>

The GOP is only as conservative as the billionaires who pay the bill want them to be.
The GOP isn't conservative.
They spend money like fucking crazy.
They want to use the government to control peoples personal lives.
They advocate using up nonrenewable resources and shit-talk renewables needlessly.
They aren't even holding to traditional values. Look at Donald Trump and ask yourself how in the fuck he embodies family values, excluding the values of a crime family.  
It's all just a story they tell themselves and their constituents. It's completely divorced from reality. >


Look at Donald Trump and ask yourself how in the fuck he embodies family values

One time I asked my conservative parents which of the 7 deadly sins Donald Trump least exemplifies.  It's genuinely a head scratcher for most people because he shows all of them.
They said "sloth."  I bout lost it. >


They said "sloth."

Two words: "Executive Time" >

The dude rode a golf cart while other leaders walked a few hundred feet. >

My favorite part about this little tidbit is it's almost true yet 1000% misunderstood.  Humans, and most animals have an emotional battery which over expending it does diminish your lifespan. I'm sure that's where he heard this. But it's Donald. He heard the first few words and spaced out. And also doesn't know batteries can be recharged. All good lies start with a grain of truth and I didn't know if he was lied to or just fucking spaced out and missed the rest of the concept. >


Humans, and most animals have an emotional battery

how can you hear something as stupid as what trump said, then go and top it yourself? >

Oh great wise one. Sayer of truths. What is wrong with what I said. Without going into terminology or phonetics, what do you the king from his wheeled throne have. >

In a human body, where is the emotional battery located? >

Oh my bad. Most of us have this thing called a brain, apparently not all of us, that require energy to handle social situations without being a tool. It's generally located inside the head of humans and a shit ton of animals called a brain. When that part of the brain gets exhausted or over taxed it uses the rest of the body to act irrationally and violently. I can understand why you don't understand this concept. >

The GOP has been dysfunctional my entire life and now they've crossed the tipping point where their chaos making is smashing full speed into hard realities. Have they finally hit bottom? Probably not. >

Sarah Palin used to be rock bottom.
I no longer believe there is such a thing as rock bottom for that garbage bin. >

GWB used to be rock bottom >

Nah, he was standard post-Reagan GOP bullshit. He even managed to pass as semi-moderate with his appeals to "compassionate conservatism." Fucking silly, but at the time, a lot of us outside the US were thinking, "well, the USA has really shit the bed here, but at least he isn't Pat Buchanan or Newt." >

We only can say this in hindsight. I lived through GWB and remembered the general consensus among the people I knew. We thought that GWB was the worst it could get, and we were very wrong >

Nixon has entered the chat via Ouija board >

Compared to the fascists and psycho clowns in the GOP today, Nixon was downright progressive on some of his domestic policies. >

the EPA and the Endangered Species Act were started during his administration. go figure! >

Conservatives in general used to go hard on environmental protection, because they have a lot of hunters and outdoorsmen among their ranks and they saw the obvious destruction of the wilderness habitats they liked to enjoy.
But over the past 50 years, "corporations should be able to do whatever they want" rose up as party dogma and completely squashed their love for the outdoors. >

Ah yes the fiscal conservatives who nuked the deficit with tax cuts for the rich. >

Right? They always say they want to balance the budget. They may cut spending BUT THEY ALWAYS ALSO cut taxes for the rich. That is the opposite of balancing the budget. >

They also boost spending. See the spending under gwb and Trump. It goes up every year. >

The only thing they give a shit about conserving is their own power. That is why they are more than happy to team up with a gay con artist and protect him from any consequences. Because by doing so they gain a tiny bit more power in the form of that 1 vote. >

A conservative is a person who favors traditional values. They do not "conserve" anything. >

That's a farce as well. Nothing about how the GOP is behaving today reflects values of any sort. >

Sure it does. I think you are missing the point that values (from your individual perspective) can be either good or bad. So a concept like racism or sexism, is something that is traditionally valued.
Also, traditional values go back pretty far. Many conservatives will point directly to one of the 2,300+ year old lines of text in the Bible and say that they value that more than current US laws. >

You are being pedantic. Obviously "values" can be good or bad. 🙄 >


You are being pedantic.

I am not attempting to be. There is a critical difference between conservatives and conservationists. In modern English, someone suggesting that republicans want to "conserve" something is most likely just a person misunderstanding what the word conservative means. Suggesting that they are a political party that wants to preserve their authority and maintain traditional values is far more accurate. >

There is very little difference in common English between "preserve", "conserve" and "maintain". They all indicate a party that perceives the world works in a certain way and they don't want that way to be damaged, changed or replaced with something else.

There is a critical difference between conservatives and conservationists.

Yes, conservationists work to conserve the environment, forests and wildlife, while conservatives work to conserve what they perceive to be traditional values and processes that have always worked throughout the past. >

The only thing they want to "conserve" is the gravy train of oligarch money (domestic and foreign). >

The GOP hasn't been conservative for a long time. They moved to "authoritarian" and are approaching fascist. If anything, they are regressive, wanting to go back to some make-believe golden age - you know, when white men ruled everything and women and people of color knew their place and everyone was happy with it. >


If anything, they are regressive, wanting to go back to some make-believe golden age - you know, when white men ruled everything and women and people of color knew their place and everyone was happy with it.

