Conservatism is Not Trumpism

Alan McGonigle

The Republican party, which was once the party of Reagan, is quickly evolving, and not in a good way.

It is slowly becoming the party of Trump.

Conservatism is on the right side of the ideological spectrum, championing free markets and traditional family values. But, since Trump came down that golden escalator last summer, many constituents have gotten it twisted.

Instead of focusing on free markets and traditional family values, the so called “Alt-Right” focuses primarily on an unpopular group of “-isms” such as: White nationalism, populism, antisemitism, and much more.

Trump not only has sparked right wing movements like this domestically, but also internationally. This summer, after “Brexit” passed in a surprising upset, it sparked the alt-right’s nationalist movement in England, France and throughout Europe.

It also acted as a catalyst down the stretch in President Trump’s upset victory on election night, a ticket I voted for myself.

This alternative movement within the Republican party is not a representation of the Republican party as a whole. There are still true conservatives within the party that seem to recognize the fallacy in the argument that Trump is a true conservative.

Senators like John McCain (Arizona) and Ben Sasse (Nebraska) have been vocal opponents to the movement that Donald Trump has created and they have seen the potential damage to conservatism ages before anyone else saw it coming.

People like Richard Spencer, a white supremacist, and Steve Bannon who has been dubbed by Time magazine as “The Great Manipulator,” have praised the transition within the Republican party as it marches on slowly to its transition to fascism and authoritarianism.

The Alt-right movement is based off emotions and not facts and is fueled by hatred and anger. True conservatism does not deserve to be associated, and let alone bashed due to the political views of some right wing extremists.

Due to this, the Republican party has placed a bad taste in the mouth of its constituents like me, and this will likely cause some significant damage to the conservative movement.

Many bend the knee to Trump and his populist policies, but the matter is, when will Republican congressmen and congresswomen stand up before he obliterates the conservative movement?