The traditional Republican platform, minimal interference from a small and limited government, a strong national defense and law and order, and low taxes and regulations on business, is not a bad one, and it has much their opponents' could benefit from by emulating. But like any good idea, it can be carried too far. The Republican program has been hijacked by an oligarchy determined to give itself free rein and absolutely no interference or supervision from the society.

As far as they are concerned, they are the ones who make things happen, who are the source of all wealth and virtue, and the only ones who care about the nation. They are the ones with courage, initiative and enterprise, so they deserve the rewards due to them in return for what tricklles down to the rest of the society. As far as they are concerned, what is beneficial to them is beneficial for the nation, indeed, the world, so therefore any disagreement must be eliminated because it must obviously derive from an ideology of evil and envy.

In the past, Conservatism could be summed up as enlightened self-interest: leave us all alone and things will take care of themselves. It was not an ideological way of looking at the world at all. But today, they have an ideology, one as extreme and as mistaken as it's polar opposite, Communism. They are the people who make things work, everyone else is either a resource to be exploited, or an obstacle to be overcome.