But “conservatism” has no mystical essence. Rather than a magisterium handed down from apostolic times, it is an ideology whose contours are largely arbitrary and accidental. By ideology, I mean precisely what Orwell depicted in 1984. I do not mean, of course, that conservatism is totalitarian. Taken as prophecy, 1984 has little merit. Taken as a description of the world we actually live in, however, it is indispensable. 1984 reveals not the horrors of the future but the quotidian realities of ideology in mass democracy. Conservatism exemplifies them all. ~Austin Bramwell

The worst thing that can happen to a conservative is to be seen as disloyal. The worst thing that can happen to a liberal is to be seen as “in the tank.” ~Jonathan Chait

Second, there is the corrupting influence of teamism. Being a good conservative now means sticking together with other conservatives, not thinking new and adventurous thoughts. Those who stray from the reservation are accused of selling out to the mainstream media by the guardians of conservative correctness. ~David Brooks

As Mr. Bramwell has argued, the movement has existed to instill conformity and filter the approved policy positions down to the members.  This is not something that has happened just recently, but has been a feature of the movement (as it will be a feature of anything that calls itself a movement) from fairly early on.  The reason for the emphasis on loyalty and conformity seems to have come from the awareness of being outnumbered and surrounded, politically speaking, which required greater cohesion and solidarity than might otherwise be desirable for the full flourishing of intelligent thought.  As both movement and party have become more embattled–since the movement has hitched itself to a party that is in the process of destroying itself through bad policy and incompetent administration–the impulse for unity has become even stronger.  Part of this impulse has been centered around the very thing that is destroying the movement, namely Iraq, and the other part of is expressed in the profound longing for some “authentic” conservative to rescue the movement from all of the compromises and failures of its leaders.  The two expressions of the desire for unity are directly contradictory and will end up cancelling each other out.  Unless, of course, they drop the war, which isn’t going to happen.