President Trump did more for marketing the conservative movement in four years than the Republican Party has done in the last 50 years.
And he didn’t even know he was doing it.
To my knowledge, President Trump has never considered himself a leader of the conservative movement. Based on listening to hundreds of hours of his speeches, I’m not really sure he even understands the philosophy. More specifically, I think his actions are rooted in conservatism, and I think the things he talks about are conservative points of view, but he does it with a lack of awareness that is what he is doing.
Conservatism is a specific philosophy with specific ideas, and they happen to be the ones upon which this entire country is founded. They happen to be the ideas that enabled us to become a superpower in the world and a destination for people around the world who want to work hard and earn themselves a better life where they can live in peace with the freedom to say and believe what they wish, without persecution.
Despite tying all of this together on a conscious level, President Trump veered into articulating it and definitely fought for it every day of his candidacy and presidency. And that is why people loved and voted for him.
It’s why conservatives voted for him – especially the second time around, after seeing him do it for four years. It’s why Democrats crossed over and voted for him – because they knew he was fighting for them and not corporate-owned politicians and ideas. It’s why disenchanted voters engaged in the political process and voted for him – because for the first time they could remember, someone was speaking for them.
President Trump is gone (possibly temporarily) but the cause and movement he was inadvertently fighting for is alive and well. But with the short memories of Americans, it could easily fall off the radar and get lost in the memory hole. This can’t happen.
Conservatism is the official language of the United States, as founded, and we need to start speaking it. This won’t just require dynamic, aggressive, and fearless leaders. It will also take a concerted and thoughtful marketing effort (the kind of effort conservatives never knew to execute).
There are many who understand this, whether innately or overtly, and are working right now to prepare for the 2022 fight (not to mention, the current Executive Order fight states like North Dakota and Texas engaged in right now). But it’s going to be important to keep the country rallied, and writing on Twitter, Parler, or any other singular platform won’t be enough.
We’ve got to take the message to the people – especially those who weren’t, or normally aren’t, politically engaged. We’ve got to use the data and targeting abilities currently available to reach them semi-regularly to always keep their toe in the proverbial pool.
As always, I’m here to help. Please take a moment to go through the 700 posts on The Bubbler – all dedicated to identifying with conservatives, sharing what they think and why they think it, and what the philosophy is all about.
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