Are Americans Becoming More Conservative?
Nostalgia for Trump is fueling reactionary backlash against “Woke” Democrats
I. INTRODUCTION
Can you feel it?
The vibe has shifted.
Something’s in the air…
There’s a reactionary streak running through Biden’s America. People are pissed off — and they aren’t afraid to let you know it.
Over the past decade, American culture has trended leftward. It felt like the election of Obama as the first Black President in 2008 had ushered in a new progressive era. Gay marriage was legalized. Weed was legalized. Reactionary race riots became commonplace. Transgender issues emerged at the forefront of popular culture. “Wokeness” and anti-Whiteness dominated mainstream political discourse. On all fronts, the left was winning the “CULTURE WAR.”
But that all came to an end with the election of Trump in 2016.
Trump’s election is reminiscent of Richard Nixon’s two victories — both were contentious Republicans who won the Presidency amid nationwide leftist fervor. Despite the widespread influence of the “New Left” — dirty hippies, Students for a Democratic Society (“SDS”), Black Panthers, other miscellaneous left-wing agitators, etc. — it was ultimately Nixon’s “Silent Majority” who had the final say.
This Silent Majority is a sleeping giant with the power to decide Presidential elections. Who is this Silent Majority? They’re the vast swath of ordinary White Americans who are routinely neglected by both Republicans and Democrats.
What can we learn from this? In 2016, Trump won because he reawakened Nixon’s Silent Majority.
The Silent Majority is still out there. It’s growing every day.
With each passing day, they become more indignant and frustrated with the liberal “establishment.”
This has many people wondering: are Americans becoming more conservative?
II. THE NEW “NEW RIGHT”
For years, Republicans have neglected the concerns of their voters to their own detriment.
Back in 2012, all Republicans cared about was taxes and debt. What a boring time to be a Republican! The Republican Party establishment at the time was preoccupied with the debt ceiling, cutting taxes, and Obamacare — and nobody was talking about immigration until Trump came along in 2015.
Republicans are still talking about economics — but their new discourse differs from the wonky fiscal libertarianism of 2012. The economic rhetoric of today’s Republican Party is supercharged with populism and pessimism. The stakes are higher now. It’s not just about the Democrats’ reckless spending — it’s now about a malicious cabal of “CULTURAL MARXISTS” scheming to undermine America (for Satan).
The reinvigorated new “New Right” is indicative of a stewing backlash against the progressivism of Obama’s Presidency.
III. THE “POLITICALLY HOMELESS”
The United States is now so polarized we don’t even bother holding Presidential debates anymore. What does that say about us?
Rational debate is a relic of the past. Reason and logic have given way to cynical sophistry. Decent civility is long gone. Ideological dogmatism and partisan loyalty are the new norm. Politics has devolved into a decadent spectator sport with two diehard fandoms — and 2024 is the Big Rivalry Game. That’s just the bleak political reality we must work with.
Meanwhile, there’s a growing middle that doesn’t align with either major political party. These misfits are the “politically homeless.” However, these alienated voters tend to align with Republicans in their opposition to Democrats’ out-of-control “Woke-ism.” Many more of them are flocking to RFK Jr.’s independent bid for President.
One thing is clear: the Democratic Party is out of touch with ordinary Americans.
IV. THE RISE OF SOCIAL CONSERVATISM
Ideologies ebb and flow over time — it’s just a fact of life. Generational attitudes evolve — just look at the Baby Boomers, who went from being leftist hippies to capitalist yuppies in just a decade.
When one political party is in power, the other party usually sees a boost of reactionary fervor. This seems to be what’s happening now.
Long gone are the days of Obama’s “Hope” and “Change.” Liberal bullshit like that just seems cringe in hindsight.
The Republican Party has now become an overzealous army of culture warriors. For the new “New Right,” everything is about culture — even economics and foreign policy.
