I think Mr Mitt is playing the fence. He has to know he is despised by conservatives. So with that in mind he has to play democrat or the McCain ploy, the so called Mavrick so he gets dem votes and Republicans of the squish variety. Apparently there are sufficient of both in UT to seal the deal. True conservatives are but twenty percent of Republican’s or less. So the masses will buy anything with a bit of name recognition. That and a few democrats and voila’ I’m your Senator and I’m getting lots of press. If played just right, I might even get reelected in four years.
I agree with part of your premise there. The only small quibble I have is that I think there is a disconnect with people on the Right. Many more of that 65 million people who voted for Trump, are Conservatives, than realize it.
If we subjected them to a question of what their beliefs are on a number of issues, they’d rank a lot more Conservative than they think.
The media has done a good job trying to discredit Conservatism and if it were some type of bigoted White supremacist movement.
I believe some folks refrain from admitting they are Conservative for that reason.
Middle of the road people weren’t voting for Trump in 2016.
The middle of the road folks, were convinced the Trump campaign, the Republican Party, and Conservatives had gone too far in their quest to win the White House, as if race baiting were being employed by us, and other like minded moves.
These are busy people making a living for their families, and not tuned in to exactly what Trump and Conservatism was all about.
That’s my take on it.
20%? No, that can’t be right.
Trump promised to build the wall. Nobody but a Conservative would back that > IMO.