The battle for the [bloated, disease ridden] heart of American conservatism
What does it mean to be a conservative? Does it mean putting a premium on small government & personal responsibility as a few DC-based op-ed writers tend to understand it? Or does it mean what 99% of conservatives think it means – being a hate-filled racist who only wants to fuck shit up?
As a proponent of conservatism in America, Limbaugh was a failure who in his later years abandoned the project of advancing a positive agenda, culminating in his alignment with the vulgar style and populist anti-leftism of Donald Trump. Character no longer mattered. Budget deficits no longer mattered. Free trade no longer mattered. Nepotism no longer mattered. Lavishing praise on foreign dictators no longer mattered.
All that mattered was owning the libs in the culture war, in part to avenge a deeply felt sense of aggrievement. Limbaugh and Trump were alike in attaining great wealth and political influence while still talking and seeming to feel as though society was stacked against guys like them.
The answer is, of course, that American conservatism has never meant smaller government & personal responsibility. We are witnessing a pretend schism.
The GOP intelligentsia never pursued “smaller government” or “personal responsibility” in any meaningful way. The jargon was just fancy-pants window dressing for enacting hate-filled racist polices designed to fuck shit up.
If there is a battle going on it is a battle between the people who think the racism and hate is stronger when it is out I the open and people who think they should go back to pretending that it isn’t all about hatred and racism.