Posted on 03/09/2016 6:42:17 AM PST by Kaslin
In his first inaugural address in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt told the nation, “the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself.” Roosevelt meant that fear’s real danger is not the “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror” that it represents, but the effect that is has on us; particularly the actions we take in response to it. Here, at least, conservatives could learn something from FDR; and, conversely, from Donald Trump.
The philosophy of limited government at the core of the modern conservative movement has faced many threats; the most acute of which is not a particular person or political party, but one born of nature’s most primordial emotion: fear. When wielded purposefully, fear can transmogrify normally rational, liberty-minded individuals into authoritarians clamoring for evermore powerful government, and leaders eager to give it to them.
Today, there is no better example of the hypnotic effect of fear in the hands of a master manipulator than Donald Trump.
However, and as detailed in a recent analysis by Amanda Taub writing in Vox, the seeds of Trump’s current polling triumphs were planted long ago, in Richard Nixon’s 1968 “Southern Strategy” focused largely on an overt appeal to “law and order” governance. It worked; and the lessons learned resonated through the decades as “law and order” became a rallying cry of conservatives to expand, strengthen and shield the ability of government to “protect” citizens from criminals, even at the expense of our civil liberties.
The slow but steady growth of this paradigm-shifting strategy, which has been largely but not exclusively championed by the GOP (the Democrats have their own reasons for expanding government), would be but a pre-cursor for the unprecedented expansion of the Security State following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. America’s newfound “terror” of terrorism has caused us to barely blink at sacrificing fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy (without NSA spying) or travel (without TSA groping), all for the illusion of safety.
Donald Trump may not appear to be cut from the same Establishment cloth that helped usher in the most expansive era of federal power in modern history, but his understanding of the power of fear and his adeptness at using it to manipulate voters, suggests he has at least read its playbook. He is an authoritarian in anti-Establishment clothing.
The potency of Trump’s campaign rests in his ability to play on a duality of fear; not just upon the physical fears of threats such as crime or terrorism, but of non-physical fear as well. As described at length in Taub’s analysis, these non-physical fear factors accounting for the rise in in Trump’s popularity include cultural changes that threaten the status quo -- the impact of increased immigration and ethnic diversity, the loss of jobs to other countries, and the decline of the traditional family structure, to note but a few. Trump’s “solutions” follow an enticingly simple formula: Give him power as President, and he’ll make the problems go away – regardless of the cost or legality. It seems to be only Trump’s supporters who fail to recognize that this is exactly the excuse President Obama uses to justify his illegal use of Executive power to address problems he believes only he can adequately address.
Trump’s brand of Republican-authoritarianism can never coexist with traditional conservatism; which defines that the actions necessary to making markets and individuals more free must be aimed at keeping government small, and bound by the Constitution. It is a clear, immutable litmus test; and, were the GOP a true conservative entity, any action that contradicted this fundamental maxim by increasing the size of government, or limiting the rights of individuals, would be rejected.
Authoritarianism, however, works exactly in the opposite direction. Instead of weakening government power, authoritarianism demands more of it, even for supposedly benevolent purposes, like “make America great again.” And, almost always, it does so through the vehicle of fear.
What Trump is doing with a not-insignificant segment of the electorate, many of whom were but a few years ago holding up copies of the Constitution at Tea Party rallies, is deeply distressing. Either Trump knows what the law and the Constitution say and he doesn't care, or he really doesn't know; or, he simply is saying whatever it takes to gain publicity and support through playing on people’s cultural and physical fears.
Any way you cut it, the implications are bad. Supporting Trump and conservatism at the same time is an impossibility. They represent mutually exclusive ideologies. And, only one has a place in the GOP if it is to remain a party dedicated at its core to a philosophy of liberty and limited government
What we have here is that Trump is for American jobs.
“Conservatism” has morphed to be, for Chinese jobs. Where the heck, is that conservative? China is a massive, growing communist state.
It is not conservative. There is nothing about that, which is conservative. Nothing.
Chinese jobs. That is a big, big problem. Bring back American jobs.
