What a Trump Nomination Means for Conservatives

Townhall.com ^ | March 17, 2016 | Ben Shapiro

[Kaslin]

For years, conservatives have told themselves the pretty bedtime story that they represent a silent majority in America -- that most Americans want smaller government, individual rights and personal responsibility. We've suggested that if only we nominated precisely the right guy who says the right words -- some illegally grown Ronald Reagan clone, perhaps -- we'd win.

Donald Trump's impending nomination puts all of that to bed.

There can be no doubt: The Republican Party has successful killed the legacy of Ronald Reagan. By consistently moving to the left in every presidential election, by granting the left its general premise that government is generally a tool for good rather than a risky potential instrument of tyranny and by teaching Americans that the problem isn't government itself, but who runs it, Republicans have ensured that the vast majority of Americans no longer hold to conservative principles.

In fact, a significant swath of Republicans themselves don't believe in conservative principles. Trump, obviously, is no conservative. He's a protectionist on trade -- a position that smacks of populist pandering rather than informed conservative economics. He believes in an authoritarian executive branch designed to make deals that achieve a win for Americans, rather than a heavily circumscribed executive branch with prescribed powers of enforcement. He believes that judges sign bills, that legislators exist merely to bargain with the great man in charge and that the military exists to serve as his personal armed forces.

All of this attracts people.

The angrier Trump gets, the more he talks about how he's going to set things right rather than giving Americans the power to do so themselves, and the more Americans flock to him.

So, let's look at the facts. Today, at low ebb, Trump garners approximately 4 in 10 Republican voters. Let's assume that at least half of those Americans aren't conservative -- a fair guess, given that many have admitted bias in polls in favor of government interventionism in the economy, a sneaking love for government entitlement programs and a strong position against immigration -- not for safety reasons, but to prevent economic competition. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 10 Americans support Democrats outright.

This means that at least 6 in 10 Americans support a big government vision of the world.

Which means conservatives have failed.

In order to rebuild, conservatives must recognize that they think individually; leftists think institutionally. While the left took over the universities -- now bastions of pantywaist fascism hell-bent on destroying free speech -- the right slept. While the left took over the public education system wholesale, the right fled to private schools and homeschooling. While the left utilized popular culture as a weapon, conservatives supposedly withdrew and turned off their televisions.

Withdrawal, it turns out, wasn't the best option.

Fighting back on all fronts is. Republicans need to worry less about the next election and significantly more about building a movement of informed Americans who actually understand American values. That movement must start with outreach to parents, and it must extend to the takeover of local institutions or defunding of government institutions outright. The left has bred a generation of Americans who do not recognize the American ideals of the Founding Fathers. Pretending otherwise means flailing uselessly as demagogues like Trump become faux-conservative standard-bearers.

[Dead Dog]

Do you agree that extorsion violates natural rights?

[gg188]

And for all of you people who were fooled into thinking Cruz was non-establishment, and an "outsider", in the face of a mountain of information proving otherwise..

Today, Senator Lindsey Graham announced his full-throated support for Senator Ted Cruz, to include giving Cruz access to Graham’s extensive donor and lobbying lists for financial support.

[…] Sen. Lindsey Graham will host a fundraiser on Monday in support of Sen. Ted Cruz.

[Ohioan]

You are referring to a legal term, which refers to a statutory crime. The incidence of the crime, almost always involves elements that would not pertain to a state of nature. I would agree that one of the reasons men create governments to secure their natural rights, is to define actions that will be punishable. I have no idea why you pose the question as you do; but if anything it obfuscates rather than clarifies.

[x]

So, let's look at the facts. Today, at low ebb, Trump garners approximately 4 in 10 Republican voters. Let's assume that at least half of those Americans aren't conservative -- a fair guess, given that many have admitted bias in polls in favor of government interventionism in the economy, a sneaking love for government entitlement programs and a strong position against immigration -- not for safety reasons, but to prevent economic competition. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 10 Americans support Democrats outright.

This means that at least 6 in 10 Americans support a big government vision of the world.

Or even more. But it was always like that.

People didn't vote for Nixon or Reagan or Bush because they wanted less government in an absolute sense. They may only have wanted less government than the Democrats wanted.

But it's not a question of "wanting big goverment" it's more a matter of not wanting major changes -- not wanting major moves towards more government but also not wanting a move toward substantially less government either

[Dead Dog]

We’re agreeing on premiss.
Then we can agree that rule of law is absolutely crutical, requires restraint, and is the heart of constitutionalism.

[bigbob]

Rush and others have made a career and a fortune telling people “all you need is conservatism”. If that were true, wouldn’t Cruz be the clear frontrunner? Trump has better identified and prioritized the issues and like Reaganis proposing pragmatic America-first solutions. One need only look at the number of nonmilitary federal employees during Reagan vs Obama to find proof that even Reagan was not able to fully implement a conservative agenda.

[Persephone Kore]

As Pres. Reagan said:

If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.... The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.

We should listen to Ronald Reagan when he talks about the very heart and soul of conservatism.

Reagan's heart and soul of conservatism—the libertarian heart and soul—is absent in Donald Trump. Where is there any libertarianism in Trump at all? He favors strong government and increased centralized authority.

Link to source for quote.