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I view conservatism as a kind of nostalgia for how the world was when we were too young to understand it. Conservatives are generally frightened by the complexities of society, frightened by change because they don’t know where that change comes from and they don’t understand how that change can improve things. They want a simple world with simple rules, so they rely on religion, authoritarian leaders or any social order that will treat them like children because deep down they don’t want to be responsible adults.
So that might be coherent with you point that they are self centered: like young children, they think of themselves first and never really grow up to realize that they are part of a world where they need to coexist with diverse people.
That being said, if conservatives like Cheney announce they will vote for Harris, it can only help: maybe it will convince other Republicans to do the same. But I don’t see this as a change of allegiance for Cheney, she’s still Republican.
Exactly. In any semi-functional democracy the government isn’t some abstract entity you have no power over, and it’s not monolithic either (you have municipal, regional and national levels). You vote for the people in it and they represent you.