EP 591 The Elites and the People Battle for the Soul of the Conservative Movement

This ain’t Ronald Reagan’s conservative GOP.  He favored immigration, international involvement and free trade.  So what does the Trump era conservative movement resemble?  Calivin Coolidge?  Perhaps, the two have little in common personally, but from a policy perspective economic protection, restricted immigration and non-intervention in the world, including mutual defense alliances are back in the conservative playbook.  Above all, the Trump era is defined by pushing back against the left’s attempts to refocus American society on the expansion of rights for minorities and women.  This threat as perceived by many high school educated white voters and those in rural precincts was no better symbolized that the ascendance of Barack Obama to The White House in 2008.  The right in America traditionally has acted as the clean up crew for Democratic Party’s excesses.  In that interpretation of recent American history, America’s federal government is clearly a reflection of the Democratic Party’s big ideas, including Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare.  So, does this group of leaders on the right really want to govern?  And, if so, to do what?  Joining us to discuss this topic is Matthew Continetti, author of “The Right: The Hundred Year War for American Conservatism”.

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