As far as I can tell, this is *exactly* what conservativism is and it can't really be anything else.
Conservative ideology is (as I understand it) explicitly about conserving the way things were, instead of embracing progress/change.
It will always look to demonstrably worse times and demand those times were better because the entire ideology is predicated on the idea that those times must be "conserved". >

Not really.  The conservatives of today are the progressives of yesterday who never grew. Conservatives of today will earnestly tell you the Bible doesn't condone slavery or racism, even though the conservatives of the past did exactly that .. within living memory. 
It's not about how things were. It's about how they want things to be and they pretend they used to be like that. Ask one sometime when America was Great and bathe in the blank stare you'll get. Any time they mention, you can mention a horrific thing about that time period and they get all defensive or confused. My father in law yearns for the 50's .. despite the fact that he had to stay after school and write "I'm a dirty Jew" on the black board 100 times and black people were openly lynched with no consequences. It's insane. >


Not really.  The conservatives of today are the progressives of yesterday who never grew.

I see no actual evidence of this.  The same stupid conservative ideas and regression have been pushed by multiple generations of conservatives, all using the same lies.
People convincing themselves that the past was different that what it was doesn't change the fact that conservative ideology is backwards and regressive, as it's wholly about "conserving the way things were" (even if that history is imagined), instead of embracing progress/change.

Conservatives of today will earnestly tell you the Bible doesn't condone slavery or racism, even though the conservatives of the past did exactly that .. within living memory.

That doesn't actually change anything I've said.
Conservative ideology actively wants to "conserve the past".  Even if that past is a bad memory.
Conservative ideology is regressive and anti-progress.

It's not about how things were. It's about how they want things to be and they pretend they used to be like that. Ask one sometime when America was Great and bathe in the blank stare you'll get. Any time they mention, you can mention a horrific thing about that time period and they get all defensive or confused. My father in law yearns for the 50's .. despite the fact that he had to stay after school and write "I'm a dirty Jew" on the black board 100 times and black people were openly lynched with no consequences. It's insane.

Right.  It's all about wanting things to go backwards.  It's about trying to "conserve" the past.
So, my initial comment stands:
As far as I can tell, this is *exactly* what conservativism is and it can't really be anything else. >

I think the real issue with this whole thread-wide exercise in debating what conservatives “really believe” is kind of a distraction. 
Political movements often have multiple facets and just like Stephen Hawking failed to come up with one unifying theory to explain all of reality, few political philosophies ever boil down easily to one succinct phrase. 
Conservatism isn’t solely about “the way things used to be” or “less government” or “authoritarianism” or racism or sexism or any of those things. It is several things at once, and in many cases the people who subscribe to the framework will cite reasons that are very different from the way that you see it. That doesn’t mean that they are lying, either; just that they see other aspects than what you see. 
There are definitely some unifying overarching themes, yes. In general, conservatism tends to be focused on an idea of their being a “natural order” of things which is fundamentally hierarchical. They preach about “freedom” as an ideal and of course authoritarianism and freedom seem naturally at odds, but if you dig deeper into conservative philosophy you will see that their idea of freedom isn’t really about being able to do or be anything you want; instead they have this abstract idea of freedom as simply being the state of harmony with natural hierarchy. So from their mentality there actually isn’t any inconsistency at all between having a police state with a prison industrial complex and legalized slavery, as we do, and their philosophical ideal of individual freedom. 
My point is simply that there’s little purpose in trying to distill their philosophy into a bite-sized chunk that we can easily dismiss. The uncomfortable reality that we need to accept and work with is that in fact there are many many people in our society who deeply embrace a conservative worldview, and like it or not we will only be able to build a better society by learning to engage with them and find ways to compromise. 
Of course that seems like an absurdly lofty ideal with the current political climate. But it is possible. >


Conservatism isn’t solely about “the way things used to be”

It's literally the definition of conservativism.  So, it's about that.
Can a conservative support individual progressive ideas?  Sure.
That support doesn't make those progressive ideas conservative ideas, nor does it make the conservative a progressive.

if you dig deeper into conservative philosophy you will see that their idea of freedom isn’t really about being able to do or be anything you want; instead they have this abstract idea of freedom as simply being the state of harmony with natural hierarchy.

And, in their place in that "natural hierarchy", they get to do whatever they want.  So, it's not an actual difference.

My point is simply that there’s little purpose in trying to distill their philosophy into a bite-sized chunk that we can easily dismiss.

You are correct.  As I've described conservativism by it's definition, and that definition is in line with their actions, this description cannot be honestly dismissed.

The uncomfortable reality that we need to accept and work with is that in fact there are many many people in our society who deeply embrace a conservative worldview, and like it or not we will only be able to build a better society by learning to engage with them and find ways to compromise.

