What is commonly defined as "conservative" and "liberal" changes over time, and changes with locations!
Political parties like the Democrats and Republicans also change with the times. Those political parties are less about promoting a consistent ideology and are more like business more interested in gaining the maximum market share of votes!
For a last few decades, "conservatives" and "Republicans" are commonly defined in the US as
- promoting as much free market economics as allowable
- promoting as much tax cuts as possible
- encouraging the population to live the "Christian values"
- restricting abortion, birth control, pornography, drugs
- respecting the right to own guns
- favoring law enforcement in most controversies
- using the military to interfere in foreign affairs so that the US has the greater advantage in setting the global agenda
- refer to criticisms of the military as "disrespecting the troops"
The greatest divide in the conservative movement the last few decades is on immigration.
On one side is Reagan/Bush(es) who viewed Latino immigrants as faithful Catholics who are potential entrepreneurs and veterans. They also viewed Muslims as divided between the "good Muslims" (the Saudis, oil barons, entrepreneurs, the soft-spoken culturally conservatives) and the "bad Muslims" (Al Quaida, Saddam Hussein, ISIS, Iran's rulers)
On the other side is Pat Buchanan and Ann Coulter who view Latino immigrants as gang-bangers & welfare cheaters out to ruin their white utopia! They viewed Muslims as "very scary" and refused to differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslims who just want to work & live life!
Mexican immigration overall has decreased, but the Mexicans have moved to areas in which they were once rare! Whereas Mexican immigrants mostly stayed in the Southwest in the past, they have now been moving in increasing numbers to the South and Midwest!
Jeb Bush was supposed to be the Republican front-runner due to his famous name and big money connections!
This was where Donald Trump saw opportunity! He noticed a big chunk of European-Americans were not happy with new Mexican and Muslim immigrants in their community! He noticed that Jeb Bush was someone who takes "the high road" when it comes to political conflicts!
Donald Trump came in roaring very loud, implying that most Mexican immigrants are "rapists" and "drug dealers" and spreading paranoia about Muslim refugees from Syria!
The anti-immigration crowd was happy that someone was speaking for them and not backing down!
The conservatives who are anti-immigration didn't care that Donald Trump didn't consistently follow the mainstream "conservative principles" when it came to sex, abortion, guns, foreign policy, taxes, or whatever else!
From Salon
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/27/donald_trump_is_wrecking_the_conservative_movement_how_the_billionaire_is_exposing_its_most_toxic_secret/?source=newsletter
If there’s one thing that Donald Trump has done for the leaders of the conservative movement, the Christian Right and the Republican party it’s that he’s teaching them a necessary lesson in reality: It turns out that a large number of their supporters don’t really care about ideology, morality or even their supposedly mutual loathing of the hippie Democrats on the other side. Their concerns run to something much more primitive.
Sure they all called themselves Republicans and/or conservatives. For decades they played on the same team. But all that stuff about “family values” and “drowning the government in the bathtub” and “constitutional conservativism” were just slogans they chanted for their team. They meant no more to them than “rah, rah, sis boom bah.”
National Review slowly came around to the knowledge that something terrible had happened to their movement and last week put out their ineffectual “Against Trump” issue. They realized too late that all the movement propaganda meant nothing to a whole lot of right wing voters. In fact it looks as though the constitution itself means nothing. And the conservative movement of activists, writers and grassroots organizations has suddenly awakened to the fact that a good many of those they considered true believers are completely oblivious to conservative ideology.
(skipped paragraphs)
But the conservative movement is equally under pressure. They thought their years of carefully growing and indoctrinating the right wing of the Republican Party had resulted in a common belief in a certain conservative ideology, strategic vision and commitment to a specific agenda. It turns out that a good number of the people they thought had signed on to their program just wanted someone to stick it to ethnic and racial minorities and make sure America is the biggest bad ass on the planet — authoritarian, white nationalism. If you’ve got a man who will deliver that you don’t need ideology. And he doesn’t need democracy.
That article did mention that an evangelical leader endorsed Donald Trump, even though he doesn't even live the traditional conservative Christian lifestyle!
Why? because for many "conservatives", hating Mexicans and Muslims is more important than making America a Christian utopia!
But there's more that the article didn't address
"Conservatives" are usually appalled if the Radical Left Wing protesters disrespect the troops! But many didn't seem bothered at all when Donald Trump insulted Jon McCain for being captured as Prisoner of War!
Insulting a veteran over his/her war-time traumas is usually a fatal mistake for any politician!
It didn't hurt Trump much!
Why? Because for many "conservatives", hating Mexicans and Muslims is more important than respecting the veterans!
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And what did Jeb Bush do about all that? Make mild criticisms of Trump!
Trump thrives on aggression! He thrives on loudness.
Jeb, not so much!
With all his money, Jeb didn't even make aggressive ads targeting Trump that could've ridiculed him and made him look like a fool!
How's that for a major blunder!
I mean, Mother Jones (a liberal publication) posted this ad about Donald Trump!
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/anti-trump-campaign-starts-get-real
Jeb didn't even bother making a similar ad, even though he had more than enough $$$ to pay for such ads to run in states with early primaries! He thought he didn't need to engage in political combat!
He was wrong!
While I never agreed with the Republicans on everything, I was happy that George W Bush was trying to make his party more inclusive, showing that
- not all Republicans are in the mold of Jesse Helms or Ann Coulter
- making anti-immigration fanatics like Pat Buchanan feel so outcasted that they left the Republicans to start their own "third party
- not all non-white minorites are far-left liberals! And yes, there's a home for them too!
- America is moving beyond it's racist past
Sadly all the work that his George W Bush did to try make the Republican Party more inclusive is now about to go down the drain, partly because his brother didn't bother to make an aggressive defense of inclusive, pro-immigration values!
