That’s your opinion. Not a fact. Most people are not ideological, at all. Voters are all over the place year in & year out. Most of them have no fixed politics of any sort. As for the current state of conservatism...it’s a mess.
I absolutely agree too many are ignorant of political ideology. You have to understand the Trumpkins all over the place pushing the meme that conservatism is bad, ideology is bad, purists are bad, “extreme right” is bad. They’re all trying to defend Trump’s being wrong on so many issues conservatives hold dear.
From where I sit, liberal ideology is winning the day because it’s being taught in schools and the media. To change things the way we want them to be changed, we have to teach people conservative ideology.
I don’t understand what you mean that “the state of conservatism” is a mess. I think we’re in a mess because people are abandoning conservatism for something Trump is offering that is very shallow, weak, murky, inconsistent and appeals to lowest common denominator impulses, just because he’s a big-name spokesman and markets it well.
Conservatism is ALWAYS the underdog in a national election. That doesn’t mean we don’t all keep fighting for it and looking for our opening. And we have to focus on changing the fundamentals to get more people well-versed in these principles, small government, Judeo-Christian values, capitalism, etc.