Who Still Speaks for Conservatism?

Listening to George Will pontificate recently on Fox News about his “conservative” principles, I had to ask for the millionth time what Mr. Will and his like-minded friends mean by “conservative.” And I don’t ask this question as a neophyte, having published more on the subject of conservatism than probably anyone else on the planet. But every time I hear the term used to describe a GOP position on just about anything, I have to wonder what makes that position “conservative.” Why for example is nation-building abroad, which involves imposing the latest model of American democracy on populations that are culturally quite different from the present American ruling class, a “conservative” position? And why is letting American working communities languish while our jobs are outsourced a “conservative” policy? The obvious answer is such stands are talking points deployed by the Republican Party as it works to hold on to certain constituents. These stands also happen to be those of the GOP donor base.

What also muddies the meaning of “conservative” is that establishment conservative pundits and theorists sound more often than not like the cultural and social Left. Popular “conservative” journalists Jonah Goldberg and John Podhoretz are high on gay marriage, which they argue promotes family values.National Review‘s rising star Jillian Kay Melchior wishes to see the United States become more fully engaged in Ukraine against Vladimir Putin, lest transgendered Ukrainians come under reactionary Russian sway. Other conservative journalists have berated the Russian president for not allowing gay pride parades in Russian cities. National Review Online has featured a long panegyric to Leon Trotsky, a co-founder of the Soviet dictatorship for opposing fascism and anti-Semitism. The same fortnightly that once celebrated Joseph McCarthy now denounces him as a dangerous right-wing demagogue, while its former leftist bête noire Martin Luther King is now treated by the same publication as a towering conservative figure and traditionalist theologian. Finally, when it comes to going after the Confederate Battle Flag and removing Confederate heroes’ names from any public site or street in this country, theHuffington Post has nothing on such stellar “conservatives” as Max Boot and Jeff Jacobi.

Despite my distaste for his “conservative” critics, I don’t believe any more than they that The Donald is a man of the Right. Mr. Trump assumed this role late in life, and he doesn’t play it especially well. Recently he discussed how he would make Muslims entering the United States undergo “extreme vetting,” which would include making sure they had favorable attitudes toward gays and affirmed full gender equality. I’ve no idea why this test is something associated with the Right.  It looks like something that came from the editorial board of the New York Times or from some other publication that is now attacking Mr. Trump as a fascist. Wouldn’t it suffice to find evidence that the person we were letting in would abide by the existing laws? Why must he or she prove fealty to the very Political Correctness that Mr. Trump professes to despise?

In this case as in so many others, one learns quickly that the enemies of one’s enemies may not be one’s ideal ally. Equally disappointing in Mr. Trump’s case is that he often confuses rudeness for fighting Political Correctness. One might have been more impressed if in the primaries he attacked the academic and media efforts to close off discussion on a wide range of “insensitive” subjects instead of the appearance of a female opponent. It would also have been more effective if he had criticized Judge Curiel, Khazar Khan, and other antagonists he’s faced by offering reasoned arguments instead of blurting out something incoherent and apparently insulting. What may separate me in the matter of Mr. Trump from the GOP-neocon establishment is that unlike them, I like much of what I think is Mr. Trump’s message. Too bad he says it so ineptly!

Reprinted with the author’s permission.

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