Political Ideology of American Conservatives

This essay delves into the political ideology of American conservatives, examining their core principles, goals, and internal conflicts. It discusses key policy debates, such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the proposed Mexican border wall, and differing stances on foreign policy issues like the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement. The essay highlights the tensions between different factions within the conservative movement, particularly regarding government spending and intervention. It analyzes the contrasting viewpoints on healthcare reform, noting the conflict between fiscal conservatism and the desire to provide affordable healthcare. The essay also explores the divisions within the party concerning foreign policy, contrasting isolationist tendencies with more interventionist approaches. Ultimately, the essay emphasizes the complexities and internal contradictions within American conservatism, demonstrating that it is not a monolithic entity but rather a collection of diverse viewpoints and competing priorities.

Running head: POLITICAL IDEOLOGY OF AMERICAN CONSERVATIVES
Political ideology Of American Conservatives
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Political ideology is an integral part of social studies that documents ethical ideals and
principles of an institution or social movement. It throws a vast amount of light regarding the
working of society and provides cultural blueprint in relation to a social order. The function of a
political ideology is to distribute power and it explains how power can be utilized in the proper
direction (Feldman and Johnston 2014). The moral entrepreneurs are responsible for framing the
political ideologies. Goals and methods are the two dimensions that are kept in mind while
framing the political ideologies. This essay will elaborate on the ideological doctrine of the
American Conservative party. Their ideals, goals and distinct principles will be discussed at
length in this assignment and the implications of their ideology in the social structure of a nation.
This will further elucidate on the differing principles and conflict of opinion among the same
political party. Their differing perspectives and reason for their opinions will be talked about in
this assignment.
The political ideology determines whether the government will be branded as an
democracy or an autocracy. A democracy is a form of government that is meant for the people
whereas an autocracy is a form of rule dominated by a single individual who is responsible for
framing all the rules and policies. The political ideology also points forward to the kind of
economic system of a nation that can be capitalistic or socialism. Capitalism is concerned with
owning private property and socialism is a political ideology that has the state taking care of the
industries. The concept of political ideology is extremely complex and the scope of the concept
is very elusive within the ambit of social science (Gromet, Kunreuther and Larrick 2013). Their
position in the political sphere determines whether they would be called left wing, right wing or
centre. These divisions are very controversial and provide ample scope for debate. The politics of
left wing is an avid supporter of social equality. It takes into consideration the disadvantaged

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class and the proponents of this political ideology strongly believe that the differences between
different social classes should be narrowed down to a point when they will no longer exist.
Centrism supports social equality and it opposes any kind of political change that will cause the
shift either towards left or towards the right wing. Right wing lays emphasis on natural law and it
refers to the particular form of government that views inequality as a natural result of existing
social difference.
Conservatism in the United States refers to a particular system of government that has a
high respect for the traditions and moral absolutism is advocated in this form of government. It
protects Western culture from the threat that is posed by socialism and multiculturalism. It does
not support the interference of labour unions. It opposes the principles and doctrine of American
liberals who lay greater emphasis on equality (Swers 2017). The American liberals lay more
importance on the principles of social justice. Obamacare is a federal statute that was enacted by
U.S. Congress and it was made a law by Barrack Obama in the year 2010. It was a very
important regulatory overhaul and it was a landmark statute that completely changed the face of
the health care system of the U.S. (Borochin and Golec 2016). It brought in great changes in the
markets of individual insurance. The Obamacare has opened up new debates and there are
conflicting opinions among the Conservatives in relation to the landmark Obamacare bill.
According to a recent article that came out in the Washington Times, Donald Trump considers it
unfair on the part of the Congress to provide extra help in order to spend such a large amount of
money on insurance premium (Ahmadian, Azarshahi and Paulhus 2017). In his opinion, the
average Americans are grappling with a crisis and in this kind of circumstances, providing such
kind of subsidy will prove to be disastrous for the public exchequer and will completely ruin the
economic condition of the country. In his opinion, the Congress should pay that amount and

