Real Conservatism Vs. The Woke Right

How Grifters And Populists Are Destroying The Conservative Movement

For years, conservatives have warned that leftist ideology would erode American values, weaken institutions, and divide the country. But what many of us didn’t anticipate was that the greatest threat to conservatism wouldn’t come from the radical left—it would come from within.

The American right has been hijacked. It has been taken over by self-serving grifters, conspiracy theorists, and opportunists who have turned a movement of ideas into a carnival of outrage. Once, conservatives stood for principles—limited government, personal responsibility, law and order. Now, too many on the right have traded that legacy for performance politics, grievance peddling, and blind loyalty to a single man instead of a philosophy.

Conservatism, which should stand for enduring values and principles, is being suffocated by those who have no interest in governance, only in stoking resentment. The movement is at a crossroads. Either we reclaim it, or we watch it descend into nothing more than another hollow, reactionary grievance machine.

The Woke Right’s Identity Politics and Victimhood Culture
Conservatives have long opposed identity politics. We have argued, rightly, that a movement built on grievance is not a movement that can govern. And yet, in the last few years, the right has embraced its own version of the very thing it claims to despise. The “Woke Right” thrives on the same victimhood mentality it ridicules in the left.

They are never just wrong. They are always persecuted. Every social media ban is a grand conspiracy. Every criticism is an attack on free speech. Every election they lose must have been stolen. They mock “safe spaces” while demanding loyalty tests within their own movement. They claim to support free speech but rage against anyone who dares to criticize their new orthodoxy.

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It is not conservatism. It is not strength. It is weakness masquerading as defiance. The worst offenders are the populist media personalities who have made a fortune selling rage. They do not offer real solutions, only manufactured outrage. They keep their audience hooked, not with wisdom or strategy, but with fear—endless, consuming fear. Fear that the world is collapsing. Fear that everything is rigged against them. Fear that if they do not stay angry, they will lose everything.

But the truth is, these people do not want to win. They do not want solutions. They need the rage to continue because it is the rage that pays their bills.

According to Townhall, the rise of grifters within conservative media has significantly distorted the movement’s core values. These opportunists often prioritize personal gain over principled conservatism, creating a culture of outrage over governance. This is the kind of performance-driven politics that keeps conservatives trapped in a cycle of perpetual conflict without offering solutions.

Trumpism: A Cult of Personality, Not a Conservative Movement
Conservatism has always been about ideas, not individuals. But today, the right has been consumed by a movement that demands absolute loyalty to one man, no matter how often he betrays conservative principles.

Donald Trump did not strengthen the conservative movement—he hollowed it out. He turned it from a movement of ideas into a movement of loyalty tests. Instead of limiting government, he exploded the national debt. Instead of personal responsibility, he excused corruption and failure. Instead of law and order, he encouraged political violence when it suited him.

His version of conservatism is not about policy. It is about spectacle. The new MAGA right has no interest in governing. They do not talk about lowering taxes, cutting regulations, strengthening foreign policy, or balancing budgets. They talk only about who is the most loyal, who is the biggest enemy, who must be purged.

And in the process, they have alienated the very voters conservatives need to win. Moderates, independents, and principled conservatives who once voted Republican are walking away—not because they have become leftists, but because they cannot stomach the circus.

As Truthout reports, fewer than one-quarter of Americans view MAGA positively, and it remains a movement consumed by personality over principle. This stark divide shows the damage Trumpism has caused among the broader electorate while maintaining a base that is increasingly detached from the majority of voters.

The Right Must Purge Its Grifters
If conservatism is going to survive, it must cut out the rot. It must separate itself from the frauds, the extremists, and the bad-faith actors who are draining the movement of credibility.

That means rejecting the politicians who care more about viral moments than passing legislation. It means rejecting the conspiracy theorists who undermine institutions without offering any serious reforms. It means rejecting the media figures who make millions off anger but never propose a single real solution. And it means rejecting the populists who pretend to stand for “the people” while enriching themselves off their audience’s manufactured outrage.

This is not about making conservatism weaker. It is about making it stronger. The movement must return to real principles: limited government, fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, and individual liberty. We must be the party of solutions, not the party of perpetual anger.

A Call to Action: Reclaiming Real Conservatism
The right does not need more grifters. It does not need more conspiracy theorists. It does not need more politicians who use conservatism as a brand rather than a belief system. It does not need more outrage merchants who tell their followers that losing is actually winning, that principles are for suckers, and that if they just stay angry enough, something will magically change.

What it needs is competence. It needs a strategy. It needs leadership.

If conservatism is to have a future, it must do more than just complain. It must build. It must inspire. It must offer real solutions to real problems. And it must reject those who only seek to profit off the movement’s destruction.

The Woke Right must be defeated, just as much as the radical left. If we fail to do this, conservatism will not survive—it will become just another identity-based, grievance-driven movement, completely detached from its original purpose.

This is the moment. This is the time to choose. Do we want to win the culture war? Or do we want to govern?

If we are serious about winning, we must reject the grift, reject the circus, and rebuild a movement that stands for something real.

David Sypher Jr. is a former Republican candidate for New Jersey state assemblyman for the 22nd Legislative District and a former candidate for Rahway City Council. My Substack is

David Sypher jr.

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