Not too long ago, many Republicans proudly referred to themselves as “constitutional conservatives.” They believed in the rule of law; in limiting the power of government, especially the federal government; in protecting individual liberty; and in checks and balances and the separation of powers. They opposed central planning and warned about emotions stirred up by the mob and the moment, believing, as the Founders did, that the role of government was to mediate rather than mirror popular passions. They recognized the importance of self-restraint and the need to cultivate public and private virtues. And they had reverence for the Constitution, less as a philosophical document than a procedural one, which articulated the rules of the road for American democracy.

When it came to judicial philosophy, “constitutional conservatism” meant textualism, which prioritizes the plain meaning of the text in statutes and the Constitution. Justice Antonin Scalia excoriated outcome-based jurisprudence; judges should never prioritize their own desired outcomes, he warned, but should instead apply the text of the Constitution fairly. “The main danger in judicial interpretation of the Constitution—or, for that matter, in judicial interpretation of any law,” he said in 1988, “is that the judges will mistake their own predilections for the law.”

One of the reasons Roe v. Wade was viewed as a travesty by conservatives is that they believed the 1973 Supreme Court decision twisted the Constitution to invent a “right to privacy” in order to legalize abortion. The decision, they felt, was driven by a desired outcome rather than a rigorous analysis of legal precedent or constitutional text.

Which is why it’s hard to think of a more anti-conservative figure than President Donald Trump or a more anti-conservative movement than MAGA. Trump and his supporters evince a disdain for laws, procedures, and the Constitution. They want to empower the federal government in order to turn it into an instrument of brute force that can be used to reward allies and destroy opponents.

-Peter Wehner in The Atlantic