You are asking "contemporary conservatives" to be like the old ones you once knew and admired. Reagan, etc.
Those days are gone. The people from those olde dayes are routinely called names now. Reagan himself would be a so called Rino today.
Part of this stems from the fact forums like this do NOT represent voters, or Republican voters. They ONLY represent the extreme end of Republican voters, usually.
You come along, with more moderate views, and you are treated with derision, because that is how "contemporary conservatives" behave. Reagan did not treat his political associates and opponents with derision.
Contemporary conservatives are seething with anger about democrats and many Republicans too. They need the Republicans but can't get beyond their anger to treat people with civility.
Logically, strategically, politically they SHOULD know they need to combine forces with Republicans more moderate than they are.
However contemporary conservatives are math and logic challenged.
Poignant, insightful, and thought provoking. The gears in my head are spinning from your reply, yet I can't seem to focus on the main drive of it all...so I am going to meander through this response and see where it leads. Flesh it out a bit.
I have often asked the question why "real conservatives" or contemporary conservatives are so poorly represented in Congress outside of a few hard right gerrymandered congressional districts and the reddest of the red states in the Senate? Often contemporary conservatives tell me the system is rigged. They have no concept of what a tiny minority of voters they are...in fact they believe their views are shared by a majority of "the people."
Every election they whimper that they will bolt to a 3rd party if they don't get the respect they think they are entitled to, as they brag about how they have not donated to the GOP in 20 years. In 2008 they couldn't coalesce around a candidate because none were worthy, they just knew McCain couldn't be the nominee. Anybody But McCain was the mantra but they also had disdain for Giuliani and Romney. Rudy McRomney was a common epithet used at TOS. They got McCain.
In 2012 Romney was the establishment candidate to beat and they got Romney. In 2014 they pooled their resources and rage against the establishment in the Senate and won nothing but Eric Cantor's seat. Not only that but after the elections they claimed they were the reason for GOP majorities in the House and Senate
Which brings us to today. Contemporary conservatives believe if they can just get the right kind of dictator elected to President that dictator will do an end run around the Constitution they claim to admire so much. Trump is their guy. Some how he will undo 200 years of elections by the people with little support from the elected and re-elected establishment which runs DC. Never mind that he gets much of his support from self identified rats who vote Republican. Never mind that he is buddies with the Clintons. Never mind that he was until recently squishy on taxes, guns, abortion and other conservative issues.
Only an establishment politician would lie now and act differently after election, right?
