Where have all the conservatives gone?
Over the past three months, I’ve traveled the country on my own dime to meet with others like me who can no longer stomach the hypocrisy of Republicans in Congress — Republicans who claim to be conservative while abandoning every principle we’ve ever championed. We huddle in hotel lobbies or bars; we pay our own tabs and set our own agenda. It’s not glamorous. Sometimes we fill a room and other times we fill a table. But no matter how many of us there are, the question is always the same: What the hell happened to conservatism and how do we fix it?
We gather because our beliefs are being ignored by those in Washington in favor of the party line. Where we once heard our voices in Nikki Haley or Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio or Tim Scott, we now hear only silence.
Put simply, the conservative movement isn’t moving at all. It’s stuck. And it certainly isn’t hiding out in the Republican Party. In the last month alone, Republicans have transgressed just about every conservative principle in the book.
Fiscal responsibility? The White House recently projected the annual deficit to surpass the $1 trillion mark this year, while the $22 trillion national debt is in even worse shape than it was under President Obama. But, Republicans aren’t bothered. When asked about the red ink, once-conservative Larry Kudlow suggested that it “wasn’t a huge problem right now at all.” (Contrast that with his concern as a member of the Reagan Administration in 1985 that the then $2 trillion federal debt was crowding out private capital and hampering growth).
The rule of law? Hasn’t been much of a priority, either. When Mueller presented reams of evidence tending to show that the Russians made “sweeping and systematic efforts” to influence our elections and that a sitting president obstructed justice on multiple occasions, Republicans responded by attacking the messenger and talking about Hillary Clinton.
Separation of powers? Forget about it. Just this year, the President has issued 28 executive orders. Some re-appropriated dollars Congress had earmarked for other purposes and others threatened to unilaterally set trade policy. Apparently, doing its job is about the last thing Congress wants to do — and Republicans barely bat an eye. “Congress gave him the ability to do this,” Senator Shelley Capito (R-WV) said, “and so I’m going to be supportive of it, but I think, certainly as an appropriator, we need to keep our handle on our ability to make those decisions.” Or, when translated: “This is something Congress ought to take a stand on at some point — just not now. Not until after my next election.” Some spine.
What’s worse is that the Republican Party has turned its back on more than just conservative principles; it has abandoned American principles, too. Principles like the equality and dignity of all people, truth, honesty, integrity, and values-based leadership. All of these things have seemingly been discarded as tired, unimportant clichés, leaving our country unsure of what it stands for and lacking moral purpose.
When it comes to our principles, members of Congress have simply stopped caring. Over the past few years, what they believe has taken a backseat to who they support. As political ends came to justify any means, politicians lost touch with our guiding commitments. The result has been a rudderless Party and an unanchored leader, veering freely away from our principles with the support of a base that cheers on Team Republican no matter what.
But not all of us. Many of us recognize that principles are still important. They anchor our politics to core values and ensure that those we elect today wield power tomorrow according to some blueprint larger than themselves. Principles don’t care which party’s letter sits next to your name. They define who we are, what we believe in, and the type of country we’ll become.
That’s why a group of us has been gathering around the country to put principles first. As I’ve learned these past three months, the frustrated and politically homeless aren’t planning to just roll over: we want our voices heard and our votes to be earned. That’s why our group has grown so quickly since our first ad hoc gatherings in February, collecting thousands of signatures on our Declaration of Principles and having hundreds give up two hours on a weekend to join our working sessions.
This progress hasn’t come without pushback from the expected chorus, of course. Seb Gorka called us “monomaniacal and pathetic,” Julie Kelly at American Greatness said we were “cucks,” and Matt Schlapp even tried to sic Judge Jeannine on all of us for the high crime of meeting to discuss our shared principles. In an age where the obvious isn’t always apparent, it can take some courage to just come right out and state it — but we aren’t afraid.
Others, too, are showing similar courage. Checks and Balances has been sounding the alarm about newfound threats to our Constitution and the rule of law. Stand Up Republic continues its fight for better government. Publications like The Bulwark and think tanks like Cato, Hoover, and AEI crank out honest, fact-driven work. There are even the occasional bright spots in Washington led by the likes of Justin Amash (I-MI) and Will Hurd (R-TX). And for our part, Principles First is keeping up the drumbeat on the ground, organizing grassroots meet-ups and taking action to remind elected officials about the ideas they should be championing.
The task is a tough one. Republicans in Washington aren’t likely to suddenly snap out of their sanguine stupor. But, in order for things to improve, the country must first be reminded of what conservatism even is. And then, once populism and nationalism have had their day in the sun, there will at least be something left over from which to build, thanks to the principled few who had the courage to keep a beacon amid the storm.
