Conservative Inc. (also abbreviated as "Con Inc.") is a pejorative term used to describe the mindset of unprincipled people who view the conservative movement as a way to make money, rather than help others. Conservative Inc. is loose coalition of self-interested RINOs/neoconservatives, token conservatives, Establishment Republicans, consultants, organizations, PACs, etc., who try to claim leadership of the conservative movement while enriching or otherwise benefiting themselves. Members of Conservative Inc. market themselves as authentically conservative to the public (usually during election years), yet hold widely liberal positions, and hinder true conservatism. The billionaire, mega-donor financiers of Conservative Inc. (such as the Koch Brothers and George Soros) monopolize the movement without disclosing their agenda, which includes open borders and globalism. They also consistently fail to defend movement conservatives in the face of left-wing attacks.[1][2]
In contrast with Conservative Inc. are conservative populists, such as Trump and his 75 million patriotic supporters, and paleoconservatives such as Pat Buchanan, as well as many other anti-establishment outsiders. These patriots are motivated not by the funds of globalist corporate billionaires, but by the Bible, fighting abortion, the Second Amendment, social conservatism, and other principles geared towards preserving the culture of the United States.
Conservative Inc. has dominated much of the elected Republican Party for many years, and continues to do so today in politicians such as Greg Abbott, Dan Crenshaw, Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell, and many, many more.
Conservative Inc. is dominated by people who think that conservative politics is a way to make money, rather than a place to volunteer for the betterment of others. The Conservative Inc. "leaders" are often very hostile towards grassroots activists, particularly if they might upset the flow of money to those profiting from it.
Members of Con Inc often conflate libertarian values and ideas with what they refer to as "conservatism", which they use to justify the complete abandonment of social conservatism. This dates back to the Fusionism push during the Barry Goldwater era.
Conservative Inc. misleads Republicans into spending campaign dollars on expensive consultants and television ads, when the money would be better spend on a ground game. When there are very few undecided voters, as in the 2020 election, the ground game and not consultants matter more.
Part of the game plan of Conservative Inc. is to try to marginalize and demonize critics, in an improper attempt to monopolize the right side of the political spectrum. An example of this a half-century ago was when William F. Buckley participated in the smear of the John Birch Society in reaction to the success by the group in pulling conservative supporters away from Buckley.
Conservative Inc. largely opposed President Trump during the beginning of his 2016 campaign, but would later embrace him, likely due to the realization of just how big the market is in Trump supporters, and how little money there is in an anti-Trump base amongst the conservative populace, despite still being Never Trumpers at heart, and oft holding antithetical views to Trump. These are grifters, who use the MAGA movement for their own personal gain, despite doing nothing in return for them, and often secretly holding contempt for them. Two examples of these are Senator Lindsey Graham and political commentator Ben Shapiro, both of whom were strongly against Trump in 2016, only to later support him and endorse him in 2020.
The Fox News Channel – a corporate money-making scheme by faux conservatives who pander to elderly Republicans while profiting from them – is a prime example of Conservative Inc. Other Con Inc. organizations include Turning Point USA, PragerU, and The Daily Wire.
During the three presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan, Conservative Inc. smeared him and put him down, while propping up their own candidates, such as George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole and George W. Bush.