skews13
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- Mar 18, 2017
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In fact, ideology has never been conservatives' strong suit — at least, not in recent American history. Where they've been more successful is with myth-making, or to put it in marketing terms, branding. Bush ran for president in 2000 as a "compassionate conservative," purportedly saving the movement from the divisive, destructive legacy of Newt Gingrich's scorched-earth politics. But as Bush speechwriter David Frum later observed, that was "less like a philosophy than a marketing slogan."
With Bush departing in disgrace after the landslide election of Barack Obama, it was time for another reboot, and another alliteration: "Compassionate conservatism" was out; "constitutional conservatism" was in. But no one was quite sure what that meant. There were at least three broad camps who advanced that terminology around 2009 and 2010: "Burkean" intellectuals, Tea Party insurrectionists and the conservative movement leaders who produced a manifesto, "The Mount Vernon Statement: Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century."
The label also resonated with three other overlapping constituencies who had long been fixated on the Constitution: Christian nationalists, with their specious claims that America was founded as a Christian nation; the "originalist" judicial activists of the conservative legal movement who claimed to channel the innermost thoughts of the founding fathers; and an assortment of conspiracy-minded right-wing populists, typified by longtime congressman and two-time GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. His followers claimed to be the only true constitutionalists, feeding into such phenomena as the "constitutional sheriffs" movement, which proposes that county sheriffs are the only legitimate elected officials or law enforcement officers. The tensions within and between these competing versions of constitutional conservatism ultimately brought us Donald Trump's presidency — and then his attempted coup in 2021.
What these factions had in common with was this: They represented the views of an aggressive, embattled minority across a range of issues, while rhetorically claiming to stand for a silent, imagined supermajority of "real Americans." With a few odd exceptions, such as his promise not to cut Social Security or Medicare and his reluctance to engage in overseas military adventures, the same could be said of Trump, who largely fit into the constitutional conservative scheme, even as his malevolent excesses undermined it.
www.rawstory.com
It was the original big lie. The conservative brain believes America is a country club for members only. It's the true elitist mindset. What it is really, is a load of horse shit, not based at all in reality. Like everything else they believe.
With Bush departing in disgrace after the landslide election of Barack Obama, it was time for another reboot, and another alliteration: "Compassionate conservatism" was out; "constitutional conservatism" was in. But no one was quite sure what that meant. There were at least three broad camps who advanced that terminology around 2009 and 2010: "Burkean" intellectuals, Tea Party insurrectionists and the conservative movement leaders who produced a manifesto, "The Mount Vernon Statement: Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st Century."
The label also resonated with three other overlapping constituencies who had long been fixated on the Constitution: Christian nationalists, with their specious claims that America was founded as a Christian nation; the "originalist" judicial activists of the conservative legal movement who claimed to channel the innermost thoughts of the founding fathers; and an assortment of conspiracy-minded right-wing populists, typified by longtime congressman and two-time GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. His followers claimed to be the only true constitutionalists, feeding into such phenomena as the "constitutional sheriffs" movement, which proposes that county sheriffs are the only legitimate elected officials or law enforcement officers. The tensions within and between these competing versions of constitutional conservatism ultimately brought us Donald Trump's presidency — and then his attempted coup in 2021.
What these factions had in common with was this: They represented the views of an aggressive, embattled minority across a range of issues, while rhetorically claiming to stand for a silent, imagined supermajority of "real Americans." With a few odd exceptions, such as his promise not to cut Social Security or Medicare and his reluctance to engage in overseas military adventures, the same could be said of Trump, who largely fit into the constitutional conservative scheme, even as his malevolent excesses undermined it.
From Bush to Trump to Jan. 6: The rise and fall of 'constitutional conservatism'
After generations in the shadows of American political discourse, the phrase "constitutional conservatism" burst onto center stage after the disastrous conclusion of the George W. Bush administration. The junior Bush left office in 2009 with a 22% approval rating, in the middle of the worst...
www.rawstory.com
It was the original big lie. The conservative brain believes America is a country club for members only. It's the true elitist mindset. What it is really, is a load of horse shit, not based at all in reality. Like everything else they believe.
