Are We Witnessing the End of Ideological Conservatism?

[JimBowie1958]

As this article illuminates, the conservative intellectual leadership is so joined at the hip now to 'Free Trade' that it cannot let it lose the public debate, and yet the fall out of Free Trade is millions of unemployed and rebellion in the GOP rank and file.

If an intellectual leadership cannot give out good advice to conservative leaders to not lead them into pit traps like it has done this year, then what good is it anyway?

We need less ideology that only benefits corporate crony networks and more jobs for average Americans.

We need less George Will and more Joseph Sobran.


How GOP Intellectuals’ Feud With the Base Is Remaking U.S. Politics

Another scenario, one that may be emerging already, is that GOP intellectuals split, and go in different directions. We have already seen some of the most adamant #NeverTrump folks suggest that they would vote for Hillary—it’s possible that Democrats take advantage of this defection and recruit some of the top foreign policy intellectuals who signed a letter pledging never to back Trump into their party for the long-term. Such an effort could mirror the way Republicans drafted Democratic neocons like Kirkpatrick and Bennett in the 1970s and 1980s.

Some “liberal-tarians”—libertarians who care about social issues more than economic ones and thereby sympathize with the Democrats—have already moved in the Democrats’ direction. Under Trump, even more could follow. Other libertarians might stick with the smaller, purer libertarian party, recognizing that while it will not win elections, it represents a purer exprehssion of their beliefs. We might also see the development of an independent conservative party that is also more concerned with policy consistency than with electoral viability.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

What we've known in the past as the GOP is dead.
We're just waiting for the body to reach room temperature.....

 

[JimBowie1958]

What we've known in the past as the GOP is dead.
We're just waiting for the body to reach room temperature.....

And for the decomposition to end along with the stankage.

 

[Iceweasel]

Political parties aren't ideologies. No conservative prefers Hillary, those would be corporate crony establishment party types, on both sides of the aisle.

 

[Wildman]

conservatism is a way of life, live it, love it, respect it!!

in my OPINION conservatism includes eating left overs three days in a row, using something till there it has no worth, such as clothes, shoes etc.
example: some people will drive their vehicle till the tires are thread bare.., yet have a dozen pairs of shoes.

 

[Dragonlady]

conservatism is a way of life, live it, love it, respect it!!

in my OPINION conservatism includes eating left overs three days in a row, using something till there it has no worth, such as clothes, shoes etc.
example: some people will drive their vehicle till the tires are thread bare.., yet have a dozen pairs of shoes.

The conservative pursuit of profits uber alles has given us this throw-a-way culture. If we buy quality goods which will last, they can't profit. The conservatives virtues you proclaim, stand in the way of growth and profits.

Cheap clothing from China and Bangla Desh doesn't last. It's meant to be thrown away after one season. Parents don't have much in the way of hand-me-downs anymore because the stuff is trash by the time the kid's outgrown it. It can't be passed down.

It's the same thing with furniture and applicances. From electronics to small appliances, stuff that is now made in Third World countries, is made from inferior materials, and isn't built to last.