"Cuckservative", a portmanteau of "cuckold" and "conservative", is a neologism and an epithet, primarily used by those on the American political far-right. The term is used to criticize other conservatives and/or Republicans, whom they believe to hold positions which are at odds with authentic conservatism, particularly associated with issues such as immigration, multiculturalism, and changing demographics.
Use
Jeet Heer of The New Republic wrote that the word is a "fine example of how the sound of a word can reinforce its meaning: abrasive on the ears, cuckservative appropriately enough has an ugly origin and meaning".[1] The word was most popularly adopted in mid-2015 by some web users disapproving of the attempts by John McCain, Jeb Bush and other Republicans to establish more politically liberal positions, dubbing those who did "cuckservatives". Over a matter of weeks, the term then proceeded to attain usage additionally on social media and the wider internet.[1]
Writing for Hot Air, Taylor Millard criticized the word and its history of usage of by white nationalists within the conservative movement. He called it short-sighted, giving his opinion that Rand Paul's popularity at leading majority-black universities could make African-Americans more conservative in the future.[2] Matt Lewis, in The Daily Beast, gave his opinion that the word could become as popular with Republicans as "RINO" (Republican In Name Only), even if they were oblivious to its often racial connotations. Erick Erickson, of right-wing website RedState.com, called the word an insult to Christian Republicans by white supremacists.[3] Milo Yiannopoulos of Breitbart News, however, challenged the rhetoric that the term was purely racist, highlighting that "cuck" had long been used on 4chan as a term to attack any individual considered cowardly or lacking in principles.[4] Writing in The Washington Post, David Weigel described the term as arising from disaffected elements of the right wing.[5]
Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason argues that the Democratic party uses constant appeal of identity politics to various minority groups, and that the Republican party is at a crossroads in whether to accept a form of White identity politics.[6]
