When “Conservative” No Longer Means Conservative
In the hours following former Vice President Dick Cheney’s death, tributes poured in from both allies and opponents. They remembered him as tough, controversial, and unwavering in his convictions – but one thing no one disputed: Dick Cheney was a true conservative.
He believed in the Constitution, in limited government, in American power balanced by responsibility, and above all, in rule of law. He could be wrong; he could be fierce – but he never worshipped a man over a principle.
That’s what makes the modern MAGA movement so galling when it tries to wrap itself in Cheney’s flag and call itself “conservative.”
MAGA’s attempted appropriation of the Conservative label
In Iowa and across the nation, MAGA loyalists and Project 2025 activists proudly describe themselves as “conservatives.” They campaign under that banner, demand loyalty tests, and cast out anyone who dares question the leader they follow.
But let’s be honest: there is nothing conservative about blind obedience, propaganda, or the pursuit of absolute power.
Conservatism – the real kind – believes in checks and balances, personal restraint, constitutional order, and the slow, steady improvement of society through lawful means.
MAGA’s brand of national populist fury does the opposite. It tears down institutions, replaces dialogue with dogma, and celebrates vengeance as virtue.
That’s not conservatism – that’s authoritarian populism in a red hat.
What Cheney saw – and said
Even in his later years, Dick Cheney made his disgust clear: “Donald Trump is a greater threat to our republic than any individual in our history.”
He didn’t say that as a Democrat. He said it as the ultimate Republican insider – a man who had spent a lifetime defending his party and his country, often simultaneously.
When Cheney and his daughter Liz warned that Trump’s followers had forsaken conservative principles, they were speaking from within the lineage of Goldwater, Reagan, and Bush – leaders who believed that power must be bound by ethics, not ego.
Iowa’s choice
Here in Iowa, many who call themselves conservatives are empty puppets who have surrendered that legacy. They have traded prudence for populism, faith for fanaticism, and self-reliance for submission to a demagogue.
They still incorrectly use the word “conservative,” but it no longer fits. It’s a costume they wear while dismantling the values they claim to preserve.
To them, Iowa411 offers this reminder
As a traditional Conservative would say, “I knew Dick Cheney. I respected the dedication to his brand of conservatism, even when I disagreed with him. And you – with your slogans, your fury, and your contempt for truth – are no Dick Cheney.”
