Call it the Donald Trump Litmus Test. Time and again this campaign cycle, Trump's supporters in the media have changed their opinions on key conservative issues in order to support or defend the Republican presidential nominee. Viewpoints and policy proposals that were once anathema to them are now accepted and even celebrated. And that phenomenon has split the conservative media...
"Nine months ago, if you had asked Sarah Palin, Scott Brown, Jerry Falwell Jr., or Ann Coulter whether they would endorse a figure who takes the Code Pink, Michael Moore, MoveOn.org view of Iraq ('Bush lied, people died'), one suspects they all would have recoiled at the prospect," Last wrote at the time. "Yet in the hours after Trump insisted that George W. Bush intentionally lied the country into war, not one of the major figures who have endorsed him was willing to contradict his claim."
Last offers more recent exampes as well. For instance, he notes how conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt rushed to defend Trump's affinity for Vladimir Putin by arguing that Putin has "served his country's national interest" better than President Obama has served the U.S.
"It was as if Trumpism caused Hewitt to forget everything he knows about Madison, liberty, inalienable rights, and political philosophy," he wrote Wednesday. (Hewitt did not respond to a request for comment.)....
"At this point,... all people who aren't afraid to say they support Trump will fall in line behind almost anything he does."
As predicted, the pull of tribalism is strong enough for Trump to split the conservative movement into those who value loyalty to the party over conservative principles, and those who do not. The mandated maternity leave is simply the latest incident (as would be expanding Medicaid).
You've got to remember: This is a guy who until April or May and amid GOP primary backlash, was a long-time supporter of single-payer healthcare over many years!As predicted, the pull of tribalism is strong enough for Trump to split the conservative movement into those who value loyalty to the party over conservative principles, and those who do not. The mandated maternity leave is simply the latest incident (as would be expanding Medicaid).
Add Rush to that list, and you've pretty much got a "who's who" of those that give conservatism a bad name - to those of us that are not conservatives!I remember when Trump attacked Jeb in the debate, I believe it was here before our primary, and said that his brother lied to get us into Iraq. I remember thinking at the time that any idiotic conservative who actually supported him in the first place was going to disavow that and finally understand what some of us were saying for months - that the man is not a conservative, never was a conservative, and never will be a conservative.
And then, lo and behold, some of these same conservatives cough*cough kept right on kissing up to the liberal fraud they threw their support behind. But in retrospect, I realize who some of the players are.....Sarah Palin (not real bright), Jerry Falwell (bigoted and not real bright), Sean Hannity (so partisan it hurts), and Ann Coulter (bigoted and filled with the same kind of anger as most Trump supporters), and I'm just not surprised.
As for Scott Brown, he's no conservative either, although, unlike Trump, the man actually is a Republican.
Sad to see Hewitt defending the Putin thing. There's simply no way to perfume that pig, and the fact that he actually tried to do it says a lot about him - and none of it is good.
I disagree with you. I think the problem is too many people who call themselves "conservative" seem to have no idea what they want that to mean. For the last 8 years, "conservatism" has simply meant "Do the opposite of what President Obama" says. This political stance was adopted by mainstream conservative media and it almost became trendy to not call oneself Republican (which is essentially what most were) but rather conservative. But when "conservative" didn't actually stand for anything, that's when you create the environment in which a Donald Trump can emerge.As predicted, the pull of tribalism is strong enough for Trump to split the conservative movement into those who value loyalty to the party over conservative principles, and those who do not.
As predicted, the pull of tribalism is strong enough for Trump to split the conservative movement into those who value loyalty to the party over conservative principles, and those who do not. The mandated maternity leave is simply the latest incident (as would be expanding Medicaid).
Add Rush to that list, and you've pretty much got a "who's who" of those that give conservatism a bad name - to those of us that are not conservatives!
When is the last time we had a Conservative win the nomination?
Romney? No.
McCain? No.
So... We have a guy who isn't a Conservative but talks about:
A Wall.
Illegal Immigration.
Jobs
Strong Military.
Tax Reductions.
I don't know what Conservatives are bitching about.
As for his take on the Iraq War... I disagree with him, but y'know what? He wants to rid us of ISIS.
He doesn't have to be a Conservative...
Not now, and especially not after 8-years of Marx in the White House, followed by Hillary, another Numbskull, corrupt, Socialist.
And "Conservatives" were massive ******s when it came to taking on the tsunami of Illegal Immigration... And RINO's have been for it.
You want Hillary and her freight trains of corruption, Socialism, and anti-Americanism... Then keep talking about what Trump might not be... Which I don't get. He nails every major issue in the right way, and he's not beholden to anyone...
What more do you want?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?