I appreciate you taking the time to write all of this, but you’re buying the bullshit. The question that you haven’t answered is the crux of my point. “Conserve what?” And the answer is always the same, for every conservative, everywhere, since the first conservative: “Whatever I think is important.” That’s why they are constantly shifting their positions, why they seem hypocritical or paradoxical when they say one thing and do another. It’s how they criticize their opposition for the same choices they make themselves. They rail against abortion and have abortions. They complain about immigration but demand freedom to travel where they like. They want low taxes for themselves, government spending on their preferred programs, and strict regulations that benefit their businesses.

It’s not ideology, it’s narcissism. And there are zero exceptions.