As of this date, conservatism has been tarred with the excesses of factions only nominally associated with mainstream conservatism. In the only tip toward the accusers of our movement, there is a significant lack in tactical leadership as I’ve already described recently. It is also difficult for casual or clueless observers to understand the greyscale that comprises conservatism; understandable but not forever excusable to the extent that left leaning factions trample constitutional liberties and doggedly gaslight themselves and other about factual narrative. Clarifying both the unintentional and intentional lack of understanding must be carried out with rhetorical force.
In the tense days ahead, something is likely to happen that will defy our best efforts to clarify who we are as apart from perpetrators of lawlessness. As I sit here, I cannot myself clearly document who is who and why their factions are not mine, but as I’ve parsed the news, it becomes a little clearer what possibly characterized each one. So who are they and us?
True mainstream conservatives (MC) as I perceive them were solidly behind most of Trump’s initiatives and ambivalent toward him personally, nevertheless accepting him as flawed. I don’t know any MC that is not of this dual opinion. Most of us believe the election was stolen but have accepted that we can’t do anything about the transition. Thus, most of us believe that this is not a routine transfer of power and that a stolen election should have ongoing consequences during a Biden Presidency, particularly as it affects the mid-term elections. In this regard, the only slim road to redemption for the Biden administration is significant restraint and the denial of the far-left agenda that he courted, but no one is holding their breath for this. It should go without saying that Establishment Republicans are persona-non-grata to us except as placeholders to keep a leftist out of office and to keep a seat warm for a future MC.
The next group are the Patriots. These feel warmer toward Trump personally. They see that our civil liberties are in grave danger. In fact, the only difference between a Patriot and a MC regarding constitutional liberties is perception and timing. It is conceivable that we and our rights could reach a point where they have to be physically defended. When, where, and who decides that? This is where the dearth in leadership comes into play. A Patriot, personally or in smaller autonomous groups, may be inclined to conclude that the time is now and it must be acted on now. An MC will be almost universally inclined to wait for elected leadership to make that call.
The next group we’ll call the Hell Raisers. In addition to world outlook described above, they go beneath those standards, essentially acting on similar impulses as Antifa; protesting, engaging, confronting for the sake of protesting, engaging, and confronting without consideration of strategic ends. Ironically, they may be more organized than Patriots and some MCs. This group includes some Proud Boys [no one should assume they are a homogenous group] and perhaps most ‘Bugaloos’.
The last groups would be QAnon and equivalents. Their beliefs include all manner of oddities. Exactly what, most of us will never know as they function in their own secret world. This group has no real identity with MC and yet they’re lumped in with MCs.
It has been forcefully proposed by Democrats, Big Media, and Big Tech that all these groups are one with no differentiation. Not only is that false, but they all have some degree of independence from one another in philosophy and action. Many of the activists in these groups act solely on their own initiative as isolated individuals and in small groups, and only cross influence each other with ideas.
I cannot vouch for any sub-group except my own, and the other sub-groups should not stand for me either. It’s a hard sell telling that to the media so MCs need to up our volume, our rhetoric, and create a far more forceful platform.
So as we stand now, days from the inauguration, we’re in danger. On January 6th, the latter three subgroups were baited by the cumulative actions of the leftist establishment, Democrats, Big Media, Big Tech, and we, mainstream conservatives were left holding the cheque. The leftist Democrat cabal is salivating to do so again but I believe, with a slight tremble of self-doubt. Perhaps they see that while they can successful goad the gullible cousins of conservatism, they can also overplay their hand, trample the constitution even more than they already have, over-stimulate their own sanctioned and undisciplined mob to the point that popular disgust over their actions overshadows their agenda; this on top of something far less than a mandate for Biden – instead, a stolen office headed by the two most weak most undesirable candidates that originally embarked on nomination.
Trump does not owe the Biden administration a stately transition. He did not deserve the four years of demonic visceral hate that he was given, was the recipient of a stolen election, and he does not deserve the final tar and feathering that they’ve attempted to give him upon his exit for people and actions that he had no control over. I say this as someone that to this day, like other mainstream conservatives, does not have warm and fuzzy feelings for his personality.
I hope to see Trump continue to engage the grassroots toward conservative values, and in particular, I would love to see him crush the Big Brother made up of Big Media and Big Tech. In the meantime, conservatism does have serious leadership issues and for that, Trump needs to see that he is not and will not be the end all and be all. Others must arise.