Posted on 02/07/2016 1:39:56 PM PST by conservativejoy
In the latest debate Donald Trump made it clear, once again, that not only he is not conservative, but he has absolutely no idea what conservatism is. When asked to define conservative, Trump, who usually gives expansive answers, could only manage to speak for less than 30 seconds before running out of ammo. His answer was that "Conservatism means... to conserve... your wealth".
That's not what conservatism is. A two year transfer student into Wharton College (with an uncle in MIT) should be able to give a better answer than that. Marco Rubio, perspiring like a fire hydrant, nonetheless came closer to the mark with his canned answer to the same question: "Conservatism means limited government, free enterprise, and a strong national defense." And he (or whoever prepared him with that answer) is right. Conservatism is about advocating the liberty of the individual and preventing the government from encrouching on it. Conservatism is about protecting private property rights and giving businesses the opportunity to grow without the stranglehold of regulation. It's also about protecting our country with a strong national defense. And, although it didn't occur to Marco or his debate prep team, it's also about adhering to what's in the Constitution.
But Donald Trump didn't raise any of these points. Since he's not and never been a conservative, he knows no more about conservatism than he knows about 'two corinthians'.
But this will not hurt him, because Trump's supporters, by and large, are not conservatives. It seems like a reason that he underperformed in Iowa was that he was competing with Marco Rubio for presumably more moderate voters, and when Marco Rubio surged, it was at Trump's expense.
If Trump supporters are not conservative, what are they? Well, polls have shown they are likely to be less educated than supporters of other candidates, but that doesn't really get to ideology.
Talk show host Mark Levin calls them "agrarian national populists", because of Trump's support for government regulation and subsidies for ethanol. While Trump compares himself to Ronald Reagan, Mark Levin compares him to Richard Nixon, not for Nixon's criminality, but for Nixon's ideological flexibility.
"This is this populism thing," he said. "It's not populism. It's pandering. And let me tell you something else - if you believe in our constitutional system and people say they do, the Constitution is not about populism. It's not about pluralism. It's about liberty. You cannot have a majority of people voting whether or not you have unalienable rights. You have unalienable rights no matter what anybody says. They belong to you. Are we supposed to shred it? Are we supposed to give it up? Is that ideological purity, a phrase that everybody is throwing around now? No we want 1980, not 1968 - 1980, not 1968. We're not ideological purists. We're conservatives."
In the past I've compared Trump supporters to "whateverists", the cult of personality around Chairman Mao who approved of whatever Chairman Mao said because they were so enthralled with Mao. To a lesser extent, this kind of cult of personality is what draws in Trump supporters and makes issues such as "conservatism" and "constitutionalism" irrelevant.
Exit question: If you support Donald Trump, as long as he secures the border, are you content to let him do whatever he thinks is right, even if that isn't defined before he gets elected?
(Abridged version originally published in American Thinker)
The actual transcript:
MUIR: Governor Kasich, thank you. Mr. Trump, you’ve heard the argument from many of the candidates on this stage that you’re not a true conservative. Tell the voters watching tonight why you are.
TRUMP: Well, I think I am, and to me, I view the word conservative as a derivative I - of - of the word conserve. We want to converse our money. We want to conserve our wealth. We want to conserve. We want to be smart. We want to be smart where we go, where we spend, how we spend. We want to conserve our country. We want to save our country. And we have people that have no idea how to do that and they are not doing it, and it’s a very important word and it’s something I believe in very, very strongly.
End transcript.
I would have expected a better answer from a third grader.
What Trump actually said about Conservatism in FULL:
Trump: Well, I think I am, and to me, I view the word conservative as a derivative I -- of -- of the word conserve. We want to converse our money. We want to conserve our wealth. We want to conserve. We want to be smart. We want to be smart where we go, where we spend, how we spend. We want to conserve our country. We want to save our country. And we have people that have no idea how to do that and they are not doing it, and it's a very important word and it's something I believe in very, very strongly.
You don't "conserve your wealth" by letting a grasping government grow big enough to need and demand your wealth.
Well there is there real question. ANSWER please?
GO TED CRUZ........
It's like your hair is on fire.
If you are so much smarter than a 3rd grader, why is Trump 10,000 times richer than you, and why he has 180,000 times more name recognition than you, and why he is leading in most polls but no one has heard of you?
Actually, I had already posted Trump’s less than third grade answer on the thread twice.
Trump supporters should be completely embarrassed.
Well when you economy is circling the drain as ours is maybe conserving money is a good thing. :-)
Well when your economy is circling the drain as ours is maybe conserving money is a good thing. :-)
OK, and in spite of your mis-leading posts, Trump might win big in NH. That will be joy on my face.
They cannot be separated as if one is not necessary. To remove one at the expense of the other puts both of them in peril.
I have never aspired to be wealthy. Money is not my God. I have always been thankful to have what I needed and some to share with others. I know we don’t take anything with us when we leave this world.
You Cruzbots will go to bed getting blown out of New Hampshire knowing he is 20 Plus point behind Trump in South Carolina
It has many meanings, just like “is” or “ classified”.
Ted Cruz is dictionary boy from Con Air.
Ridiculous article. There was a lot more to his answer than “Conservatism means... to conserve... your wealth”. How about the part about conserving the country? The economic and physical safety and well-being of Americans has always been his platform. He reiterated that. Good for him.
Beyond that, his answer really does represent the classic definition of “conservatism.” It’s an answer Edmund Burke would recognize. Everybody wants to give the definition of “classical liberalism” and call it conservatism. That’s fine, because it’s a common usage, but let’s not pretend that that is the only definition of conservatism, which fundamentally and historically is about “conserving” what is good and traditional and works, while warding off radical change. Remember Trump’s slogan: Make America Great *Again*.
Vince Larkin: That would be loquacious, verbose, effusive. How about “chatty”?
Duncan Malloy: [to Devers] What’s with Dictionary Boy?
Vince Larkin: “Thesaurus Boy”, I think, is more appropriate.
[they can’t reach Vince Larkin]
Duncan Malloy: Of course you’re having trouble reaching him. He’s off saving the rain forest, or recycling his sandals or some shit.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118880/quotes
Reagan couldn’t recite the preamble.
To be able to recite something is meaningless
If that is your only criteria then you are more shallow than I can imagine
Considering the source is News Machete, I will disregard having read this pile of crud and I like Cruz and Levin. This is MSM editing and not worthy of Free Republic.
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