Something has gone terribly wrong inside the conservative movement. We read it online, we hear it in conversations with young conservatives, and we see it in the way our movement’s leaders now speak and act. What began as a promising populist revival has metastasized into something corrosive: a grievance-driven, conspiracy-infused hostility that is hollowing the foundation of principled conservatism from the inside out.

Populism, properly understood, was never the problem. In its healthier form, it emerged as a passionate response to the failures of bipartisan elites who forgot about middle America and preoccupied themselves with global abstractions while ignoring their fellow citizens. The populist wave that carried President Donald Trump to victory in 2016 delivered a necessary wake-up call to Washington.

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But somewhere along the way, populism got hijacked. It became less about empowering ordinary Americans and more about indulging in perpetual grievance. Many of the loudest voices on the Right today are not pointing people upward toward responsibility, discipline, and achievement; they are dragging them downward toward resentment, victimhood, and nihilism.

Young conservatives are bombarded every day with the message: “You’re a victim. The system is rigged. The elites hate you. There is no hope. Burn it all down.” That is not conservatism. That is grievance politics. And grievance politics is the Left’s modus operandi. Even if we wished to play that game, we could never beat them at it.

Conservatism calls individuals to self-governance. It teaches building families, communities, and institutions. It says: Be accountable. Take responsibility. Choose virtue over validation. Conservatism has never been about marinating in bitterness.

Yet today we see prominent figures on the Right flirting with extremist ideas — not from conviction, but from opportunism. We see increasing tolerance of voices such as Holocaust-denying podcaster Nick Fuentes not because doing so is good, but because it garners engagement. 

There is a quiet assumption gaining traction that a little bit of poison can be safely ingested for short-term gain. But a little poison is deadly. A little cancer eventually consumes the whole body.

The “no enemies to the right” mentality is nothing more than surrender disguised as strategy. It implies that anyone wearing a conservative jersey is welcome, no matter how deranged or dangerous their worldview. That is how movements lose their soul. When we fail to patrol our own boundaries, we eventually become unrecognizable — even to ourselves.

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Some say we can safely ignore these problems. Don’t give them oxygen, they argue. But the truth is the oxygen is already abundant — pumped nonstop by the algorithms of social media platforms that reward outrage and conspiratorial thinking. Ignoring the problem will only allow it to fester.

We cannot solve this challenge by sticking our heads in the sand. If we do not speak clearly and courageously about who we are not, we will lose the ability to define who we are.

Traditional conservatism remains the strongest and most uplifting political philosophy ever embraced by a free people. It stands for limited government, constitutional order, individual responsibility, strong families, free enterprise, and the sanctity of human life. These are not fringe values. They are the pillars that built the American republic.

It is time for more conservatives to speak out, especially those who privately lament what they publicly tolerate. We need leaders willing to say, “No, those views do not represent our movement.” We need institutions to stand firm rather than chase online applause. We need younger conservatives to be intellectually challenged, not comforted in their grievances by digital demagogues.

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Conservatism is neither a tribe nor a personality cult. It is a moral and political inheritance that must be defended, not only from our ideological opponents, but sometimes from those claiming to be our allies.

We face a choice: retreat into cynicism, or ascend to clarity. Succumb to bitterness, or recommit to principle. Chase fleeting clicks, or build something meaningful and lasting. The future of the movement, and the future of our country, depends on choosing wisely.

Tim Chapman is president of Advancing American Freedom.

, 2025-12-07 19:24:00, , Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Tim Chapman