What is American conservatism (cynical view)?

I have long believed that the word conservative is sullied beyond reclamation, so my immediate answer to the question “What is American conservatism?” is “a Beltway-based racket exploiting the healthy instincts of decent Americans on behalf of the military-industrial complex, Wall Street, and the Republican Party.”

Bill Kauffman, If Conservatism Doesn’t Stand for Home Then it Stands for Nothing (The American Conservative)