For some reason many liberals have decided that conservatives have a role to play in opposing the Trump presidency. This is a sucker’s bet.
Conservatism is largely happy with Trump’s presidency. He is pushing for the same policy goals they have always wanted while installing the types of right-wing judges in the federal judiciary they prefer.
Their main objection to Trump is that unlike previous Republican leaders like Mitt Romney, John McCain, and George W. Bush, Trump doesn’t know how to avoid saying the quiet bits out loud.
So instead of simply pushing initiatives under the radar to cut down on the black and Latino vote and to link arms with white supremacists at a level below the top line of the party, Trump just puts it all out there because he is a carnival barker dope.
It isn’t so much that conservatives reject his bigotry. He’s just being too up front about it.
When Trump is gone from the political scene, either through losing at the ballot box or just the passage of time, conservatism will not have learned anything – by design. They largely like things the way they are and wish to continue on the dead-end path they have had in mind for America since the mid-1960s.
There is no point to progressives making an alliance with these people. They are the same ones who accused Bill Clinton of a string of murderers and called the center-left presidency of Barack Obama the first round in Venezuela-style socialism.
Trump didn’t create any of that mindset. He simply capitalized on what was already there.
His rivals for the Republican presidential nomination held their fire against him because he was embracing the racist and xenophobic messages they intended to use under the radar should they have secured the nomination.
Figures like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz wouldn’t call out Trump’s bigotry, because to do so would somehow play into a left wing message.
For conservatives, racism isn’t such a big deal. But calling out racism is verboten and almost always associated with the left.
That is why figures like Paul Ryan won’t say anything louder than a murmur about Trump’s hatred. That’s just how they do things on the right, it’s just that Trump, again, is such a clown he just blabs out the whole game plan.
As Mitt Romney said, such strategizing is meant for “quiet rooms,” not public consumption.
The left can win without locking arms with these people, who spend half the time they publicly agree with Democrats simply looking for a soft spot between our collective shoulder blades to shove in the dagger when Trump is gone.
There will be no restoration of the great consensus when Trump is gone. Instead, the right will continue to traffic in racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry because at the end of the day it is who they are.
They seek power. They do not believe that opposing bigotry will get them power. They believe, either through their own hate or through the electoral power emanating from those who embrace hate, that this is the path forward for their movement.
They stand diametrically opposed to decency, no matter who is in charge of their party and movement. They’re not worthy of alliances, if you care about the future of America as a diverse and open nation.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.