The term “conservative” was high jacked, by the Paul Ryan, McConnell, Cornyn, Bush Machine and the Koch Bro sniffers, who run rampant (as a shrinking, but still a majority) in our own Party.
The Media noticed. They saw the Leftist R’s lifting of that term and picked it up themselves, then, to brand the entire Republican Party as “conservatives”.
Note most all of our 2016 candidates who had affiliations with and affections for the Bush Machine. Hell’s bells, even Cruz got his start in Texas with the Bush’s.
The Republicans on the hill are still silent as a lamb at defending Trump, refusing to lay a glove on his enemies and ours. Damn scary who is in power to pilfer Americans until she’s down and out, subjugated to GHWB’s “One World Order”.
Exactly why the term “conservative” started disgusting me at least ten years ago. I decided “Constitutionalist” was a more apt description of political and social views I adhered to and admired.