President Dwight Eisenhower, Republican, uttered these words on November 8, 1954:

[elleng]

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/ikesocial.asp

Hit them with this REPEATEDLY.

[MadamPresident]

1. That may have been true in his time.

But they have full throated support from nearly half the country now. This "conservatism" is a cult. Times are way different.

[elleng]

2. This 'conservatism' is nothing like conservative,

and they should be informed of that. They've striven for years to mis-inform and mis-educate, and they and we all need to get the truth back out.

[potone]

3. Exactly!

They are not conservatives, because there is nothing that they want to conserve. They are libertarians. Eisenhower would not recognize the Republican party now, and he couldn't get elected by them. How far they have fallen!!

[elleng]

7. I wouldn't call them 'libertarians,' more like simply

self-centered, selfish, and arrogant, and power-hungry for a few like trump.

[Crunchy Frog]

9. I hate the misuse of the word "conservative".

They are not conservatives at all, but radical right wingers. I can respect a conservative, but I can never respect a radical right winger.

I'm not sure that they even qualify as libertarians. The people pulling the strings are basically kleptocrats.

[herding cats]

4. It's not a cult, it's a contagious mental illness.

This is the direct result of propaganda. It warps the minds of the populace, as is intended.

[MadamPresident]

5. Is that not exactly what a cult does?

Brainwashes you into thinking you have to drink the flavor aid or cut off your dick so the aliens will take you?

What is going with the right wing is cult behavior.

[herding cats]

8. Yes and no.

This isn't a 'one size fits all' thing. It's layered to play into what makes specific demographics react. Then it's tailored to each demographic they target to make them believe they're exempt. Which is what makes it differ from a simple cult.

[Crunchy Frog]

6. He was unduly optimistic, unfortunately.

I presume he was talking about people like the Bush family. He didn't forsee fascist billionaires with unlimited resources, and the patience to play a very long game.

(I'm just getting ready to read Dark Money by Jane Mayer.)