re: The right is divided

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The only way is for Trump to break them. The Republican Party must be completely remade in his image.

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Keeping with the theme of your Python/Holy Grail name, "Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of [economics]?"

Thanks again

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What specifically are the "populist collective" ideas that you believe "the right" has suddenly embraced over the past 12-15 years?

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Assuming you still need an answer after Roger's excellent reply above, "Conservatives" today talk like southern Democrats from the 70s when I was growing up.

Isolationism. Anybody who starts a sentence regarding foreign policy with some version of, "I'm not sending MY son or daughter to go fight for...that has nothing to do with America" is a populist. Or at least coming at the specific situation as a populist.

Collectivism instead of personal freedom and responsibility

Economic protectionism instead of free market capitalism

All manner of helping the "Little Guy" (And YOU don't have to pay taxes, and YOU don't have to pay taxes, i.e. Trump talking about not paying taxes like Oprah giving away cars during the campaign).

This one is a little harder to articulate b/c populists adhere to no principles (except Us vs Them). So some of the positions that populists take are identical to conservatives. But not for the same reasons, and not as consistent principles. They can be here today and gone tomorrow, as with the conservative adherence to a string international presence in world affairs.

Even more common, they are adhered to when the populist likes the group who benefits but not when he or she doesn't.

For example, populists are all for freedom of association when that means that a private employer shouldn't have to hire gays, or trans people, or blacks, or anyone they don't want to hire. But if it's applied to a situation in which an employer can terminate employment for someone who refuses to take a COVID vaccination, the populist forgets all about freedom of association and just sky screams. Both are the same application of a principle. True freedom of association means that an employer would be able to choose who works at his or her private establishment for any reason he or she chooses, whether that be race, sexual orientation, or vaccination status.

A conservative is consistent and supports freedom of association in both circumstances. Because the conservative is following a principle, not just blindly reacting to whether they like the outcome or not.

Another example. Populists are (rightly so) up in arms over Eric Adams being (obviously) punished by the government for his comments about illegal immigration. They love the 1st amendment in that case and moan about it being trampled.

But when Ron DeSantis just as obviously uses the government to punish Disney for commenting negatively on his so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, they applaud.

Remember how for so long everyone recognized the That's (D)ifferent tactic of Democrats? Now the right does it just as much. And for the same reason. Because they are now dominated by populism just like the left.

Populism is the ideology of "That's Different." Constantly. because there are no principles to apply, only warring groups and the only thing that matters is whether your group is winning.

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Bush was a collectivist

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Nah.

Bush was in the third category I identified.

He's a RINO.

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Keeping with the theme of your Python/Holy Grail name, "Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of [economics]?"

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Like most people I just had a couple of classes in college.

But my prof was literally the guy who wrote the most popular textbook at the time and he was phenomenal.

He was a huge Bill Clinton fan at the time though. But Clinton would be on the Fiscal right of anyone in DC right now except the libertarians.

Ive never claimed to be highly intelligent and in fact m pretty average. But I am curious, driven and read a hell of a lot.

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What makes that populist or collective?

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The reason for imposing them in this case.

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This notion that the Party (up until "12-15 years ago") has been this bastion of ideological "conservatism" until Trump showed up and upended everything is laughable beyond belief.

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I guess it is, but then most strawmen are ridiculous.

Nobody claimed what you just typed.

In fact, populism has taken over the party specifically BECAUSE the leadership failed to follow conservative principles for so long.

The leadership.

But the base was conservative up until 12-15 years ago. And the base finally grew tired of the RINOS constantly promising to uphold conservative principles and then not doing so.

So the base did the dumbest thing possible, abandoned conservatism altogether (because that's the way to get more of what you wanted), and embraced populism.

I'm not talking about the leadership. I'm talking about the base.

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people will change their minds if I present the correct arguments with the appropriate facts and data.

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You've presented no argument.

You've offered no facts.

Only opinions.

Sure, you may THINK you have, but it's not evident in your posts here.

So, we do agree... you have a mental illness.

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I'm not talking about getting together with leftists. I'm talking about the divide within our own party.

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Yeah, man. It's not a new divide... It's just finally coming to a tipping point. There are millions of people like me, who are 100% done with the GOP establishment and not willing to entertain or accept their RINO/Uniparty BS anymore... and it is obvious that GOP establishment faction has nothing but contempt for us. So, frick em.

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I don't agree with this at all.

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You don't agree that the base grew steadily more disgruntled with the RINO leadership who constantly promised to uphold conservative values but then always pulled the football away at the last second like Lucy did to Charlie Brown and finally reacted to that discontent by refusing to elect another RINO?

What do you think happened, then?

EDIT: This guy agrees with me:

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It's just finally coming to a tipping point. There are millions of people like me, who are 100% done with the GOP establishment and not willing to entertain or accept their RINO/Uniparty BS anymore.

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