With a president that openly labels the press the enemy of the people?
> If it were possible to transcend parties and vote just for candidates that represented my nuanced beliefs, I would switch in a heartbeat.
It's impossible. Everyone will have their nuanced beliefs and no candidate will match perfectly except in rare circumstances.
With a president that has appointed more 1st/2nd amendment-protecting federal appellate judges than any other president, you mean?
2nd, jurisdiction is irrelevant. Saudi Arabia benefits from many deals regarding arms with the US. There are other ways to protect US citizens from being murdered. And it would have the full support of congress.
But yea, keep making excuses.
Similarly I presume the rise of Boris Johnson with Brexit is a reflection of the British people, regardless of whether he has his conservative credentials in order.
For a sufficiently loose definition of “reflection”, yes. For a sufficiently tight definition of “reflection”, no.
> does one define American conservatism by reciting a prescription of what people ought be when they say they're conservative
One defines conservatism by a set of values and policies. The same goes for liberalism, fascism, communism, environmentalism, nationalism, etc.
If it were possible to transcend parties and vote just for candidates that represented my nuanced beliefs, I would switch in a heartbeat. Instead I'm forced to prioritize which issues are most important to me, and then plug my nose and vote for the party that best represents just those (even though said party comes with a lot of undesirable baggage).