It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea.
Robert Anton Wilson
I first heard that quote when I was high school in the 90’s. It made enough sense to me. Many .people advocate for change, get the change that they want, become satisfied with the way things are, and oppose further change. I couldn’t be sure about what the 21st century would hold for me, but I suspected that becoming a conservative might be in the realm of possibility.
I became a Democrat in my 40’s. Conservative Democrats used to be a real thing, but I maintain that I’m not one of them. I don’t need to be a conservative to know what it means and to know that self-described “conservatives” are in fact something far worse. Former Republicans like Tom Nichols are seeing the same thing that I am seeing.
“Conservative” used to mean someone who supported the status quo. Most people vote according to their perceived interests, and conservative voters were people who were more or less satisfied with the way things were. They were the reason why incumbents frequently got re-elected. A society can be expected to have progressives and conservatives just as a car can be expected to have an engine and brakes.
In 2023, most people who are more or less satisfied with the way things are don’t want to be called “conservative”. We prefer to be called “moderates”. In this post-pandemic era, there is no such thing as a conservative in the 20th century sense; everyone advocates for one kind of change or another. Antivaxxers aren’t conservative because this country has a long tradition of vaccination. People who want a border wall aren’t conservative because the US grew from 13 colonies to the most powerful nation ever without a border wall. People who stormed the Capitol weren’t conservative, because the Declaration of Independence cautions against overthrowing the government on a whim. (“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes...”)They were Republican Trump supporters, but they weren’t conservative in the sense that I first heard the term..
There is a lot to be said about some traditional values like monogamy, honesty, financial responsibility, and loyalty to our country. You all are of course free to make your own choices. But Trump clearly doesn’t represent any of those values. As recently as 2010, an extramarital affair was enough to destroy the political career of my Republican congressman, Mark Souder. I wouldn’t say that adultery should be a dealbreaker for political candidate, but it still should be a factor. I would prefer to trust the guy who can be trusted by his spouse, and yet the US prospered under the Clinton administration.
If Trump is polling at more than 50% among Republicans, then the GOP isn’t a conservative party anymore. It is a personality cult. People who want to live safe, quiet, prosperous lives in a stable society should be voting Democrat.