This thread is sorta fatally undermined by the telling omission of race as a factor in the formation of the conservative movement, but I think it's narrowly right in its implication that movement conservatism has presented itself in a series of disguises.
https://twitter.com/DouthatNYT/status/1346471448869707777
The problem for the argument is the disguises have served to cover the movement's elemental racism and authoritarianism. To that end, reformoconism, tea partyism, etc have been embraced as tools of deception, whereas Trumpism represents a more undisguised form of the movement.
If there's been an attempt to disguise anything the last four years, it’s been from intellectuals trying on one hand to pretty up Trumpism as a respectable form of nationalism, against others attempting to treat Trumpism as a weird, easily ignored hiccup.
But the GOP itself doesn’t seem to have much use for the lipstick! I guess we'll see, but I don't see Josh Hawley on one side of the divide or Ben Sasse on the other having much success against Trump himself or Don Jr. in a GOP primary.
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