Yes, the conservatives are done for. That is, the party itself will fail to stay relevant.

This doesn't matter to voters. They ought to pick whoever will best serve them. So in that sense, I would argue that yes, they were conned in some respects.

> Yes, the conservatives are done for. That is, the party itself will fail to stay relevant.

I think it's the opposite - the people are done for. The party will just shift its stances. In many respects it already has - Trump faces almost as much opposition within his own party as from the Democrats.

If Trump doesn't sort out immigration expect the US to shift closer in laws and accepted practices to the UK.

Ah, I see. That's certainly an interesting hypothesis. Makes me wonder who the Republican party would target if their typical base evaporates. What would incline center-leaning individuals to continue to support the party after the shitshow that was the 2016 election?

Now you've got me looking forward to how this all turns out even more! :)

It could go a couple of ways - Trump could fix immigration - if "they" can remove the anti-Trump Repubs in the house or pick up a few extra seats then he has a good chance.

If he doesn't then I see a shift to socially conservative (in the religious sense) but pro-welfare.

New immigrants in general are socially conservative. As are a big chunk of current Dem voters - my extended family are all catholic and vote Dems.

some of this is the hostility immigrants feel from republicans and republican voters. as such, the gop and it's constituents contribute to (or perhaps even principally cause) this.

the premise that all/most immigrants "are liberals" (by apparent virtue of their immigrant-ness) is almost hilariously a stereotypical position to hold. i wonder what a gop explanation for why that is true would look like.

> some of this is the hostility immigrants feel from republicans and republican voters.

A little. But it's not one of the big three drivers -

The first is social welfare.

The second comes down to ideology - American conservatives have a unique brand of beliefs.

For example the value placed on:

- Freedom of speech - Firearms - Individual liberty over collective safety/feelings/effective policy

These traits are not shared by conservatives in the rest of the world. In the U.K. for example the majority of conservatives are happy with strict firearm control.

The third is personality - American conservatives are loud, proud, straight talking, and rough-edged - this rubs conservatives from other countries the wrong way.