Today is a day of dread, as executive power passes to people who aim to bend American government against everything that conservatives hold dear. But for conservative thinkers, planners, advocates, and policy-makers, it is also a day of liberation. For the first time in five years, it is possible to think, propose, plan, and promote conservative ideas without having to go through or around Donald Trump. They’ll no longer risk being held hostage to whatever he was personally interested in on a particular day, or whatever he kicked up in opposition to himself either. Trump’s influence will linger to an extent that is yet to be tested, but unless and until he returns to win another presidential nomination, his monopoly over the Republican Party — over its access to power, its communications with voters, its reputation and ideals — is broken.
Much was made of the notion that Republicans and conservatives made explicit or implicit bargains with Trump to gain power. That is true of some, but in many cases, it is not precisely right. Yes, some did so in order to obtain office, or privilege, or fame. Some did so in order to gain the power to advance good causes over bad ones: life, liberty, the Constitution, economic opportunity, individual choice, civil liberties, national strength and security, among others.
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