US conservatives have nothing to do with maintaining or returning to historic norms. From massive government subsidies and radical tax policies to wild spending sprees they’ve completely abandoned past stances only keeping the name. Similarly modern democratic politicians have no real connection to the glass of water theory and similar stances.
Voters on each side are extremely diverse to the point there’s little universal on either side. As should be obvious from the two party system.
Both parties in the US are fairly authoritarian. They've dine an excellent job at riling up the public into picking sides while the parties themselves sure seem to be one and the same.
Sure they get into public debates and throw political mud at each other, but at the end of the day they agree on direction and end up only debating details.
For example, both parties want to shut down the southern border and only debate how to do it. Both parties want larger government with more regulations, they just occasionally debate which regulations to add. Both want to spend like there's no tomorrow, debating only who to give the newly printed money/debt to. They both agree that banks and many large corps are too big to fail. They both continue to pull more power to the federal level, only pulling state-level stunts when its a political show. They both lean heavily on executive power when in charge, wielding more and more power from the Oval Office and circumventing congress.
The list goes on, but from where I sit we aren't offered the choice between a more liberal or conservative party, we're offered to pick one of two sides in a fight that is largely chummed with political hot topics that keep us all arguing with each other while the politicians largely do whatever they want.
You didn't, no. Though you were replying to a comment specifically about US conservatives and that is generally considered to be the Republican party.
I should have clarified though, and wasn't even meaning it as a comment directly or argumentatively at you so much as a comment on our current political system.
Voters on each side are extremely diverse to the point there’s little universal on either side. As should be obvious from the two party system.