Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete F.
The irony is that conservative principles are actually the antidote to Trumpism. Trumpism violates norms, upends US institutions, destabilizes the transfer of power, treats corruption as a spoil of office & abuses gov’t power to punish domestic enemies. It conserves nothing.
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One of the reasons I put "conservative" or "conservatism" in quotes is that it depends on who is defining what the principles of it are. Their are various and numerous definitions. It is what you want it to be.
Here is one defining list of principals for political "conservatism" provided by Congressman Mike Johnson--the rule of law, limited government, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity. Trump has abided by the laws until proven otherwise. He is far more for limited government than Progressives and you are.He certainly provided for American strength, he was typically fiscally responsible/irresponsible with government spending, he was more free market oriented then Progressives (even his China tariffs were an attempt to free up Trade for American products with China), and he valued human dignity more than Progressivism would, as in: "Because all men are created equal and in the image of God, every human life has inestimable dignity and value, and every person should be measured only by the content of their character. A just government protects life, honors marriage and family as the primary institutions of a healthy society, and embraces the vital cultural influences of religion and morality. Public policy should always encourage education and emphasize the virtue of hard work as a pathway out of-poverty, while public assistance programs should be reserved only for those who are truly in need. In America, everyone who plays by the rules should get a fair shot. By preserving these ideals, we will maintain the goodness of America that has been the secret to our greatness."
"Norms" have a bit of the same problem. Whose "norms"? Yours? Your political norm says that conservatism leads to tyranny.
Progressivism has been "upending," as you put it, U.S. institutions far more effectively than you think Trump has since it began gripping power.
The transfer of power has been stable, regardless of complaints and demonstrations. It's a politicized red herring to claim that Trump destabilized it, or that there is some principle of "Trumpism" to destabilize the transfer of power.
Corruption as a spoil of office and using government power to "punish" anyone, including domestic enemies are nothing new or uncommon or particularly "Trumpist." Progressives are no more pure in office than anyone else. Actually, they are pretty efficient at "punishing" their enemies.
I don't know if I am a "conservative." I have not labeled myself. Except possibly to the degree that I want to conserve many of our founding principles, especially the protection of individual liberty protected by our constitutional order.
Progressivism seeks to change that order, and create a central State that controls every aspect of our lives, dictating exactly what our rights as individuals are depending on the current whims of elitist "experts." It seems to me that you would prefer such a State.
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