Prior to 911 Conservative always meant pro-Free Trade, pro-open borders...almost. Pre-911 Hannity would have Pat Buchanan on and ridicule Pat for being the only anti-Free Trade, anti-illegal immigration Conservative in the USA.
And it was true. Capitalist conservatives, Corporatist Conservatives, Evangelical Conservatives, Libertarian Conservatives, Constitutional and Constitutionist Conservatives and every type of US Conservative visible (except Pat Buchanan) was pro-Free Trade, pro-immigration.
Post 911 the Minutemen emerged and from the bottom up, gradually moved the base anti-Free Trade, anti-(illegal) immigration. At first Hannity told his screeners to not let them on the air. But they became so many callers that finally Hannity let them on to save his audience. Then, in 24 hours Hannity flipped from pro to anti to keep his audience.
Most talk radio flipped on the issue without ever mentioning that they flipped. The TeaParty started with taxes, economics and Obamacare as the only issues. Many pro-2A people included 2A in the early TeaParty with no problem.
Then, gradually, about 6 months into the TeaParty, the anti(illegal) immigrant voices started being heard...and they quickly grabbed control of the TeaParty and moved it from an economic focus to an immigration focus.
Trump made immigration and Trade top issues in his campaign. He took the TeaParty position, which is not the historical Conservative position. Under what definition of US Conservative is the anti-Free Trade, anti(illegal) immigration agenda “Conservative”? It is Populist, Nationalist, Socialist protection and affirmative action.
EVerify. In what world does big Nanny State government tell private employers who the can and cannot hire. That is as anti-Conservative as can be imagined. The government controlling private employers that way has always been called liberalism and progressiveism and socialism.
But now Trump is “negotiating”. #1 thing he said in his campaign is that he is a great negotiator. That was the context in which Trump said everything else.
Trump is now listening to his private lawyer, a true Conservative, and is negotiating on immigration and trade and other issues.
By taking a position that seemed extreme to the C of C and other Corporatists in the establishment, Trump gave himself a strong hand in negotiations. So far, so good.
I have always been more with Buchanan than the Bush League Republicans.
I grudgingly voted for them as they had control of the party apparatus and could shut out any alternative but a Democrat.
I suspect much of FR, on reflection, has much regret about supporting undocumented Democrats in R jerseys because it has led us to the edge of the cliff.
Allow me educate you about protectionism from the 1924 Republican platform.
We reaffirm our belief in the protective tariff to extend needed protection to our productive industries. We believe in protection as a national policy, with due and equal regard to all sections and to all classes. It is only by adherence to such a policy that the well being of the consumers can be safeguarded that there can be assured to American agriculture, to American labor and to American manufacturers a return to perpetrate American standards of life. A protective tariff is designed to support the high American economic level of life for the average family and to prevent a lowering to the levels of economic life prevailing in other lands.
So classical conservatism is protectionist, Neo Conservatism, ala Bully Kristol, is for free trade even if we are getting screwed when other countries protect their markets with tariffs. SO NOW YOU KNOW Conservatism includes protectionism!
Socialists love free trade. Marx wrote extensively about it and was a big proponent of free trade. So if you are free trader you are Marxist tool