GOP has purged itself of traditional conservatives who cared about freedom: ex-party operative

What does it mean to be a "conservative" in the United States? That's a question that former Republican Party operative turned critic Tim Miller explored in his latest episode of "Not My Party," first published in The Bulwark.

There are really two kinds of people who call themselves conservative, Miller explained — and they are in direct conflict with each other, and the future of the GOP.

"The ideology that the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were based on could best be defined in political philosophy terms as classical liberalism," said Miller. "This was a belief in fundamental natural rights, and that government should support individual liberty, private property, free-market capitalism, freedom of religion, limited government, and representative democracy. This framework was based on the theories put forth by classical liberal philosophers like John Locke, who believed government got its legitimacy from the people, not hereditary bloodlines."

Once upon a time, said Miller, "dorky young Republicans" like he used to be "carried around our pocket Constitutions" and lapped up Republican politicians' veneration and quotes of the founding fathers. But there is also a different kind of conservative — one that has taken over the modern GOP, at the expense of the old.

"In other countries, being conservative is more about conserving national identity and traditional values. Their right-wing parties have some similarities with Republicans, like being more supportive of religious values and being pro-business, for example. But they don’t tend to care so much about the whole freedom and natural rights stuff," said Miller. "In the Trump era, the GOP has started to sound more like those foreign right-wing nationalist parties than the classical liberal party that I grew up in." And we've gone from Ronald Reagan warning of the dangers of nativism and protectionism — even as he subtly appealed to those groups — to Trump straight-up saying America should "terminate" the Constitution to reinstall him, he said.

Unfortunately, Miller continued, "GOP voters mostly agreed with Trump on those changes. They wanted a party that wanted to conserve traditional white Christian values, not a party that cared as much about inalienable human rights. The result is that many Republicans — not all; still love you, Mitt! — have started to mimic Trump’s departure from what conservatism in America once stood for."

Listen to the episode at this link:

What Is A Conservative: 4th of July Edition | Not My Party with Tim Milleryoutu.be