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.
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.
Now you've got me looking forward to how this all turns out even more! :)
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.
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.
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.
Were they conned?
The truth is if the US doesn't fix illegal immigration and put a general slowdown on legal immigration then conservatives are done for and their way of life is going to be slowly destroyed.
All indicators show first and second gen migrants overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.