Americans are becoming more conservative — especially on social issues. A 2023 Gallup poll confirms this. According to Gallup:
38% say they are conservative on social issues, up from 33% last year
Highest percentage saying they are socially conservative since 2012
44% say they are economically conservative, also highest since 2012
Meanwhile, the amount of people identifying as liberal has decreased:
The data provided by Gallup shows 9% of respondents identified as very conservative; 29% as conservative; 31% as moderate; 21% as liberal; 8% as very liberal; and 2% said no opinion. This means 38% of Americans fall into the conservative or very conservative category.
That’s a 5% increase from 2022 and an 8% increase from 2021 in Americans identifying as conservative or very conservative.
The number of American adults self-identifying as liberal has decreased slightly from 2022. In 2023, 29% of Americans said they are liberal or very liberal. Last year, 34% fell into that category.
V. BIDEN’S APPROVAL RATING SUCKS
Never in my lifetime has a President been so universally disliked.
It’s become fashionable to criticize President Biden. People everywhere are chanting “FUCK JOE BIDEN” (“FJB” for short). Whenever I fill up my gas tank, there are stickers on the pump with the image of Joe Biden pointing to the prices, with a quote bubble saying, “I DID THAT!”
Even Democrats are looking at President Biden with the same regret as a hungover morning when you realize your drunken hookup isn’t as attractive as you thought they were last night.
Biden’s unpopularity is reflected in his historically low approval ratings. According to Pew Research Center:
Americans’ ratings of Joe Biden’s job performance remain more negative than positive and have been largely stable over the last year: Today, 35% of Americans approve of his performance, while 62% disapprove.
Furthermore, compared with previous Presidents, Biden is doing much worse. According to a 2024 Gallup report:
President Joe Biden averaged 38.7% job approval during his recently completed 13th quarter in office, which began on Jan. 20 and ended April 19.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to outcompete Joe Biden in the polls.
VI. NOSTALGIA FOR TRUMP
You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…
Say what you will about the man, but the world lost some magic when Trump left office.
Trump’s long absence from social media following his 2021 Twitter/X ban has given Americans some much-needed space from their eccentric former President. During this time, we processed everything that happened during the bizarre fever dream of Trump’s Presidency. Looking back, we realized it wasn’t so bad after all.
We all miss him — it’s okay to admit it now. Sure, Trump has his quirks — but don’t we all?
According to Real Clear Politics:
In retrospect, 55% of Americans consider Trump’s presidency a success, while 44% deem it a failure. By comparison, 39% consider Biden’s presidency a success, while 61% deem it a failure. To put things in perspective, that’s worse than Trump’s presidency was rated in mid-January, 2021, shortly after the attack on the Capitol building.
VII. TOP ISSUES FOR 2024 VOTERS
The hot issues this election cycle include immigration, crime, and the economy (as always).
Additionally, wedge issues like abortion, “drag queen story times,” and “CRITICAL RACE THEORY” have overtaken the “CULTURE WAR.”
VIII. BIDEN’S DEMENTIA
President Biden is a walking corpse. He’s deteriorating at an exponential rate. It’s kind of sad.
And it’s becoming harder to ignore. By now, most Americans fully recognize Biden’s severe physical and cognitive decline.
With Biden out of the picture for the most part, the day-to-day business of the White House has been usurped by reptilian political consultants/lobbyists, the ghoulish Democratic Party establishment, the so-called “DEEP STATE,” and any other creepy faction that can get a piece of the pie. It’s a depraved free-for-all of power-seeking Democrat sycophants — a feeding frenzy of liberal piranhas.
It just goes to show: (i) Presidents don’t actually hold that much power; (ii) unelected parasites — dorky bureaucrats, reptilian lobbyists, the “DEEP STATE,” etc. — hold most of the power in Washington; and (iii) it doesn’t matter who the President is so long as these filthy swamp creatures continue to suck on the sweet teat of Uncle Sam.
