Defining conservatism today is tough.
Conservatives do remain guided by one firm principle: Government is too big. But there’s no consensus on how to change it.
Other issues divide as well. Does being conservative mean accepting or fighting same-sex marriage? Does modern conservatism accept the long-standing doctrine that the United States has a moral responsibility to promote democracy and fight tyranny and terrorism no matter where they breed? Or does the true conservative think the U.S. is not the world’s policeman?
“We’re not a church. It’s a mistake to somehow think there’s a book of dogma and you accept those teachings if you’re a conservative, and if you don’t, you’re not,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which is sponsoring the four-day Conservative Political Action Conference in a Washington suburb.
The underlying conservative philosophy remains unquestioned. “Conservatives want people to do more,” said Carter Wrenn, a Republican consultant based in Raleigh, N.C. “We believe individual responsibility is the key to prosperity and success.”
Also unquestioned is what conservatives largely oppose: high taxes, strict gun control, abortion, too much government regulation and the 2010 health care law. Obamacare remains a favorite target, an expensive new bureaucracy that’s seen as an inefficient, outrageous government overreach into people’s lives.
Coming up fast on the hit list is Common Core, the kindergarten-through-12th-grade standards adopted in 43 states. The standards, finalized about five years ago by the nation’s governors and education commissioners, had their roots in the standards and accountability movement of the 1990s. States can adopt the standards voluntarily, though the Obama administration offered financial incentives to those that did.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called the standards “Obamacore.” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, once supporters, made sure the crowd knew they were now opposed. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is and remains a Common Core supporter, and he was blasted for it.
“People who think that way aren’t conservatives,” said Joe Messina, a Santa Clarita, Calif., radio talk-show host.
Bush argued Friday that while the standards are not a federal takeover, the administration’s involvement in encouraging them is a “danger.”
Agreeing on alternatives is tougher. On cutting spending, for instance, ideas are everywhere while consensus is elusive. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, one of the Republican Party’s most influential voices on budget issues, has been pushing for radical changes to Medicare for years, but has gotten nowhere.
Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who’s considering a presidential bid, suggested not replacing federal employees who retire in the next four to five years. His idea has gained no traction in Congress. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has tried for years and failed to get balanced budget amendments attached to debt ceiling increases.
Foreign policy sparks the biggest divide. Potential presidential candidates “don’t know where to go. They don’t know where that consensus is,” said Schlapp. “They don’t know which book to pull off the shelf, to study, to learn what the consensus is. There’s a lot of diverse opinions on what the consensus should be.”
On one side are the libertarians, a sizable bloc led by Paul and his father, former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. Ron Paul has long been wary of U.S. intervention in foreign affairs. He noted earlier this week, “It is clear that without foreign intervention Ukraine would not be in its current seemingly hopeless situation.”
Rand Paul has been more willing to get the U.S. involved. While he wants action against the Islamic State, he’s said Congress should formally declare war. And he rails against aid to nations tied to terrorist acts.
“We do not project strength by borrowing money from China to send it to Pakistan,” he said Friday at CPAC. “It angers me to see mobs burning our flag and chanting ‘death to America’ in countries that receive our foreign aid. I say it must end. I say not one penny more to these haters of America.”
The divide may not be as sharp on social issues, but the debate is more passionate. Conservatives understand that Americans are more willing to accept same-sex marriage, and their views are evolving.
“I see a gay couple and I say, ‘Be happy,’ ’’ said Kevin Jackson, a St. Louis radio talk-show host. Just stay away from marriage.
“If you want to co-opt a word with a biblical backdrop, you’re trying to debase a word with a biblical meaning to it,” he said.
Yet gay-rights advocates see some progress in simply being accepted here. Most potential presidential candidates lauded traditional marriage and called same-sex marriage a decision for states.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-rights organization, will speak Saturday on a panel about Russia. And Schlapp said the group would get together with the American Conservative Union later and discuss the future.
It’s a start, said Angelo. “Now is not the time to make the perfect the enemy of the good,” he said.
Nor is it the time to count on consensus on what comes next. On much of anything.
“What we’re trying to do at CPAC,” said Schlapp, “is have a conversation on what we disagree on.”