In the normal course of events, we can expect the GOP to promote the good old fashion values of capitalism. Conservatives promote tax cuts for the wealthy, because the wealthy are the one who have created this nation, while the rest of us are takers. They vilify welfare queens who have babies they can't care for, so cut funds to care for the babies. They are loathe to insure that everyone has food and housing because that encourages people not to work. Better to let people go hungry so they don't become immoral lazy slobs. Conservatives prize winners above all else, and have faith that every g-d fearing conservative is going to be a winner, so won't support any policy that rewards losers, or assume that g-d fearing conservatives are losers.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I learned that the losers in the GOP campaign to win the US presidential nomination, which if we are honest are all of them as they are ultimately going to lose to HRC or Sanders, are pushing to change the rules so everyone in the race, even the losers, can have equal opportunities. For instance, they want the debate stage to be set not on free market ideals such as who is polling the best or who has the most contributions, but on the random luck of the draw. That way each person, no matter how undeserving, can have an equal and fair chance to get on the big stage.
More surprising, they want to keep track of how much time each candidate had during a segment, and then make sure the candidate who had the least time gets the first question. In the name of fairness, not who has created the best campaign, each candidate, no matter how lame, boring, or undeserving now has an opportunity to have equal time. The time to talk is not based on what a person has done to earn that right, but on an inherent right to equal time, based solely on entitlements.
It would be pretty to think this was simply some Halloween Tale of Horror, but apparently it is a legitimate tale of losers wanting equal opportunity for equal time. It is apparently a real tale of losers feeling their self esteem is not being respected and demanding a rule change for reparations. It is apparently a tale of woe in which in the inherent dignity of each candidate is not being promoted with appropriate and politically correct speech. Ultimately, the costuming of the debate create a environment of microaggression that hurts the candidates feelings and must be modified so that the losers are not offended.
What I really think this episode illustrates is the main concern of the GOP. That is, the major conservative values are to conserve the rights that the few have accumulating over the years while minimizing the rights gained by the masses do. It is a philosophy based on the idea that rights and privileges are a zero sum concept, that rights dilute as more people have them. It is best illustrated by the gold standard, that many in the GOP still support, thinking that an economy that is allowed to expand freely and provide more wealth to everyone will inherently provide less wealth to those most deserving. Or the gun culture that thinks if the selected few do not have the right to murder the lower castes, that anarchy and chaos will reign. These debate rules changes make sense to conservatives because it provide equality for those who assume themselves equal to an entitled peer group. It would make no sense to put a Bush on the kiddie stage, except by chance, while it makes perfect sense to deny a child health care because the parent are not willing to comply with external norms.