Which is something I'm willing to do.
I'm not going to support their demonstrable bigotry, cowardice, or incompetence, though.  And, as that's where they demand the "compromise" come from, they refuse compromise. >

Now ask about how Christian they are.  I mean…. Jesus was pretty specific about how to treat refugees and foreigners.  They ain’t that. >

They're only issue it to protect the wealth of their donors.  Everything else is a charade designed to maintain enough numbers to do that. >

the GOP nowadays consists of:
-supply side jesus party
-qanon underpants on their head party
-greedy billionaires party.
The Democrats are the conservative party and there is no left wing left that has any power. >

One of the many drawbacks of our two-party system is by definition one is always going to be portrayed as left and the other as right, even if relative to the rest of the modern world much of our left party is center-right and much of our right party has embraced authoritarianism. >

They are conservative to their warped views and policies:
Socialism for the rich, rugged free market capitalism for the poor.
Trickle Down Economics.
Gerrymandering.
Legislation from the Bench.
Racism, Bigoty.
Two Santas Strategy.
Starve the Beast Strategy.
Rob the Coffers.
Minority Rule.  
They have gamed the system, and they fear an even field. >

The GOP was never fiscal conservative.  That was just a statement they make when Dems are in control.  They are anything BUT fiscal conservative.  Tax cuts for the sake of moving wealth from the middle class to the rich is not fiscally conservative. >

I also can’t remember the last time they paid down debt, or actively worked to reduce deficits. >

Remember when Clinton was reversing the deficit?  Bush took care of that Problem >

Remember when there was talk of an amendment to the constitution to balance the budget? >

racist white christian fascism has nothing to do with less taxes and smaller government >

The fascist Christians want to shrink the fed gov so the church can takes it's place. They do that by cutting taxes. >

I will never understand why Americans are so scared of their politicians. Why do you let these people destroy your country?
Fuck these pricks. Do something about it for fucks sake. >

Because there are a large number of Americans that have a compulsive need to be scared of something and the politicians have convinced them of other things to be scared of. Simpler things like abortions, gay people, transgender people, taxes, etc. These things are easier for people to grasp without thinking too hard.
Maybe it stems from some more primal portion of their brain. During most of humanity's evolution, there were many unknowns to be scared of. Those who who were naturally cautious and fearful survived and procreated more.
Modern day life is comparatively boring. That natural level of fear and caution leaves a gap to be filled. So they actively seek things out. >

It’s that and also a large swath of “I’m above politics because it’s all a ruse” both-sides type of people. These people are typically voting age and act like being above politics is okay because “if both sides are corrupt then me not participating is the smart choice.” When in reality they’ve simply given their tacit endorsement of the “corrupt” status quo. They’re just as bad if not worse than the fear-mongering, never-left-my-home-state crowd because these people know better or have been given the opportunity to know better and instead inflict harm through apathy. >


also a large swath of “I’m above politics because it’s all a ruse” both-sides type of people

In my experience, a large portion of this group also fall into the "vote Republican but too embarrassed to admit it" camp. They seem to only use the "both sides" argument when discussing conservative corruption. >

Typically angry hardcore Libertarian or hardcore socialist types too. I’m openly socialist on here but the anger that some of those subs seep with is very uncomfortable. Either of those two camps have a lot of similarities in that they’d rather anarchy fully take hold to “prove the current system wrong and my system right.” The very short-sighted view there is missing the fact that they want an absolutist system to come through after anarchy - but you can’t plan for how long anarchy sticks around. You can’t plan for who ends up gaining power in a vacuum. And you can’t just think the system will go your way after another one fails because who knows what happens to you in that vacuum. >

This is what makes it so dangerous. The anarchy is going to make things very difficult for a long time.
As an example, the USSR dissolved basically in anarchy. The established order was suddenly flipped on its head. There is still a significant decrease in life expectancy due to drinking in Russia, directly attributable to the chaos of the 90s. >

the gop is not conservative.  They are fascists.  That's it.  
And Sinema and Manchin are not centrists.  They are corporatists.  Biden is conservative. >

The title is more satirical now. >

Wow.  That is eye opening.  Thanks. >

No problem, I found that article awhile ago and just keep it open on a tab down yonder. Comes in handy. >

"Conservatism" has always been window dressing.  Behind closed doors they're laughing about it.  They never believed in any of it.
"These suckers actually think we care about 'small government' and 'individual liberty' and 'tax cuts.'  LOL." >

I'm still waiting to do my taxes on a post card like Ted Cruz promised. >

To paraphrase their new standard bearer, "conservative-ish" >

We need to stop calling republicans the conservative party and start calling them what they are, the party that actively promotes hate mongering so a handful of rich assholes can be slightly richer. >

To be fair their policies are aimed at making them much richer. >

Not anymore... the fascists ate the conservatives.  There's no more pretense of protecting established precedent or status quo or enacting small government and free market policies.  
Fascists erased conservatives while telling them they were being erased by liberals so they would be too distracted to put up a struggle. >

