If bowing to Trump is the GOP's new 'conservatism,' good luck winning any more elections

As someone who works in the world of words, I understand that their meaning – and use – can change over time.

Yet, something I greatly resent is how the Republican Party has conflated Donald Trump with conservatism.

I recently expressed my frustration with that development on social media, and it turns out I’m not the only one who feels this way. As one person commented on my post: "Some people want a principled conservative, others want that too, but revenge is more important. Revenge doesn’t go well in the end."

It certainly doesn't, and I can pretty much guarantee that if Republicans obtusely tie their horse to the former president, they can count on ostracizing a wide swath of American voters, including many conservatives.

It seems like that's what they plan to do.

Trump fan girl and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene put it this way last week after the New Hampshire primary: “This is a true change for the Republican Party. It says that not only do we support President Trump. We support his policies. And any Republican that isn’t willing to adapt these policies, we’re completely eradicating from the party.”

Prepare to eradicate a lot of people – people Republicans will need come November, if winning is the actual goal.

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Trumpism has taken over the GOP

As a conservative, I’ve always identified conservatism with the ideals it promotes – never a particular politician or personality. To me, conservatism means a belief in free markets, individual liberty and limited government.

There used to be widespread consensus inside the GOP about that, too. Now, the Republican Party has made Trump fealty a litmus test for the ideology.

For instance, Kevin Roberts, the president of The Heritage Foundation, a long respected conservative think tank, posted this after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the GOP primary: “While we all rally around our movement’s leader – President Trump – we also know that the future of conservative policies will be in how effectively we implement Trumpian conservatism.”

Let’s be clear: Trump and “Trumpism” are not synonymous with conservatism. Maybe Republicans have forgotten, but Trump has changed political parties more times than he’s been married.

And his policies reflect a jumbled ideology. For instance, he recently supported a new 10% tariff on all imported goods – a move that would have negative economic consequences on Americans and one that goes against conservatives' longtime support of free trade.

Similarly, Trump has made a point of calling out his last remaining GOP rival – Nikki Haley – for rightly making a case for reforming entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. Those programs are going bankrupt (and fast), but Trump has mocked Haley for speaking the truth.

Trump also proved a wild spender during his first term, adding nearly $8 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years and almost $4 trillion in debt. While some of that was related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of it wasn’t.

So much for fiscal restraint.

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Et tu, RNC?

To make matters worse, the Republican National Committee has considered going whole hog for Trump, even before the GOP primary process plays out.

It’s true Trump has won the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, but the rest of the states still deserve a say, and Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is planning to stay in the race for now.

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Last week, The Dispatch reported that the RNC was reviewing a draft resolution (now withdrawn) that "would declare Donald Trump the party’s presumptive 2024 presidential nominee,” even as Haley continues her campaign.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also said that after New Hampshire, it’s time for the party to come together behind Trump and focus on the general election.

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That’s incredibly disrespectful to the primary process and to the many conservatives who want to make their own choice.

The more closely the Republican Party aligns with Trump, expect an even greater number of voters to jump ship and identity as independents.

As many conservatives – and some Democrats – have told me, they feel politically homeless. And voting for President Joe Biden is a nonstarter.

If there were ever a moment for a strong third party candidate, I hope 2024 is it.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump conned Republicans into believing he's a conservative. He's not