Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com 

Over time, essential items seem to vanish and are quickly replaced by new technology. Home phones gave way to cell phones now found in most 5^th grader pockets.

Video tapes and CDs died and were resurrected as movie streaming and digital music. Once a badly folded map gave directions. Now, we talk to GPS, and it orders us, “Make a U-turn as soon as possible.”

Politics isn’t immune either. Principled conservatives disappeared and have been replaced by enablers.

I hear critics shouting, “Wait, a bunch of politicians still claim they’re conservatives.” But finding a true conservative among them is like finding a house with a working VCR. You might find one, but it’s a long search.

First, it’s important to define what a conservative politician looks and acts like. Since we’re talking about new technology, here’s an AI definition of political conservatism.

Being politically conservative generally means upholding traditional institutions, customs, and values. This often includes prioritizing individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, and a strong national defense. Conservatives often emphasize fiscal responsibility, free markets, and the preservation of social order.

If we compare this definition to what’s happening in our government, either AI really is just a steak sauce (and wrong), or conservative politicians vanished. True conservatives value the co-equal branches of government and hold what the Founders built as sacred. Now, the executive branch is defying court orders, ignoring Congress, and legislating by executive order. Are conservatives screaming about these violations? 

No, there’s silence.

Iowa’s senior U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, once considered the model of conservatism, gives a shoulder shrug when confronted at a town hall about the unlawful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. When reporters asked him about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency slashing the federal government and eliminating thousands of jobs, Grassley said, “Congress can’t do anything except complain about it.”

Pretend conservatives tout fiscal responsibility. But Republicans in the U.S. House marched in lockstep to pass what’s marketed as the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” It would add an estimated $5 trillion to the national debt. 

Tariffs have always been kryptonite to conservatives, who have claimed they weaken free trade and increase taxes. Real conservatives crave economic consistency. There’s none in Donald Trump’s America. 

Conservatives once stood for law and order. Now, they’re mute about blanket pardons for the criminals who attacked the the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Conservatives despised big government monitoring what people eat. They mocked it as “the Nanny State.” Now, your snacks are on the government chopping block.

Iowa government is no better. True conservatives would be horrified by spending $900 million in one-time funds to pay for overspending primarily caused by the unaudited, private school voucher entitlement. Once reserves are spent, Iowa will be rattling a tin cup for revenue.

What caused conservatives to evaporate into the mist? Some blame Trump. But he isn’t the inventor of grievance and fear politics. That’s been around since the founding of the country. What Trump did is tap the powerful artery of grievance and fear flowing through America. For example, during the 2024 campaign, he scared his base by alleging Haitian immigrants were eating pets. An urban myth to spike fear of the “other.”

Trump is a masterful marketer. He honed his message in front of thousands. First, they came to see a celebrity, and then they found his rallies fed their grievance and fear. 

Ironically, Trump understood what Democrats missed. Saul Alinsky, author of Rules for Radicals, wrote, “Power is not just what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” That’s the philosophy Trump uses to put his power on steroids.

Voters must challenge pretend conservatives to follow the classic definition. Our fragile republic hangs in the balance. When asked about what form of government had been established in 1787, Benjamin Franklin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” It was true then, and it’s true now.