Why the hard-right activists at CPAC love Trump so much By Paul Waldman

Why the hard-right activists at CPAC love Trump so much
By Paul Waldman Email the author
February 23 at 1:24 PM
“We’ve come a long way together,” President Trump told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference today. But near the beginning of his speech, Trump acknowledged that he wasn’t always embraced by the CPAC crowd. As late as 2016, when he pulled out of the conference in the midst of the primary campaign, his appearances generated controversy and debates about whether he was ideologically pure enough to qualify as a real conservative.

“Do you remember,” he asked the crowd, “I started running and people said, ‘Are you sure he’s a conservative?’ I think now we proved that I’m a conservative.”

In his speech, Trump made expansive claims about how he has accomplished more than any president in history and spoke about the shooting in Parkland, Florida, temporarily quieting the crowd before bringing them back to cheers with a vision of armed teachers blowing away attempted mass shooters. As he did at many of his campaign rallies, Trump read the lyrics to “The Snake,” a song about a compassionate woman who takes a snake into her home; the snake then bites her. Trump uses this song to explain why it’s foolish and naive to admit immigrants to America who because of their evil natures will try to kill us.

And when in passing he mentioned his 2016 primary opponent, it prompted chants of “Lock her up! Lock her up!” It wasn’t the first time the chant had rung out during the conference, which is a bit ironic given that on this very day, Rick Gates would become the third former Trump aide to plead guilty to criminal charges.

The CPAC crowd was unbothered, because at last they have a president who not only supports their agenda but also reflects their entire approach to politics, someone perfectly at home in the carnival atmosphere of extremists and outright nutballs for which CPAC has always been known. Yesterday, longtime GOP consultant John Weaver tweeted:

Weaver was both right and completely wrong. The fact is that CPAC is a far better embodiment of conservatism in the age of Trump than any Heritage Foundation policy forum.

That isn’t to say that the attendees don’t care about traditional conservative ideology. But while they are cheered by the actions this administration has taken on matters like cutting taxes, slashing environmental regulations and undermining the safety net, what really endears Trump to them is as much about style as it is about substance.

It’s partly that Trump mirrors them in his obsession with critics and enemies. The form of hard-right conservatism that dominates the conference is particularly concerned with liberals — how awful they are, how much they should be hated and feared, and what means might be used to infuriate them.

Which is why having a friendly administration in Washington always presents a challenge for the kind of activists who come to CPAC. They draw their strength from opposition (just as liberal activists are drawing strength now), and it can be difficult to generate the passionate anger that feeds your movement when your side is in charge. But through everything he does, Trump brings a furious intensity to what would normally be the most mundane proceedings of the political world, not least because of his constant search for enemies (the news media, immigrants, Democrats) he can demonize and vilify.

But there’s an even more important reason the CPAC crowd loves Trump: He has, so far anyway, succeeded using the political model they’ve advocated for decades.

The hard-right always said that moderation was for losers, and the formula for victory has two parts: pure conservative positions on policy, and scorched-earth political tactics. Which is exactly what Trump did in 2016 and has continued to do.

They’ve realized, as everyone else has (or should have), that Trump’s momentary rhetorical nods to moderation on issues such as DACA are meaningless; when it comes time to actually make policy, he won’t deviate from conservative dogma. Just as important, Trump won in 2016 with a strategy that could have been written by the CPAC attendees: Vilify immigrants, attack Muslims, curse the news media even as it props you up, foment hate and fear, make wild and baseless accusations about your opponent, and even promise to jail her should you win. Don’t pretend that those who disagree with you are people of good will who happen to be mistaken; proclaim that they’re evil. Above all, focus all your attention not on “reaching out” to an increasingly diverse America but on mobilizing the old America, the one where white Christians are the only people who matter.

What was so intoxicating to the hard right wasn’t just that Trump ran that kind of campaign, but that he won with it. As far as they’re concerned, he proved that they were right all along.

And he has continued that strategy in office. Trump has made more than clear that he has little interest in being president of all Americans; whether his base is happy is all that matters. In 2020, he’s going to follow the same strategy to try to get reelected.

I happen to think that lightning won’t strike twice, and that strategy won’t succeed again. But whether it does or doesn’t, it won’t change the minds of conservative activists that it’s the only path to victory. Though they may turn on him if he loses, for now Trump is the leader they’ve always yearned for.

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Paul Waldman is a contributor to The Plum Line blog, and a senior writer at The American Prospect.  Follow @paulwaldman1