IX. “BIDENOMICS”
The economy is in the shitter — let’s not be coy about it.
Everything sucks now — I don’t know how else to put it.
Inflation. “Shrinkflation.” High interest rates. High gas prices. High rents. The real estate bubble.
The Biden Administration and Democrats claim it’s the opposite — everything is actually fine, and we’re all just being dramatic and need to get over ourselves.
But the American voters know better than this.
X. ANARCHO-TYRANNY
Don’t let the statistics fool you — crimes of all types are on the rise (and coming soon to a neighborhood near you).
This is another issue where the Democrats claim it’s actually not as bad as we think — we’re just a bunch of sheltered, paranoid (WHITE) “Karens.”
But there’s no denying the grim reality so many Americans must deal with every day.
You can see it all around you. There’s an omnipresent odor of marijuana in American cities. Nobody has a license plate anymore (we stopped giving a shit about license plates during the lawlessness of the COVID-19 pandemic — that’s a whole essay of its own). Weird scams and fraud are on the rise. Highly organized rings of professional shoplifters terrorize retailers with coordinated attacks. Packs of feral teens (the so-called “Kia Boyz”) roam the streets, hotwiring cars and selling them to chop shops for $20 apiece as part of craven gang initiation rituals.
There was a drive-by shooting in the pretentious hipster district of my city (a place that’s supposed to be “safe”) — a stray bullet from the gunfight paralyzed an unsuspecting college student inside a nearby bar — nobody was ever arrested — nobody seems to care anymore. So it goes…
Compounding this widespread problem is an alarming nationwide shortage of law enforcement officers. Police departments all over the country are desperate to recruit new officers, but their prospects are few and far between. Nobody wants to do the job anymore — who can blame them?
Democrat prosecutors and judges enable antisocial criminals with their leniency. “Defund the police!” they demand. But Americans are starting to notice the consequences of electing these liberal pussies. What Americans want is a return to good, old-fashioned LAW & ORDER.
XI. WORLD WAR III
For many Americans, it feels like we’re teetering on the edge of World War III. And who can blame them? Given the current volatile geopolitical climate, it’s not hard to envision a looming nuclear apocalypse.
During Biden’s Presidency, good, old-fashioned war has erupted on multiple fronts.
Our first flirtation with WWIII came with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. People were shocked by a full-scale ground-war in Europe — that shouldn’t be able to happen in our modern, liberal epoch!
Our next brush with WWIII came with the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. All-out war broke out between Hamas and Israel, with the United States being dragged into the conflict (as per usual).
Meanwhile, there’s mounting tensions between China and Taiwan.
It’s becoming clear that the established liberal world order is not as stable as was once thought.
XII. ANTI-“WOKENESS”
Americans are fed up with all this “Woke” BULLSHIT.
The nationwide Pro-Palestine campus protests are indicative of this. Nobody today is more reviled than these protestors. The result of these protests is that many people now conflate liberalism with terrorism and antisemitism. In response, Jews are fleeing the Democratic Party like it’s Nazi Germany.
XIII. CONCLUSION
Will 2024 be the return of Trump? I think so. It’s hard to imagine any other outcome, given President Biden’s gross negligence and mismanagement of domestic and foreign affairs — as well as his rapidly declining mental and physical states.
I don’t see a realistic path to victory for Biden. Trump’s return seems inevitable — like it’s written in the stars.
Many voters are dissatisfied with Biden’s Presidency. The past few years have been characterized by war with Russia in Ukraine, war with Iran/Palestine in the Middle East, border crisis insanity, rising crime, inflation, high interest rates, an overall shitty economy, and widespread general malaise.
Will the 2024 election see a “red wave” sweep across the country? It’s a real possibility.
Republicans have a huge opportunity in 2024. Failure to capitalize on this opportunity would be devastating for the Republican Party. If they play this right, Republicans could usher in a new era of conservative government. Will Republicans capitalize on this opportunity — or will they fumble the bag?