That 30 percent sales tax, man. When I first saw that headline, my brain went to "Damnit, which far-far-far left lunatic is trying to put this out there?" and nope, the mofos in the article picture wanted it. 
The fact that GOP voters have let the 30 percent sales tax thing go completely, and without any examination tells me that it doesn't matter. As long as minorities, LGBTQ+ and whites who aren't sympathetic to Christian Nationalism are getting hurt, that's what matters. >

That's the problem. GOP voters don't look into the details of what bills say or why things happen. They just vote for the red team. Just an entire party averse to critical thinking. It's why 'Fact don't care about your feelings' was pure projection.
​
My conservative SIL insists that the Texas power grid going down is because of the Dems and the Green New Deal. The hypothetical bill that was never even brought forward to consideration for a vote. Or how inflation is the fault of $15 minimum wage... the thing that still hasn't happened. Or how the cost of housing skyrocketing all under Trump was normal market behavior, but the second Biden was inaugurated, suddenly it's a massive problem and all his fault. >

Don't forget M+M's spokescandies being cancelled due to 'woke mobs' disapproving of the 'wokeness' of the new spokescandies, and not at all due to conservative backlash. Jesus fucking christ on the gaslighting! >

We have people that supported the J6 insurrection sitting in Congress and on a committee preparing to receive intel on groups that were involved in and may be planning another insurrection.  That is pretty low. >

"I understand the whole idea of fiscal conservatism, but then basically saying, yes, let's push the country toward debt default — in what world is the refusal to pay your credit cards considered a conservative act?"
Steve Bannon’s words from 2017, “Our goal is deconstruction of the administrative state”, comes to mind.  Did he mean bankruptcy of the administrative state? >

They’re not conservative. Their only job is destroying democracy and establishing a right wing authoritarian regime. See Hungary. See Russia. See Belarus. >

What does conservative even mean anymore? >

Republicans have been shifting away from true conservatism since Bill Clinton years. But it was the Trump era that finally created the total break away from conservatism. Republicans now are just "anti-liberal" - meaning they have no real ideas of their own, they are just against whatever liberals are doing. >

The current #GOP is not conservative... it is simply a fascist organization... domestic terrorists... I could go on and on.. fuck them. >

The GOP is fascist, not conservative. >

It's the crazies versus the lazies. The crazies want to take the party over the cliff. The lazies know that will cost them their offices >

The GOP is only consistently socially conservative. It's because their "culture war" issues are the only things that turn out their voters. Without those they have no platform to stand on. 
The GOP is only for "small government" when it's their self-proclaimed enemies who want regulation. They're happy to roll out laws limiting our freedoms when it helps appease their base: anti gay/trans rules, muzzling free speech, cutting women's rights, telling teachers what they can and can't teach, and telling us what substances we can consume.
Republicans are only "fiscally conservative" when funding will help the poor, or even just the middle class. They are happy to dole out money when it enriches corporate interests, the military, or law enforcement. They'll write blank cheques for them! 
While it was ultimately Trump's candidacy that caused me to ditch Republicanism, this hypocrisy I suddenly saw so clearly from the outside is what makes me wonder how I ever fell for it. They're only here to make the rich richer at our expense. >

The only thing they've ever conserved is their hate and bigotry. >

They're fascists, not conservatives. The only actual conservatives operating in America are some Democrats. >

Our deficit goes up every time a Republican is in office and Trump pretty much gutted the EPA. Republicans aren’t conservative. Period. >

If by conservative you mean money hungry, power hungry, constitution ignoring, gaslighting, social war starting, nazi promoting, Healthcare stealing, Social Security Stealing party... >

They are NOT Conservative.  Stop referencing the current GOP as conservative.  They are Fascist >

They haven’t been conservative in a while.
They have no ideological identity other than opposing the Democrats. They also have no interest in maintaining the status quo or the institutions of government that have existed for decades.
They aren’t conservatives. They’re reactionary regressives. >

The GOP has gone full Confederate these days. >

The last great (even good) Republican president was Dwight Eisenhower...and they'd call him a lib, or at least a RINO now. >

I'm 34 years old and they've never been conservative in my lifetime. If anything they're for a much larger government than Democrats. >

The closest thing to a real conservative party we have is ironically the Democrats. >

How conservative is GOP? "Fuck national parks, fuck libraries, fuck opera, ballet, literature and the arts, fuck elder care, fuck chaperones for girls, fuck fishing as in fuck the rivers the fish live in, fuck Hollywood, fuck the deep seasm just deep-trawl all that shit".
Don't know what's left for them to put on the ballot. "Uh, we believe in heterosexually-baked pizzas!!!!" >

"Conservative"
They want to eliminate any form of public health, education, infrastructure maintenance, social services, or the ability to vote.
Theres nothing "conservative" at all about them. They are fascist radicals interested in authoritarianism. >

