and America’s past leaders. Now, for all their fulminating over the left removing statues and renaming schools, some of Trump’s defenders sought to rhetorically tear them down as a way of excusing Trump’s inexcusable behavior in office. Republican politicians boasted about being for the “rule of law” and being “constitutional conservatives.” But then, they supported Trump’s bogus “emergency” order regarding the border wall.

And there’s more. Conservatives long decried the culture of victimhood, yet Trump constantly plays the victim and refuses to accept responsibility for anything (much less blame). Likewise, conservatives have criticized identity politics and “playing the race card.” Trump, who called New York’s attorney general (who is investigating him) a “racist,” does so with glee.

It’s all about power, presumably. But once issues and tactics become indistinguishable from the other side (except to the degree that you have escalated their worst impulses and tactics), the contest becomes a pointless power play. Presumably, it’s about tribalism. But who is our tribe? Absent any transcendent principles or policies, how do we tell the red shirts from the blue shirts?

For the GOP, I’m pretty sure the litmus test is to be pro-Trump. The only color that matters is orange.

snip//

Go down a list of issues—character, values, free trade, earmarks, Russia, spending, law and order, the rule of law, etc.—and you’d be hard-pressed to find any semblance of a consistent position. Today’s Republican Party is 180 degrees different from the party that most of its members—like myself—signed up to join.

So we are left with a party without a foundation, without a roadmap, and without a soul. It does have a brand though, it’s tacky and gold-plated and it reads “TRUMP.”

more...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/im-a-conservative-and-i-dont-know-what-the-gop-stands-for?ref=home

[pamdb]

1. Conservative

You can still be a conservative, but there is no such thing as the Republican Party anymore.
It is now the MAGA party and the people who belong to it are not republicans, they are maggots.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Conservatives wanted to save democracy?

What day in what month in what year did they stand for saving democracy?

They have been self-interested, selfish bastards from the start.

[Raster]

4. The "conservatives" have always confused their bigotry, misogyny and racism for patriotism.

[Midnight Writer]

6. Conservatives fought against black and women suffrage and organized labor at every turn.

Their concept of democracy is "Freedom for me, but not for thee".

[LastDemocratInSC]

3. Today's "conservatives" are weak minded gullible fools

who are easily manipulated. They have had years of indoctrination about how liberals and liberal ideas are bad so their attitudes are purely reflexive by now. And, the one thing that matters most is staying in step with their peer groups. Straying off on their own and voicing doubts can quickly lead to being ostracized and that loss of "belonging" can be terrifying to them.

[Greybnk48]

5. Like others have said, "conservative" doesn't now, nor did it ever

serve as an accurate descriptive term for the Republican Party.