In the context of how self-described conservatives have been voting in the GOP primary, James Joyner contemplates the The Conservative Minority and asks:
So, we have two countervailing trends:
- Conservatives prefer Romney over McCain, hands down
- McCain is winning Republican primaries against Romney
This, incidentally, despite Romney having outspent McCain by ridiculous margins in television advertising.
What is one to conclude from this?
He offers several possibilities, and the whole post is worth reading, but I think that perhaps the main issue is this:
Alternatively, perhaps the definition of “conservative” has become so narrow and esoteric that it’s become virtually meaningless?
At a minimum I think that “conservative” is currently used by many in the chattering class (e.g., Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Hewitt, the NROites and so forth) as more of a slogan than as a descriptor of a coherent philosophical position. Further, I think that the War on Terror and the whole post-9/11 period (Iraq included) has substantially mutated what many think a “conservative” to be (including the the afore mentioned commentators).
The term “conservative” has always been somewhat amorphous in US political discourse (as has “liberal”) but lately it seems to be going through a period a redefinition. Either that, or it simply means: “a conservative is someone who agrees with me” (and that changes, of course, depending on who is speaking).
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February 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 am
[...] The Word “Liberal” Is Now Considered The Kiss Of Political Death By Some but is it shifting? Is the same thing happening to the word “conservative?” Political Scientist Steven Taylor Has Some Thoughts On That, Too. He writes: At a minimum I think that “conservative” is currently used by many in the chattering class (e.g., Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin, Hewitt, the NROites and so forth) as more of a slogan than as a descriptor of a coherent philosophical position. Further, I think that the War on Terror and the whole post-9/11 period (Iraq included) has substantially mutated what many think a “conservative” to be (including the the afore mentioned commentators). [...]