RINO.
We need a Constitutionalist.
Excellent article. The only thing I’d argue with is that what the author identifies as conservative policy approaches are not conservative at all. They are neo-con. The very oblivion of what are conservative principles is a direct legacy of the Bush years, and that family deliberate efforts to redefine what is the word ‘conservative’ means.
Trump maybe a pragmatist but he also sound like someone who has not studied Right wing philosophy, so not familiar with what certain words/labels means to people. Conservative have a certain meaning in politics, not to be treated generically
But will the trains run on time?
In other words, a liberal.
If you have no core principled belief system, who's to say you would solve problems in the correct way, if at all?
If you have the “willingness and boldness” to remove graffiti from a wall by knocking down the building you have solved nothing and created more problems.
Trump is not a conservative for sure. If one buys into the premise of the article, then they are not conservative either and that's perfectly fine, it's freedom of choice. Just stop selling it that way.
I agree, at least this article tags him correctly.
We’re all simply fed up with elected Republicans in DC. They have done absolutely nothing to stop the leftist assault on America. Too many so-called conservatives who flashed their credentials when campaigning simply became errand boys for McConnell, Boehner, Ryan, and their Uniparty overlords when they got to DC.
How an Obscure Adviser to Pat Buchanan Predicted the Wild Trump Campaign in 1996
The Week dot com ^ | Michael Brendan Dougherty
Posted on 1/20/2016, 2:17:11 AM by WayneLusvardi
Imagine giving this advice to a Republican presidential candidate: What if you stopped calling yourself a conservative and instead just promised to make America great again?
What if you dropped all this leftover 19th-century piety about the free market and promised to fight the elites who were selling out American jobs?
What if you just stopped talking about reforming Medicare and Social Security and instead said that the elites were failing to deliver better healthcare at a reasonable price?
What if, instead of vainly talking about restoring the place of religion in society something that appeals only to a narrow slice of Middle America. You simply promised to restore the Middle American core, the economic and cultural losers of globalization to their rightful place in America?
What if you said you would re store them as the chief clients of the American state under your watch, being mindful of their interests when regulating the economy or negotiating trade deals?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3385923/posts
Pragmatism never works out the way pragmatists think it will.
“Pragmatist”? Is this a polite way of saying DOUCHEBAG?
English is my second language, but I didn’t think “pragmatist” meant “unrepentant bullshitter.”
A right-leaning Populist.
People claiming to be Conservatives have inflicted severe damage on the brand by continually bending-over for the Chamber of Commerce and the “Cheap Labor Express”.
As a result, sadly, a Conservative can not be elected at the moment IMHO. Trump is about the best we can hope for.
The problem with being a pragmatist is that you solve problems without regard for underlying beliefs. You look for the most effective and efficient ways to solve a problem and go towards that.
For example
Problem: medical costs have gotten too high.
A pragmatic way to solve that would be to put price controls on the cost of medical care.
Does that sound like a good idea?
Sorry, but many “solutions” would have us betraying the very things that make us a great nation.
Ideology alone doesn’t feed the bulldog. Trump’s view of conservatism is that of the founders of conservative thought such as Edmund Burke, Wiliam F. Buckley, and Russel Kirk, one of whose 10 priniciples of conservatism is the linkage between freedom and property, which is the foundation upon which all great civilizations are built. If you need the conservative philosophy translated to a short list of talking points that can be robotically repeated over and over, Hannity comes on the radio in a few house.
I liked the article. And I agree with what was said.
Just be ready for disappointment when pragmatism brings President Trump down on the side of pro gun control, amnesty, leftist Supreme Court nominees, and other issues that need to thwart the Constitution to be “solved.”
Ping!
Pragmatism without principle can be dangerous.
John Boehner considered himself a pragmatist. So he cooperated with the Democracts in order to “get things done” when the better solution for us was to block things and stop them from getting done. Obamacare is a case in point. No bill was needed at all. But getting a bill done was assumed as needed from the beginning.
You must view pragmatism as a piece of the puzzle. Make it the only criteria at your own peril.