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In large measure, as a former Republican I think it's a valid comparison. Being a respected Republican these days is far less about an actual opinion on how to

In large measure, as a former Republican I think it's a valid comparison. Being a respected Republican these days is far less about an actual opinion on how to run the government, and far more about fealty to Trump, which doesn't have anything to do with the truth. The Republicans that were strongly grounded in either policy positions and/or truth have all been vilified (Comey, Mueller, Amash, Flake, McCain, G Conway, Bush, Romney, etc). Even guys like Bolton, who holds extreme conservative opinions on how to run government, cannot succeed in the party because he doesn't toe the line on fealty to Trump / 'flat-earth'.

rdiddly 7y ago
Yeah nothing is actually what it claims to be anymore. Still, I'd hardly say that makes the people you mention stop being Republicans, much less conservatives. If the party leadership traitorously turns against them, then it's the party that stops being Republican. Just like (ever since Bill Clinton) the Democratic leadership has deserted what the party used to be about, allowing millions of voters to be seduced to the other side (and back again, for that matter!) without even so much as a platform. All you need is a good disinformation campaign. Good times. Don't even get me started -- disillusioned Democrat here. I'm kind of "neither" at this point, but I'm old enough to remember a time when as a Democrat I could at least respect actual Republicans, i.e. actual conservatives, who "had ideas about stuff and shit," and had reached a certain conclusion. Trump is a fake Republican, and a temporary aberration that will soon go away or perhaps wreck the country permanently, making it all irrelevant! EDIT: Actually no, I think I would dial back the "temporary aberration" bit as being too glibly optimistic. Because things seem to trend toward entropy, and bringing back a structure is a lot harder than letting a structure go to shit. i.e. what I said at the outset still remains true even after Trump, namely, "nothing is actually what it claims to be anymore."

rdiddly 7y ago

Yeah nothing is actually what it claims to be anymore. Still, I'd hardly say that makes the people you mention stop being Republicans, much less conservatives. If the party leadership traitorously turns against them, then it's the party that stops being Republican. Just like (ever since Bill Clinton) the Democratic leadership has deserted what the party used to be about, allowing millions of voters to be seduced to the other side (and back again, for that matter!) without even so much as a platform. All you need is a good disinformation campaign. Good times. Don't even get me started -- disillusioned Democrat here. I'm kind of "neither" at this point, but I'm old enough to remember a time when as a Democrat I could at least respect actual Republicans, i.e. actual conservatives, who "had ideas about stuff and shit," and had reached a certain conclusion. Trump is a fake Republican, and a temporary aberration that will soon go away or perhaps wreck the country permanently, making it all irrelevant! EDIT: Actually no, I think I would dial back the "temporary aberration" bit as being too glibly optimistic. Because things seem to trend toward entropy, and bringing back a structure is a lot harder than letting a structure go to shit. i.e. what I said at the outset still remains true even after Trump, namely, "nothing is actually what it claims to be anymore."