(a column by longtime conservative Matt K. Lewis in The Hill, Feb. 19) Conservatism is the revered philosophy of the rule of law, limited government, personal responsibility, moral clarity, fiscal responsibility and family values.
Until your guy gets elected, that is. Then all bets are off.
What else explains the political rise of Donald Trump, who by sheer force of ego managed to rebrand the Republican Party from the “party of ideas” to the party of whatever dumb thing he just posted?
Case in point: Trump recently quoted Napoleon to justify lawlessness. He declared on social media, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” This is a dubious paraphrase at best, and one that reveals just how far the “law-and-order right” has drifted.
There was a time when conservatives warned against radical revolutions that topple tradition, at least partly because, as Edmund Burke predicted in 1790, they tend to end with a strong man elevating himself above the nation in the name of restoring order.
Today, Napoleon is no longer a cautionary tale — he is a conservative role model. And to his followers, Trump isn’t a reckless narcissist eroding constitutional norms. He is a misunderstood genius and a persecuted hero in the mold of Napoleon, albeit with more spray tan and fewer military victories.
This isn’t just intellectual laziness. It’s ideological bankruptcy. The same people who once decried progressive efforts to reinterpret the Constitution (i.e., a belief in a “living Constitution”) now embrace the idea that laws are merely suggestions — so long as the right person is breaking them.
Constitutional originalism? That was yesterday. Today, it’s all about results. If the law is inconvenient, just ignore it — or, better yet, redefine it…..
[Meanwhile….] Trump’s approach to Russian leader Vladimir Putin is indistinguishable from that of a desperate salesman trying to cut a deal before the repo man shows up. Ukraine? Not America’s problem. NATO? Maybe obsolete. And Ukraine’s effort to reclaim its own territory? According to Trump, that’s “unrealistic.”
And the best part is that his supporters eat it up. The same people who used to binge watch “Red Dawn” and dress up in tricorne hats and rant about government tyranny now worship a guy who cosplays as Napoleon and kisses up to Putin.
Think I’m exaggerating? A congresswoman from New York just introduced a bill that would make Trump’s birthday a national holiday. Meanwhile, in West Virginia (where I live), they’re considering renaming the state’s highest point, Spruce Knob, as “Trump Mountain.” Because nothing celebrates Appalachian heritage like slapping a New York casino owner’s name on a recreation area…. [The full column is at this link.]