They epitomize conservatism: they're hateful, ignorant, greedy lying sociopaths.  That's conservatism.  I don't know why so many in this section pine for a fantasty conservatism they saw on the The West Wing.  It doesn't exist.  It never did. >

Exactly as conservative as the democrats aren’t… if tomorrow that democrats decide they are anti gay and anti women, every one of these asshole would show up to work draped in Pride flags and free tampons because all they want is undying support for their money making schemes from anyone that can be properly manipulated into giving it to them. >

Violently conservative >

Conservative is obviously just a term used to whitewash its agenda like Nationalism, American exceptionalism and America First. >

They’re the “shit on people we don’t like” party. Its all grievance, all the time. When it comes to policy, principles, patriotism, etc. the Republican party is completely nihilistic. >

They’re pretty conservative with the truth. >

They’re just a bunch of selfish assholes who only care about their own personal power and wealth. Of course they’re infighting. >

Very. 
They want a small number of Americans to live and the rest to be wage slaves, suffer and die. >

It isn’t. The Republican Party is an illiberal coalition party.
Conservatives have controlled the Democratic Party since 1978. Joe Biden is a political conservative. The last conservatives fled the Republican Party when Gingrich took power in the 1990’s. It took 20 years, starting with Nixon, for them to all leave the party but they did. >

They abandoned being conservative and just decided that being the biggest asshole in the room was a better platform. >

There's a difference between being conservative and being profiteer... these guys are there to take a profit in any way or form... Just look at George Santos... He wanted to have lifetime healthcare... who cares about people or America... >

Aside from the front-of-house chaos, the GOP is still the hyper-religious, tax cutting (for the wealthy), safety net slashing, anti-poor,. deficit spending party it's been since the inception of the Southern Strategy. >

Conservative enough to keep the masses poor and  the subsidies flowing >

We need to stop using the word conservative for the Republican Party. They want to conserve nothing. Nor do they want small changes. They are radical reactionaries. They want to radically reform the USA to its imaginary past existence >

What does "Conservative" even mean anymore?  Certainly not what it meant 20 years ago.  I was banned from r/Conservative for posting tRump's record debt increases and having the worst GDP since Hoover.  Debt, deficits and GDP are no longer "conservative" topics?  LOL
If you look at what conservatives actually support you'd think the word means collection of terrorists, racists, bigots, rapists, and pedophiles. >

They abandoned political conservatism for madness in the 80s >

I think "conservative" and "fascist" are two entirely different words with two entirely different meanings.   A "conservative" tries to conserve (something).   A "fascist" seems to focus on destroying all opposition, to establish totalitarian control. 
The modern Republican party is clearly fascist.  There is nothing conservative about it. >

Gah.... people keep framing this as a Conservatuive vs Liberal thing. It's not. It's Greedy Asshole Criminals vs everyone else. >

The real question Is why do we keep letting them get away with their self imposed labels for labels that would amount to false advertising in any other circumstance?
They call themselves pro-life and pro-family and yet they don't have a single position that helps either.
They call themselves The Party of small government and Free Speech and yet they actively abused government power to limit the free speech of everyone they don't like.
They call themselves the party of Law and Order and personal responsibility yet they openly break the law I refuse to hold themselves accountable for anything.
They call themselves the party a of fiscal responsibility but their policies have done Untold damage to the middle and lower class along with the planet.
They call themselves God fearing Patriots but they live like devils while clinging to the flag of Traitors.
They call themselves conservatives but what are they conserving? 
Nothing! They're not conserving anything they're just trying to rewind the clock all the way back to the Confederacy. >

How do we even take them as a serious party anymore? They all are complicit with batshit crazy ideology and act in bad-faith fundamentally. >

The GOP is has redefined Conservative to mean "Right-Wing."  With that in mind, they are 100% Conservative. >

Not the slightest bit, they have been completely taken over by batshit crazy radicals >

There is nothing ‘conservative’ about the current  version of the Republican Party. >

Conservative? 
Who the fuck cares? 
They're trying to eliminate elections, overthrow the government, enslave half the population, normalize terrorism as a form of political discussion, drive people to poverty, destroy the environment, let people starve and freeze to death, reinstate Jim Crow, install Christo-nationalism as the state religion, and kill anybody who falls anywhere on the LGBT scale. 
If any of that counts as "conservative", then it needs to die. >

The GOP isn't a politically or socially conservative party by any stretch of the definition. >

Republicans are not conservative at all. They don't want to conserve the environment, the economy, our treaties and global commitments, or even our democracy.
All they want to conserve is power for the wealthy. >

Conservatism has NOTHING to do with fiscal restraint. It never has, PLEASE stop indulging this transparent bullshit. "Fiscal restraint" was invented in the Reagan era as code for "cut benefits for minorities".  Full fucking stop. They never meant it, and shame on anyone who ever took that argument in good faith.
The post-Trump GOP is 100% in-line with true Conservatism, which, going back to the 1780's (Edmond Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France) has been:

Some people are better than others
The Good Ones can be trusted to do what's best for themselves and the world, and should have maximum freedom to do whatever they want (because they always want what's best)
The Bad Ones must be controlled by the Good Ones, in fact, the Bad Ones want to serve their betters
The "traditional" definitions of what makes someone Good/Bad are natural, true, and good
Law/Government exists to empower the Good Ones and control the Bad Ones.

