This is my understanding as well for the criticism of French: He's still very much a conservative, but the definition of "conservatism" has changed to include f

This is my understanding as well for the criticism of French: He's still very much a conservative, but the definition of "conservatism" has changed to include fealty to an individual instead of (or perhaps in addition to, in some cases) a set of principles. In that context he's maintained his principles and it's led to a lot of criticism from those who have changed theirs in ways they don't seem to be aware of.