The Conservative movement is dead. Has been for a while- but the latest spending bill really emphasized the point. There are still people calling themselves (or calling others) 'Conservatives'- but the real Conservative movement- the one championed by Buckley, Goldwater, Thatcher and Reagan- that movement is dead.
To understand why it died, start with this premise: The Conservative movement was made up of four platforms, like a chair with four legs**:
1) Taking a strong opposition to the Soviet Union
2) Smaller Government
3) Social Issues
4) Lower Taxes
Each of those legs got twisted around over time, for different reasons.
Start with the opposition to the Soviet Union. That leg disappeared in 1989 along with the Soviet Union. The Conservative movement succeeded- now what? During the Presidency of George W Bush, it morphed into the US trying to become the World's Policeman, and looking at the Middle East. But the Middle East was never the existential threat that the Soviet Union represented, and we (the US) could never decide if it was better to act as the World's Policeman or to walk away from the rest of the world when it comes to tyranny. We still don't know which is better.
The second leg- smaller government- the Conservatives proved they were never serious about it. It was a great weapon to use against the Democrats- but when the Conservatives actually had the power to shrink government, they never flinched. They proved that ratchet theory correct- government grows, but never shrinks.
So now the 'Conservative' movement is now two legs: Social Issues and Lower Taxes. Lower taxes is a non-starter: you'll notice there are no taxes in the 1.9 trillion spending bill (How is it being financed? Deficits. Deficits without end). So that leaves Social Issues
Social issues morphed over time. The social issues that people were concerned about 60 years ago aren't the same ones as today. There's still a few hot button issues- abortion and gun control, for instance. But mainly, both parties use social issues to rev up their voters. Voters get geared up about the culture war in a way they don't over economic and foreign policy issues. And the GOP abandoned the high ground on character in 2016. As the other three legs withered and died, social issues became all that defined the movement.
The Conservative movement dominated the GOP for fifty years. But it's now dead, and right now the Republican party is a cult of personality for Donald Trump. I miss the Conservative movement- not only was it the political movement I grew up with, but I don't see anything that on the horizon to replace it.
Pour one out for Buckley, for Goldwater, for Reagan, for Thatcher, for the intellectuals and politicians who created the Conservative movement. You may have despised them, but I preferred them to what is available now.
(**The Democratic Party, by contrast, is made up about 50 legs- different factions with different agendas. This has advantages and disadvantages)
I would argue that the Conservative Movement that you're describing never existed at all...for all that Reagan talked about small government, he was responsible for an exploding deficit and a massive expansion of government reach.
ReplyDeleteWhat the Conservative movement was interested in was less government oversight, and more freedom for corporations. That's been true from the start, and remains a steady leg in their platform to this day. They want fewer health safety inspectors. Fewer environmental regulations, fewer protections for the public in general...along with lower taxes on people at the top of the economic ladder.
The Conservative movement was never a real thing...it was a mirage...it's just that it became successful enough that over time many of its supporters have stopped feeling the need to pretend they're anything other than what they are.