[quote=@Gwynbleidd]
<Snipped quote by HachiRoku>

At some point we decided words can change in meaning and usage, which is fair... to an extent. To my mind, the concept of conservatism being authoritarian is structurally unsound historically. Conservatism is based in small government and the individual rights of man, which is the ideological opposite of authoritarianism. Libertarianism (as it stands today), arguably, is the true original form of conservatism which would also make it closest to the vision of the founding fathers. You're not alone in the irritation of shifting definitions. Liberal no longer means what it was meant to mean anymore, and the same could be said of conservatism. Both of these shifts are responsible by far left individuals outright changing what the parties stand for, and this goes for the Mitt Romney's, McCain's, and the Bush's who significantly expanded government power. I'd also add that Obama did the same thing: see the NDAA. 

This is why I'm particularly glad that Trump is in office, we can now see who is ACTUALLY conservative and who is not. And, he's also getting politicians to reveal how left of center they truly are. 
[/quote]

Granted, the American conservative movement has always more or less been the Coolidge/Reagan/Ben Shapiro type. The point I was trying to make was that Democrats are synonymous to liberal, and that Republicans are synonymous to conservative. I do agree that American conservatism is based on values similar to those of the classical liberal movement as a whole, and it's interesting to see the honest shift Trump is making. While I don't agree with every facet of his policy, it really is interesting to see how he's led to the polarized left and right to expose themselves (although he isn't really bringing them together by any means). It's refreshing to see CNN criticize everything he says and FOX circlejerk everything he does, because at least you know to trust both equally low.