I hate that small-c conservative has been co-opted to mean short-sighted, foolish and mean. To me, a conservative is someone who chooses cautious behavior.
Here's an example of conservative behavior the US should be undertaking.
Canadian public pension windfall
Canada has always tried to fully fund its public pension program. However, back in the 90's, they recognized that pay-as-you-go wasn't going to cut it for the surge of baby boomers down the road.
Did they cut grandma off and push her to catfood? Nope. They raised the contributions and invested the surplus cautiously and prudently into bonds and even the stock market. The results have been awesome. So while Republicans warn of dire consequences, Canada is reporting windfalls for their retirement system.