'All Things To All Men'?

Or watered down convictions?

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Are Republicans creating 'big tent conservatism' or becoming 'liberal lite'?

Michael Malice, the libertarian author and podcaster, once famously said, "Conservatism is [just] progressivism driving the speed limit." Over the last few weeks, the Republican Party has shown Malice's argument may not be entirely unfounded.

The past few weeks revealed some concerning changes to the Republican platform, followed up by some equally concerning speakers and occurrences on the stage at the Republican National Convention.

On July 15, Charles Moran, President of Log Cabin Republicans, the "largest Republican organization dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies," made a post on X celebrating the "removal of all anti-LGBT language" from the Republican platform. "Inclusion won! Thank you, Donald Trump" he wrote in the post.

Eric Trump reinforced this "win" during an interview with NBC News. When he was asked about Trump's perspective on recent changes to the platform, he replied by saying the changes to LGBT and abortion issues are "reflective of who my father is and what he believes in and reflective of my wife Lara (who runs the RNC) and what she believes in."

This move toward a more inclusive platform came as part of the overhaul of the GOP platform announced on June 27.

While the claimed intent was to "streamline" a previously "unwieldy" policy platform, many conservatives have shown concern over significant policy changes to long-standing Republican positions, such as the removal of wording stating dissent to the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling on same-sex-marriage and changes to the official position on abortion.

To add fuel to the fire, the architect of the changes, Susie Wiles, Donald Trump's senior advisor and "de facto campaign manager," made concerning comments about the changes in an interview with The Atlantic.

In that interview, Wiles confirmed what "another Trump ally" had stated, that "for every Karen (a derogatory term for White women) we lose" due to the realignment, "we are going to win a Jamal and an Enrique."

"That's a fact," responded Wiles, "I believe it. And I so believe we're realigning the party," she added. Wiles also believes that this strategy won't lose Trump many 'Karens,' positing that the campaign can hold on to enough White suburban voters, as well as courting enough Black and Hispanic voters, to ensure a "blowout" in November.

She may be right. Considering the alternative, Christians and conservatives do not have a whole lot of options. Neither Biden nor any of his potential replacements would even come close to the conservative gains that will be made under even a "watered-down" Trump.

However, as Joel Berry, the founder of The Babylon Bee said in response to the Sikh chant on the Republican National Convention's opening day, "Conservative Evangelicals are the strongest, most reliable Republican voting bloc and the RNC should note they can only be alienated so much before they start to walk away."

But that was followed by a sobering rebuke, that this "bigger tent" is the fault of Christians and conservatives for allowing decades of conservatives-in-name-only to run the nation.

From Reagan's amnesty for millions of illegals to Bush's 1990 Immigration Act that "helped permit the legal entry of 20 million people over the next two decades, the largest number recorded in any 20-year-period since the nation's founding," while also setting the stage for the outsourcing of American jobs during the same time.

Over the past six decades, Republicans, when voted into power, did very little to reverse the course of the degeneracy. Prayer was removed from schools in 1963, yet six Republican administrations came and went since without a reversal. Many of the sources of "wokeness" were passed into law around that same time, yet it is only 60 years later that conservatives are waking up and pushing back.

This both supports the reasons why the party now feels the need to "expand the tent," but also speaks to the danger of doing exactly that. Throughout those decades, Americans (and Republicans, in particular) were at the receiving end of propaganda the same way we all are today.

Throughout those decades Christian conservatives, in particular, selected the lesser of two evils. That selection, over time, however, still brought us to a place where most Americans no longer recognize the nation in which they grew up; and for the first time in US history, the next generation of Americans will inherit a nation worse off than it was when their parents inherited it a generation before.

Which brings us to pertinent questions. Where is the line between being "all things to all men" and becoming what you once opposed? Where is the line between "inclusivity" and surrender?

It is important to understand that politics is a game of compromise. However, it is equally important to understand that the compromise can never come at the expense of the overarching goal.

When America begins to allow foreign cultures and faiths to gain dominance within the nation without any expectation of assimilation in return, then we have moved from "broadening the tent" to capitulation; and surrender, no matter how slow, will always ultimately end in defeat.

Unlike what Sikh devotee Harmeet Dhillon said on the first night of the convention, America was not founded by a Sikh deity so that all people could worship whatever they wish. This is a twisting of the idea of America. This is the exact slow capitulation that must not be allowed to go unchecked.

There is an area of India that is wholly Sikh and dedicated to the preservation and culture of the Sikh people and faith. If that place were being slowly subverted, Sikh adherents would not stand for it. In the same way, Americans, and particularly Christian Americans, must wake up and recognize that is exactly what is happening in the part of the world that was created to be a haven for Christians, built by Christians, for the purpose of securing the "Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

One important way to do exactly this is to ensure that the Christian voice in politics is firm with conviction, and influential. Yes, politics is a dirty business. But that dirty business affects our lives nonetheless. So rather than allow it to continue the way it has, it is important that we get involved.

That involvement could mean creating our own PACs and lobby groups, not just federally, but at the state and local levels; not just around topics like abortion, but for Christian values across the board — especially in states with large Christian populations.

That involvement could mean finding ways to ensure your candidates do more than pay lip service to Christian values, but show exactly what they will do to return America to the foundation of what made it great.

That involvement could be as simple as joining your local action network and/or networking with others to create one around the issues God has placed on your heart.

Despite the few concerns mentioned here, the election in November will bring tremendous wins for both Christians and Conservatives alike. An issue like abortion being delegated to the states is still a victory for those who are active in their state.

If nothing else, let this be the takeaway: that we all become increasingly active, increasingly organized, and take a seat at the table where these decisions are being made. Because it is only through tremendous activity — pushing back against the forces of entropy — that America can become great again.

Arthur is a former editor and consultant. Born in India to missionary parents, he spent his early career working in development for NGOs in Asia, Central America, and Africa.

Arthur has an educational background in history and psychology, with certifications from the University of Oxford and Leiden in the economics, politics, and ethics of mass migration and comparative theories in terrorism and counterterrorism. He is currently launching CivWest, a company focused on building capital to fund restorative projects and create resilient systems across the Western world.

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