Image Credit: The Associated Press

By James Peters

Two and Out

PETERS: Conservatism used to be about lower taxes and smaller government, not conspiracy theories and racism

Nov 1, 2024 | 12:30 PM

IN THE YEAR 2024, there seem to be two types of small ‘c’ conservatives.

One hand, there are the classically defined conservatives.

They want lower taxes. They want smaller governments that spend less money and don’t intrude in their lives. They want governments that are friendly to businesses and unfriendly to crime.

It’s a familiar playbook and one that is especially attractive to people of some means who simply want life to remain as it is or as it was.

And on the other hand, a new breed of conservative has emerged.

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They feel the world is running away from them and have responded by raging as hard as they can against all that was previously held to be true — embracing conspiracies peddled by grifters along the way.

The news is fake. Scientists are liars. The government has an evil secret agenda. Political opponents are enemies of the state.

Perhaps the most alarming aspect of this shift is the latent racism it has activated, emboldened by political leaders who exploit it in their quest for power.

Is that conservatism?

In the United States, the existence of the first version of conservative has been silenced by infatuation with a certain leader who only courts the second.

Voters who have long supported Republican candidates because they want lower taxes and smaller government feel they must vote for Donald Trump even though he doesn’t care about those values.

He cares about talking tough and owning the libs. He has convinced Republicans the libs are the enemy and they need a stronger general to win the war.

And for some, that’s enough. Repugnant moral character be damned.

That’s not conservatism. That’s fascism.

Next week, it’s important U.S. conservatives vote for Kamala Harris — if only so the fascist will go away and a true conservative leader can emerge in his place.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.