Tom Bradley Jr.
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read

Fascinating, thoughtful and above all, civilized post. Thank you for sharing.

You raise many interesting points, however, I’m interested in understanding how you define “conservative.” Are you referring to Eisenhower conservatism (the kind that cautioned the creation of the military-industrial complex and spawned the Interstate highway system and paved the way for school desegregation); Nixon conservatism (the kind that begat the EPA and the Clean Water Act); Reagan conservatism (the kind that created amnesty for illegal immigrants); Bush 43 conservatism (the kind that realized the folly of “no new taxes” when confronted with stark reality); or, conversely, Bush 45 conservatism (which manipulated intelligence to gin up a war with Iraq and spawned a host of government overreach which, if perpetrated by a Democrat, would have been grounds for impeachment or worse) or Gingrich/Boehner/McConnell/Ryan conservatism (the kind that deliberately created numbing gridlock with Democratic presidents to score political points and espouse plutocratic ideals)?

From my outsider’s point of view, it appears that what constituted conservative principles one, two, or three generations ago is not what constitutes conservatism in 2017; spurred by the oligarchs responsible for Citizens United and antagonized and subverted by the so-called Tea Party, the GOP has allowed itself to be dragged so far to the right as to render itself unrecognizable from the common-sense GOP of my youth (and render the term “moderate Republican” a laughable oxymoron). In contrast to the Frankenstein’s monster that the Republicans have allowed themselves to become, in many respects, Democrats represent a more middle-of-the-road alternative to such latter-day “conservatism — though I willingly concede that not unlike Republicans, they can;t help but get carried away with power and tend to run amok when they rule both buildings at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

I agree with your premise that Trump is not a true “conservative,” to the point I almost feel sorry for those on the right. And yes, he makes Bush and Romney seem like decent chaps in comparison. But in the midst of our navel-gazing and/or righteous indignation, perhaps all of us, no matter our ideology, we should attempt to define exactly what conservatism (and liberalism, for that matter) is in the 21st century, and what it should be moving forward beyond Trump.

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    Tom Bradley Jr.

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    Tom Bradley Jr. is an indie mystery author who believes flip-flops and board shorts constitute acceptable business attire. https://www.AuthorTomBradley.com/