American Conservatives have never deviated from this ideology. Almost all ideological arguments within Conservatism are about point 4 (what definitions should we use). Some popular models:

Libertarians: Rich people are the Good Ones because they wouldn't be rich if they were Bad
Christian Nationalists: Christians are the Good Ones because God said so
White Supremacists: Whites are the Good Ones because [indistinct rambling]
Sex Weirdos: Straights are the Good Ones because they're not degenerates
Patriarchy Weirdos: Straight DUDES are the Good Ones because of their big, sexy muscles
MAGA: Trump is the Good One because Trump said so. The more like Trump you are, the more Good you are.
Conservative Democrats: We could trust the market to sort Good from Bad if there wasn't all this sexism & racism lying around. >

The Republican Party isn’t conservative and are fiscally irresponsible. >

Honestly in my 40+ years on this planet, they haven't been conservative since I started voting. >

Republicans are regressive.. >

I mean, the infighting is between the merely ultra-conservative, and the fascist arch-conservatives. The racist, backwards, idiots are mad that the ultra-conservatives aren't racist, regressive, and stupid enough. >

This entire group of people only conserve on their human compassion. There is nothing else they conserve. Why are they called conservatives?? >

A conservative is a person who supports traditional values or wants them preserved. They don't "conserve" anything. You are thinking of the word conservation, not conservative. >

It sounds good. If they actually meant the same thing, I’m not far off from the statement. >

They do mean the same thing, but the context is law and government, and people incorrectly apply the concept to an entire political party.
So, if we weren't living in a world where people get their information about politics from Facebook memes and PragerU: 
When a bill is proposed, people from various political parties would take a conservative or liberal approach to the policy. So, in that sense, conservatives would want to reduce the changes, or conserve the existing law, while liberals would want to innovate or change it.
The stances that the politicians would take would normally vary based upon the issue at hand, not the party, but again, American politics has been reduced to rightists vs leftists due to the spread of "folk lore politics." >

Republicans are not conservative either fiscally or socially. They can’t balance a budget, or even try, and they can’t stay out of people’s business. >

Republican infighting means that they're doing something else stupid and trying to change the media story. >

"I got mine, screw off everyone else."
//But you don't 'have yours' yet... And your actions will make it harder for you to get things like that in the future!
"But I MIGHT get mine in the future, so #### all of you preemptively!" 
~GOP. >

The fight was between a far right leader and an alt right faction. >

I'm conservative, protect the environment, don't start random wars, don't militarize the police, don't bother people in their private lives, etc.  That's why I'm on the left.  Gop is just party for the rich and/or corporations. >

The article gives a lot of airtime for trump backers to talk, but at the very end it comes to the right conclusion: conservatism is, or will soon be, only defined as "anti-liberal" with zero substance beyond that >


how conservative is the GOP?

As conservative as their donors want them to be. Wealth and resource extraction is the name of the game and they are the chosen party to do it. Meanwhile they dangle fictitious culture wars to distract us from the class war. >

Newt Gingrich opened up the possibility of fucking everyone over for individual, short term power and he's still called in to weigh in on issues.  The problems in the house are because at least 6 people are finding out they can just not do their job and be rewarded for it.
Trump is acting like he did against JEB! and Jeff Flake.  He is targeting any upstarts and hitting hard and the rest fall in line like an organized crime organization. >

Not conservative, just authoritarian.  Also, religious zealot contrarians. >

Let them fight >

I think the more accurate assessment would be that over the last 10 years, the culture war issues are just more important to the GOP >

i’m going to need a definition of conservative first >

They haven't been conservative in decades, they're regressive. They don't want to keep the status quo, that's main-line Democrats. They want to return to a mythologized past and want to change things to get there, ergo not conservative. >

Not conservative, just willfully ignorant and incessantly angry >

They used to want to go back to the 1950's, but now they're back to the 1850's.
That's how conservative they are. >

I don't care if they are conservative or not. If they are aTrumpster, they are out.
Anybody else, I vote on the issues. >

Well that’s bcuz we insist on the 2 party system. Literally every other democracy on the planet has multiple parties that represent a segment of the population. We’re only 1 party away from the communist/autocratic countries that we say we hate… >

They are literally nothing.  No platform even.  A lot was torn down during the Trump years.  Who are they? >

GOP: Conservative, thats a big word. what does it mean? >

The GOP is a flaming dumpster fire that stands only for guns, racism and greed. It is an embarrassment to the country. From an ex GOPer and now independent >

What does conservatism even stand for these days? What does it functionally mean to be a conservative anymore? The actions of its adherents seem completely untethered from the actual ideology. >

Wanna reduce spending? Repeal Trump’s tax cut. Taxes were much higher under Reagan - those years you have an idealogical hard-on for. >

