Is Trump the low point of conservatism? – By Rachel Lu (The Week) / Dec 15 2019
It’s been a bad week in Washington. In other news, this is a day ending in “y.” As the Democrats prepare to impeach President Trump, the rest of America may be wondering: Have we finally reached the low point? Will the music ever stop in this sickening game of Trumpian limbo?
Liberals will spend the next year trying to recapture the White House. For them, the short-term goals are reasonably clear. For conservatives the picture may be more complicated. Trump’s presidency has been fairly excruciating for people who aren’t willing to recalibrate their moral compasses with him as the center of gravity. Nevertheless, the GOP seems to be stuck with him at least through 2020. In moments of despondency, it may seem that conservatism is lost beyond recall.
It may not be. When the orange man finally exits stage right, a new era will begin for conservative politics. It’s possible that the Republicans might, over time, recover some measure of decency and respectability. This hope will of course seem laughable to many liberals, who can’t imagine a way back from Hollywood Access, travel bans, Charlottesville, border separation, Stormy Daniels, Syria withdrawal, the Russia investigation, trade wars with China, and now, quite likely, impeachment. Most of those people probably doubt whether conservatism was ever really respectable. The lofty ideals of Reagan-era conservatives mostly just look to them like a refuge for bitter clingers, warmongers, and self-righteous protectors of privilege. Trump didn’t really transform the GOP. He simply pulled away the mask to reveal the rotting flesh beneath.
I think this view is wrong, but it contains elements of truth. Trump did throw a harsh light on the political right’s moral failings, and I personally was shocked and chastened by the things he revealed. Still, it’s a mistake to see conservatism as nothing more than a mask for reactionary bitterness. The right has a dark side, as we’ve seen, but conservatives are also capable of great nobility, wisdom, and broad-mindedness. One has to squint quite hard, perhaps, to glimpse this profile in the Fox News weeknight lineup. But politics moves quickly, and an elevated conservatism is still possible, for the United States and for other developed nations.
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