America. Once again.
Bob Barr? I quit listening to him years ago. Barely more credible than Mitt at this stage in the game.
You need to have a country before you can begin to worry about it being conservative. Right now, under the Marxist in Chief and if we take on the Bitch in Chief we will not have a country but we will have a large land mass of dissimilar peoples with dissimilar demands, all of which will center on free stuff from an already bankrupt treasury. First things first.
I couldn't agree more.
I have to come to grips with the apparent fact that the country has moved on and now demand a more authoritarian style of government.
Your style of posting is vaguely familiar.
This is an old divide in Conservatism. The Dogmatist care nothing about reality only the purity of the dogma matters. The Realist understands you have to be able to advance the political ball down the field to achieve the goals of the dogma.
Reagan, who was a realist, wrote about it.
By Ronald Reagan in his autobiography An American Life
“When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn’t like it. “Compromise” was a dirty word to them and they wouldn’t face the fact that we couldn’t get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don’t get it all, some said, don’t take anything. I’d learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: ‘I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.’ If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that’s what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it.
Just noting, for the record.
I am Cringing Negativism Network.
I am currently on a extended vacation in southeast Asia where I am using non-secure wireless. So I also have a non-secure FR handle.
:D
Go Trump.
Good old Bob Barr. Bless his heart
How’s the weather in Phuket?:)
Barr quit being conservative a long time ago. He goes libertarian and where his fees come from these days
Exploring Trumpism (Irritional people who refuse to see the truth.)
http://humanevents.com/2016/03/02/exploring-trumpism/
Coexistence? Sure. But I won’t hold this man’s water.
And just what have all these “conservatives” I keep hearing about, and reading about, actually conserved? I’m sure Bob Barr has been sure to conserve his wealth, and I’m sure the neo-con-artists and their open borders toadies will invite him to their cocktail parties. But, American jobs continue to be shipped overseas and we’ve become a nation of burger flippers, mall clerks, and government employees or just government dependents, the 3rd world invasion continues to expand, our education system continues to deteriorate.
I don’t see where these conservatives have actually conserved anything. The country I was born in vanished 40 years ago, the country my kids were born in has also vanished, and even the country my grandchildren were born in is rapidly changing. All this under the watch of these so-called “conservatives.”
Barr is incorrect. as usual
People hear trump campaigning on border and immigration issues. Those resonate. Look at the most recent piece of scum captured in Missouri. This happens every where. We give our country away to folks like this. The congress promises but does nothing except spend money and roll over for the commie in the WH
Trump resonates because of this
I’m actually in Ho Chi Minh City now.
It is hot here, but not ridiculously so. It gets warmer though.
Soon enough.
You could have used cnn for a handle, think about it. *big grin*
Here comes another one just like the other one...He did it, he done it, he won it! Yep, another recipient of that bad writer award, placed on the list of writers of useless drivel.
Trump plays on fears...he shouldn’t do that by implication.
So, this writer thinks that the concerns of the nation should NOT be addressed by politicians?
There is a time and a place for being conservative, but the definition of conservative today is NOT conservative. Conservative by it’s very definition implies resistance to changing things, keeping the status quo.
Right now, in this world political climate, the very last thing we need to be is conservative. What we need to be is pro-active to bring BACK what’s been lost! Conservative ideals have been lost and ignored, we need to bring them back.
Trump wants to reduce the size of government and has stated plans to eliminate portions that don’t need to be there, AND reduce the size of others.
Trump is frugal..that’s who he is. He’s not cheap, he’s frugal. Frugal means wise and careful spending, getting the best bang for the buck, getting the best possible quality at the best possible price. It leaves room for luxuries too.
Trumps best asset, what we need most right now, IS his ability to work with finances, because this country is in severe trouble. If the government had utilized general accounting principles, it wouldn’t be in this mess, but it is and it has to be dealt with.
Barr shows himself to be adumbass, and ignorant of the issues.
Precisely
So many of these purists would or did hate Reagan.
You mean Saigon. Always wanted to visit there.
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