That’s all I hear - conservative this and conservative that. The pundits all talk about it, few if any clarify it.
How many times have I asked people what is a “conservative”? They usually have a hard time telling me.
I’ll tell you the truth ahead of time, I dislike the political use of the word “conservative” almost as much as I dislike the political use of the word “liberal”. IMO, both terms point in the wrong direction.
Nevertheless, I’ll try again: “What is a conservative”?
________
“Conservative: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.” -- Ambrose Bierce, American editorialist
Those terms vary over time. What was conservative (or liberal) in the 17th or 18th or 19th or 20th century may not be conservative (or liberal) today. Sometimes, the term may mean the opposite of what it once did.
If you want to understand what somebody means by conservative or liberal, there's no alternative to looking closely at the things they say they believe in, and not simply taking the label for granted. Start with an understanding of what they actually favor and you can usually work back to what politicians or writers actually mean when they use labels like liberal or conservative.
Speaking of: if you read the article it looks like he's not saying that the GOP Establishment doesn't care about what conservatism is any more.
He's saying that conservative Trump-voting Republicans don't care about conservatism because the positions Donald's taken over time, haven't been that conservative.
He's saying that Trump hasn't been more or isn't necessarily conservative than other candidates who conservatives have left for Trump (or never supported to begin with) -- Bush, Rubio, Perry, or any of the others (except Lindsey Graham, Gilmore, or Pataki whom he doesn't mention).