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relieve the Americans who are already suffering financial constraints. People of his political
party The Republicans who have a congressional bent of mind want to work in Capitol Hill in
order to bring changes to law and they will support the Affordable Care Act that was released in
2010. Some House Conservatives have provided support to revise the Obamacare that would
reduce the costs incurred on health care. The Freedom Caucus has explained in a statement that
they want to provide support to revise the healthcare system instead of repealing it completely
(McKay 2017). Three-advocacy group who have the conservative lineage has extensively
provided support namely Club for Growth, Freedom Works and Heritage Action. The C.E.O. of
Heritage Action has remarked that the changes represent significant progress and that he does not
want a full repeal.
President Trump wants to build a Mexican wall along the southern border that will stop
the invading of U.S. by infiltrates and stop rampant incidence of crime. This task will create a
big financial deficit, as building such a huge wall will cost many billions of dollars to be spent.
The Grand Old Party is willing to pay out of the taxpayer’s money. Conflicting ideologies can be
perceived in this decision because whereas on the one hand he does not want to support
Obamacare because it would put the Americans who are already suffering financial problems in
a worse state on the other hand this decision of building Mexican wall will also create a big hole
in the public exchequer (Hart 2014). A conflict can be very clearly perceived within the
Conservatives. Congressional legislation has stated that it would cost around 10 billion dollars. It
will account for a massive spending and building this wall occupies a central position in the
populist agenda of Trump. It is still unclear how he wants to follow through on such promises
and he has not given clear details about his policy. An exit poll conducted at the national level

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has revealed that only a meagre 41% is willing to go ahead with the proposal of building the wall
(Nash 2014).
In recent times, a conflict of opinion can be seen in the Conservatives in relation to the
U.S foreign policy. The security adviser of U.S. McMaster has clashed with Bannon during
White House discussions regarding war strategy in Afghanistan. McMaster is a powerful agent
among the political circles of U.S. president. Trump is inclined to the viewpoints provided by
Bannon who wants to take the party into an isolationist direction (Hershey 2017). McMaster is
upholding the policy of the administration policies of Obama. The views of McMaster on Israel
has been reviewed by Zionist Organization in America. Many conservative groups have
criticized the security adviser over social media. There has also been a lot of controversy in
relation to the nuclear deal in Iran. The nuclear deal was made during the Obama regime.
President Trump is an adversary of the nuclear deal and he wants to scrap the deal. He does not
want to accept the fact that Iran has respected the clauses of the deal from the very outset. Tehran
has respected the clauses from the very beginning (Kuniholm 2014). The decision of the U.S. to
come out of the Paris Accord is another issue that has created a lot of controversy. The Secretary
of State Rex Tillerson wants to stick to the agreement. The opinion of the Conservatives are
divided as to whether they should go forward with the Paris Accord. Steve Bannon has expressed
disapproval for the treaty. Some members of the Congress have also vehemently expressed their
opposition to this move.
Liberalism advocates societal change and is flexible in nature. Respect for tradition forms
the crux of the conservative form of government. Changes taking place in society is viewed with
suspicion. Conservatism runs counter to the principles prophesized by Socialism. Conservatives
have a tendency to tilt towards orthodox views. Conservatives preaches the idea that one’s nation

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is more important as compared to the others. The principles and ideology of a nation should
make principles aimed at improving the condition of life of every class of people. Globalization
has brought with it changes that will affect the life of every individual. The heritage of a culture
should be respected but it should not be at the cost of sacrificing the happiness and welfare of the
citizens. Every citizen looks to the state for his or her security. The Obamacare bill had been
devised along those lines (Center et al. 2017).President Trump was jubilant after the bill was
passed which would replace Obamacare. The celebration can be called premature considering the
fact that Senate would now have to pass the bill in order to repeal Obamacare. Differences have
to be reconciled and it is unsure whether a unanimous decision can be reached among the parties
which would solve the problem. The new bill devised by the Trump government should take into
consideration the problems faced by the average Americans in the sector of healthcare. Paying a
hefty tax would be difficult for most of the Americans as most of them are reeling under the
tension of unemployment (Tabatabai and Samuel 2017).
The Better Care Act has given the license to insurance companies who can now charge
aged Americans a large sum, as they would have to pay five times more as compared to the
younger generation. It will become extremely difficult for old people to contribute such a large
amount and who are already reeling under the burden of poverty (Iyyer et al. 2014). Senate bill
has reduced the minimum amount that is required in order to become qualified for subsidies. The
income limit has been reduced to 350 percent in relation to poverty level. This is indeed a good
step taken in the right direction. Under the new bill, a penalty will be imposed on those people
who do not have continuous coverage. People whose coverage has been lapsed for more than 63
days within a year has to wait for six more months in the next year in order to enter into a new
scheme. This will thus force people to think twice before putting an end to the health care plan.

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The Donald Trump government should consider all the aspects before setting up new clauses.
The new policies should be in tandem with the changes of the time and it should take into
consideration the disadvantaged and poor section of population (Selfa and Maass 2016). The
older generation and the youth both deserve support from the government and the policies should
be framed keeping all these in mind.

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