https://dougwils.com/s7-engaging-the-culture/110162.html More to Conservatism Than a Vibe
So how does Donald Trump do it? Do what, you ask? Entirely detached from identifiable conservative principles, and almost equally detached from a recognizable conservative record, he nonetheless is filling up venues with enthusiastic people who are responding to what they think is some kind of conservative vibe. What is it that enabled someone like Sarah Palin to go dithyrambic? [image: In an effort to raise the bar, the RNC has instituted the "wind tunnel challenge."] <https://i0.wp.com/dougwils.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Wind-Tunnel-Trump.jpg>In an effort to raise the bar, the RNC has instituted the “wind tunnel challenge.” It isn’t anything conservative, of course, but it is not *just* smoke. There is a reason people are thinking what they do, and as a showman and entertainer, Trump knows how to exploit it. And as it happens, the two things he is energetically exploiting are the two things that the Republican establishment has resolutely refused to do for decades. The first is that he says and does things that are outrageous to the pearl clutchers. They all gasp and get their dresses over their heads, and Trump simply doesn’t care. Whatever else he is not, Trump genuinely is not PC. True conservatism is also not PC, but they are very different kinds of not PC. A dog and a cat are both mammals and quadrupeds, but for all that, however much you might want it to be otherwise, a cat is not a dog. I leave out of this formulation, of course, as a discussion for another time, any cats that might want to self-identify as dogs. My understanding is that some cool cats are like that. Something to do with their fathers. The other thing Trump does is that he defends his turf. If you cross his line, you are the enemy and are treated accordingly. I am not saying his lines are in the right place, or that his enemies are the right ones, or that he is anything other than some variety of all screwed up. I am simply saying that he fights for his position (whatever it might happen to be at the moment). In this respect, he is just like the Left. They fight for their turf also. They defend their party, and they don’t even back away from their free-stuff-for-everybody berserkers. Shoot, one of *them* is doing pretty well in the Democratic primaries even as we speak. So it is a simple fact that Donald Trump is not a conservative, however much of a conservative vibe he wants currently to exude. But is Donald Trump the first one? Is this the first time? These are simply “conservative principles don’t matter” chickens come home to the “elect-ability” roost. The Republican Party has demanded the inclusion of non-conservatives for a long time now. If Trump gets the Republican nomination as a non-conservative, will he be the first one? Ha. Definitions don’t matter, voting records don’t matter, principles don’t matter, and now, all of sudden, you want them to matter? Because Trump? The problem that the respectable Republicans have with Trump is not that he is “not conservative.” It is that he is so *gauche* about it. But if he does well, the RINOs will adapt to it — money, influence and access are the great emollient. If he does not do well, and someone like Cruz gets the nomination, the RINOs will all go back to . . . attacking real conservatives. [image: Theology That Bites Back] __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmaWpjaHRlBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NTM1OTA1MDU-> [image: Yahoo! Groups] <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZnMzNTduBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQ1MzU5MDUwNg--> • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • Unsubscribe <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
