There is much talk these days about the future of conservatism. Donald Trump has decisively changed the Republican Party; most of us think, for the better. Republicans are now seen as the party of the middle and working classes. I would say that we really have been that all along, but Trump brought the populist core of conservatism to the forefront. And “America First,” far from being scandalous as the Left believes, is the president’s job description.
But there is one way in which President Trump departed from conservative orthodoxy: spending. While he did great work in reducing federal regulation, he showed little interest in reducing the size of the federal government. To be fair, of course, it has been a long time since any Republican made a serious effort to shrink government. Trump is hardly alone.
But in my opinion, the future of conservatism lies in a fusion of Trumpism with the older conservative virtues, as exemplified by leaders like Calvin Coolidge. So this video by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation titled “Less Is More” couldn’t be more timely. Quotable quote: “If the government does less, the people can do more.”
