At this point, to be 'a conservative' in the U.S. is to want to preserve democracy and the rule of law with maximizing liberty for all as its primary concern. 'Conservatism' has always been nothing more than people with wealth and power seeking to preserve and enhance their place in society. In democratic nations they learned long ago that they could advance their agenda by pandering to bigots (religious, ethnic, etc.) and outright racists. As a class, the wealthy and powerful do not care one whit about the rest of society as long as there are enough surviving individuals to serve their purposes. Of course there are exceptions, but that class dynamic is what defines conservativism. Mill was correct: it unceasingly takes advantage of weak-minded [and overwrought] dupes.