Since the fighting is over "can we be so conservative that we only let white straight Christian fundamentalists be citizens" and "can we be so conservative that we only let white straight Christian fundamentalists even exist" then the answer is "pretty damned fucking conservative." >

What's conservative mean right now?  It's been changing over the last few decades.  Change isn't necessarily bad but they've gone from the party of small government to letting the government be in charge of very personal aspects of our lives.  They're authoritarian.  Many of the most powerful and popular are fascist.  Many are allies of Putin.  What's a conservative stand for now? >

They might not be, but it's not as if conservativism is a good ideology to strike for anyway. I don't see this as a very good point to focus on. >

They are conservative in that they want a small government for rich people but an intrusive one for every one else. On top of that they are racist, hateful, bigoted and all about othering some group to whip their frenzied minions into a state of apoplexy >

Not at all. They are regressives. >

The Republican Party is regressivist, not conservative. >

Those that stand for nothing will fall for anything >

The GOP stopped cold on being conservative 6 yrs ago. They'd been toying with the idea of becoming outright fascists for at least the previous decade before that, however. >

If we’re lucky this will be the end of the Republican Party.  My greatest hope is that this will fracture the party in two or three pieces who fight against each other so that none of them will ever have a majority in Congress or the senate ever again. >

0%
They have been running on a 100% regressive platform for decades now >

Yeah cat fight! >

Let’s attempt to measure a moving goal post… >

That’s a weird way of spelling fascist. >

They are mostly radical fascists. >

All they aim to "conserve" is the wealth of those holding their leashes. >

They aren’t conservative at all, they are regressive >

Somewhere between Nazi and Mussolini >

The dems have been the conservative party since Clinton.  After Clinton the Republicans turned into the party of reactionaries and then after Obama they turned into the party of fascists. >

The are servants of the rich.  That’s it.  They would suck each other off if told to do so.  
Probably have >

Let them canabalize each other for the next 2 years >

They're fascists who have a couple slightly less fascist people in their ranks >

You cannot be a fiscal conservative and a SoCiaL coNSerVaTiVE at the same time.  "Social conservative" is just a rebranded fascist, which requires massive government overreach.  With trump, the GOP decided to be "socially conservative". >

They’re a mess and the media is mostly ignoring it. >

They are spelling fascist wrong >

Their conservative devotion to Russia is truly inspiring. >

Can anyone even define that word anymore? >

They passed “conservative” in the political spectrum and are leaning towards “fascist” now. It’s all about power regardless. Donald Trump borrowed several ideas from the pages of fascist leaders - ideas that are categorically un-democratic - and succeeded in getting people to admire him. That is what’s so frightening about the loss of conservatism. >

100% Radical >

The GOP is the opposite of conservative lol, but they’re the opposite of everything they say they are. >

They are authoritarians.  The only want power to keep themselves in power so they can keep money flowing to them. >

Fascists are conservative, I don't see how this is a question >

$7T to national debt. >

Conservatives are right leaning Democrats.  The Republican party is purely reactionary. >

No.  Centrist democrats are left leaning Republicans.  The republican party as pulled so far to the right that the center today is right about the same place Republicans were before Reagan. >

"Conservative-ish" >

They want to destroy America and let the ruling class have the spoils. They are reactionaries and terrorists. Nothing conservative about them. >

They are and have always been fascists, only difference is the mask keeps slipping off for normies >

How fascist does it have to be for media to care. >

Not at all conservative in any real meaningful sense. >

I think we need to put to bed the archaic out of touch labels of “conservative” and “liberal”. No one in our government is either of those things. >

What labels could we use instead? Or do you think the meaning of those words will just change >

“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."-Frank Wilhoit (not Francis). >

I'm a conservative male that is turning 50 this year. I do not feel that the GOP represents conservative values, whomever they are representing these days, it isn't me. I haven't voted GOP for about 20 years now. >

What are those values, which of them do you think the GOP no longer represents, and what values do you think the GOP represents these days.  Bonus points: what values do you think the Democrats represent? >

Conservative means going with things known to work. If they were conservative they'd go with nationalized healthcare, UBI, high taxes for the rich, prisons that reform rather than punish, educating the public, etc. >

There seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread about what the word conservative means. It's a person that supports traditional values, like the ones in the bible. It does not mean "going with things known to work" and it does not mean "to conserve" either, which would be a conservationist. >

averse to change or innovation and holding traditional values. Since we have no traditional values I’m going with the adverse to innovation. >

Well, liberals are people who generally value societal innovation.
So, yes, conservatives are "adverse to innovation" or more accurately, they want to "preserve traditional values." >

The Republican Party died in the 1970s.
Everything they have done since then has been vermin, maggots, fungi and microbes fighting over a carcass. >

