I absolutely agree too many are ignorant of political ideology. You have to understand the Trumpkins all over the place pushing the meme that conservatism is bad, ideology is bad, purists are bad, “extreme right” is bad. They’re all trying to defend Trump’s being wrong on so many issues conservatives hold dear.
From where I sit, liberal ideology is winning the day because it’s being taught in schools and the media. To change things the way we want them to be changed, we have to teach people conservative ideology.
I don’t understand what you mean that “the state of conservatism” is a mess. I think we’re in a mess because people are abandoning conservatism for something Trump is offering that is very shallow, weak, murky, inconsistent and appeals to lowest common denominator impulses, just because he’s a big-name spokesman and markets it well.
Conservatism is ALWAYS the underdog in a national election. That doesn’t mean we don’t all keep fighting for it and looking for our opening. And we have to focus on changing the fundamentals to get more people well-versed in these principles, small government, Judeo-Christian values, capitalism, etc.
Conservatism has been watered down to the point where the public has no real understanding of what it is. Is Paul Ryan a conservative ? John McCain ? These guys are not Russell Kirk. They have no center....look at the budget the GOP helped the dems pass. You can’t expect the public to think the GOP stands for anything after such a folly.
Trump is not offering conservatism as movement conservatives like to define it, but he’s offering a nationalist/populist creed which is in step with the times. Good or bad, that’s the space the conservative movement has left empty...and Trump is filling that hole.