It's wired in, it's blatant, and it's old news, but to me it remains pretty remarkable that the establishment press in the U.S. uses the term "conservative" to mean any action the extreme right wing favors.

The more extreme the act, the more "conservative" are the actors!

Thus, the Freedom Caucus in the House — the members of which are the most ready to let the U.S. default on its debt — are routinely described as the most conservative faction in the government.

#uspol #science #journalism

@jayrosen_nyu
The actual conservatives in congress... well, there's Romney, Manchin, on/off Graham, a few more... The rest are wild-eyed extremists.
@Je5usaurus_rex
You think the Lady Lindsay is not a RWNJ?

@PensiveTM
It depends. He randomly flips from fairly traditional conservative (similar to his old mentor McCain) to full MAGAt (when he wants to impress Trump or The Base).

It's hard to tell if Graham has any firmly held beliefs of his own at all.

@Je5usaurus_rex
I think his main tenant is keeping that closet door firmly locked.