If we track liberal and conservative with left and right then it fits the bill. Just because they like to kowtow to authoritarian strong-man figures doesn’t mean they won’t have a nasty fight about who that strong-man will be.
A bunch of self-described alpha male incel types have little choice but to come to blows when the population doesn’t stand with one or the other. When society rejects people like that, they fight amongst one another to determine who will lead the next attempt to co-opt liberty, equality, and fraternity.
They react to the lack of popular support in the same fashion society responds to material scarcity, with diffuse conflict. To them, a lack of followers is as dangerous as an empty refrigerator is to the rest of us. >

Republicans are as conservative as police "protect and serve." >

"Conservative" implies being a moderate, and things like white nationalism, ending the Republic because you didn't win an election, and pushing for laws to impose evangelical Christian views are not moderate. >

“two journalists and an academic, the very picture of elites.”
What’s the definition of elites? >

They're not conservative at all.  The two sides are people who only care about money, and actual genocidal white supremacists.
0% authentic conservatives. >

What are the policy goals and values of an authentic conservative? >

1% more than Democrats. >

This is why there are some many kinds of Christians. >

Need to differentiate between what they say vs how they act - w regards to their conservatism. >

They aren't really a conservative party unleashed it has to do with their own power or beliefs.  The shit they say about being constitutionalist is the same vibe people have when they say they are a Bible purest. >

Not. No morals. No accountability. No problem solving skills. Nothing. Absolutely nothing except fear, punishment and hatred. >

Answer: Not at all -- appearing to be more conservative than everyone else is just the flavor of snake oil that sells most easily to the rubes these days. >

They all suck regardless >

Barry Goldwater was right. >

The scale in which the GQP demands it be measured is from moderate conservative to fascist authoritarians. >

Actually conservative? Not much.
The complete and utter perversion that has taken over the party in the last 50 years? Completely. >

This is what’s making you ask this? Not all the other things? >

As opposed to how much worse its "other side" is? >

They are not conservatives anymore, have not been since trump, probably as early as bush but it’s taking the population time to adjust to that >

They are taliban medieval now. Oppress women, minorities, the poor, and LGBTQ. Literally a kkk wet dream. They are not interested in governing, or improving peoples lives. The more pain they inflict, the better. >

Being opposed to the police’s of the Democratic Party doesn’t mean you are conservative. >

Please read Asshole Nation by Scott McMurrey.  It clearly explains everything even though it's a few years old. >

They aren't conservative.  They are super reactionary, pretty much the opposite of being conservative. >


How conservative is the GOP?

I thought this was fairly obvious/well-known? They're as conservative as the lobbyist who last paid them want them to be. Some may think I'm cracking a joke but I'm actually completely serious. >

As someone of the (fiscal) conservative bent, they aren't conservative at all. Biden's more conservative than most of the GOP and all of the 'Freedom' caucus. 
As a conservative I'd like to extend a hearty fuck you to the GOP for poisoning every conversation about creating common sense policies with their Christian Nationalist fuckery and their 'anything but the DEMONcrats' version of 'leadership'. >

Conservative code word for racist hates non-whites, homosexuals, poor people and owned by special interests. >

The republics don’t tax the rich and spend they raise the deficit when they run the government but cry about the deficit when a dem is in office. There primary goal is to keep government dysfunctional just as there voters want >

Hopefully they keep moving to the right to the point of irrelevancy. Race to the bottom… >

Define conservative in this context. >

All you have to do is point out how many GOP members carry on about how their party is for "family values" and "law and order", then see how they all line up behind someone as morally/ethically bankrupt as Trump. >

They're not anything besides out of their fucking minds.... And it's hilarious >

“We gotta pretend not to be corrupt so voters still think we are good” vs “brazen corruption is my brand and my voters are ok with me as long as I’m /their guy/“ >

How about radical right-wing nut jobs. That’s a more fitting description than “conservative” >

Depends on your viewpoint. The whole conservative/liberal branding thing is more marketing than reality. Modern Republicans are hit or miss when it comes to traditional conservative values, and Dems tend to be all over the map as it is. >

Is it "conservative" so much as "being an asshole as much as possible?"
On literally every issue Republicans choose the asshole position, the hateful position, the "I don't give a fuck" position.  They lied about the pandemic, and masks, and vaccines, and elections, and minorities, etc etc etc. 
There's no actual platform behind the Republicans.  Just hurting minority groups and women, and rewarding lies and wealth.  It's insane to think it's a way forward for the nation. >

'Conservative' should not be a synonym for 'cruel', yet here we are. >

Too >

Better question: What even is their platform? >

There is no conservatism only contrarianism. >

They are very big on trying to conserve power. >

What’s conservative today? I only see owning the libs, and sustain a caste system where straight, Christian white and rich is more equal than others. >

It used to be a contest between legislators and candidates to see who could be the MOST conservative. 
Those same legislators and candidates are so out of touch that they can’t even read the room and realize how poorly that plays with the majority of voters nowadays.  
And the best part is neither GOP nor the MagaQ crowd are going to back down.  Both will fight the other to the bitter end for dominance. >

Conservativier than Thou >

They aren't, they're fascist, they aren't the same thing, even if Americans can't tell the difference.