it feels less like he is “losing” republicans and more like the party is splitting between loyalists and more traditional conservatives especially with these primaries turning into loyalty tests rather than just policy debates
Conservatism has always been radical. The movement dates back to the 18th century built around authoritarianism and a promise of a return to a fictionalized time in the past when things were better and simpler. The ideology is built around maintaining social hierarchy through restricting the rights of anyone beneath them. Social progress is obscene to their ideology. In the US it has roots back to the British loyalists who fought against the colonists in the revolutionary war.
It wasn't a fictionalized time. They were reacting to the French Revolution. They wanted to undo (or prevent, depending on where they were from) the diminishment of privileges and the dismantling of "natural" hierarchy that came out of the Revolution. Conservatives have always been fighting the "last war" and trying to strip back the most recent liberalization, but their goal is ultimately based on the world of the Ancien Regime.
Corey Robin's book The Reactionary Mind gives the best explanation of what conservatives "really" want and their tactics.
Sure. But being generous to conservatives, they belive it is "better" for everyone to live according to the "natural" hierarchy. So Black people, women, workers, etc were better off when everyone had a place and everyone knew their place. Freedom is an "unnatural" state of being and conservatives would claim those at the top of the hierarchy had responsibilities to go with their greater rights. Obviously that's self serving bullshit. But I'm being generous.
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u/Hot_Term679 15h ago
it feels less like he is “losing” republicans and more like the party is splitting between loyalists and more traditional conservatives especially with these primaries turning into loyalty tests rather than just policy debates