How do you define what a *true* conservative is?
Is it someone who accepts change cautiously? Is it a moderate thinker? Is it a whack job far-right-winger who never gives an inch? Is it defined by Goldwater and/or Regan? Is it something else, maybe a mix-and-match?
In your own words, please.
I've given this a fair amount of consideration... "True Conservative" - it is now entirely undefinable.
And I entirely blame politics as to why we can no longer define the term.
It used to be that you looked at Conservative in terms of a more practical definition. Something along the lines of someone who holds onto traditional attitudes of social and governmental ideologies while resistant to changes, or innovations, or evolution in those same areas probably most due to political and/or religious reasons.
You could say that "Social Conservative" gets roots in religious ideology, and by perception looks back to a time where things were more simple, more "moral," and more based on a notion of adherence to values as established by the church. And I say church in a general and probably more local community level sense. Our issue is that never actually existed in a more national context, it existed pocket to pocket across the nation with plenty of other areas on some other social guidance path or perhaps even without that level of guidance at all.
At the same time you get to talk about "Constitutional Conservative" that gets their roots in our founder's terms (and probably in Constitutional terms before a few key Amendments changing the nature of the Senate, and balance between Federal and State powers.) Our issue there is the nation back then *was absolutely not* some sunshine and roses period where everyone got along, everyone adhered to the law, economics was stable, and we had some sense of equality among the people.
So what you have left is "Conservative" in a general sense that entirely boils down to opposition to anything not deemed Conservative (i.e. Liberal, Democrat, Independent, Socialist, what have you.) Because today's Conservatives are effectively up against utopian thinkers from their political counterparts.
The bottom line is neither has ever existed, no matter if you are talking about utopian <insert anything left leaning as a title here> or "<insert any right leaning qualifier here> Conservative."
Thanks to politics there are no valid definitions for these terms, it all comes down to fantasy. Which is why I often say that Social Conservatism is entirely incompatible with Constitutional Conservatism causing much divide in right wing politics, and utopian views on Socialism has never been realized in terms of lasting and stable national existence causing left leaning politics to be nothing more than a dream.
What this nation should have done is applied being a Republic to equality among all here, then let the chips fall where they may on people being responsible for themselves as much as practical. But both right wing and left wing politics entirely ignored that. So all that is left is made up terms... like "True Conservative."