Modern conservatism consists primarily of the following principles:
Despite attempts by some to portray Ronald Reagan as a quintessential conservative, he was weak on several of the issues above, including his relative lack of pro-life nominations to the Supreme Court, support for a form of gun control (in 1994 and 1986), acceptance of illegal immigration (1986 law), and criticism of term limits for president (22nd Amendment). Also, his "free trade" policies were not helpful to the working class, and subsequent analysis of free trade shows that it caused huge losses in American jobs.[1]
Barry Goldwater was the last outsider to win the Republican nominee for president until Donald Trump in 2016. He gained the nomination as a first-time candidate, in 1964, based on large part to the runaway bestselling book A Choice Not an Echo. Though far more conservative than his liberal primary opponent, Nelson Rockefeller, some of Goldwater's views did not exemplify the above list of conservative positions.
Categories: [Conservatism]