Erick Erickson recently stumbled across the term “cuckservative.” It’s a word that has been popping up on Twitter a lot lately, but this was the first time I’d seen someone of any consequence reference it. But the definition Erickson tweeted doesn’t really do it justice — as it elides the truly sleazy implications of the term. The goal is to obviously combine the words cuckolded with conservative.

A cuckold, of course, is a legitimate word for the husband of an adulterous wife — but that doesn’t really do justice to what they’re suggesting here, either. The people who throw this term around are most likely referencing a type of pornography whereby a (usually, white) man is “humiliated” (or ironically thrilled) by being forced to watch his wife having sex with another (usually, black) man. I’m not going to link to this, but feel free to Google it.

So what does this have to do with conservatism or politics? By supporting immigration reform, criminal justice reform, etc., a white conservative is therefore surrendering his honor and masculinity (and it won’t be long before his women folk are compromised, as well!). A cuckservative is, therefore, a race traitor.

The suggestion is that whites should only support policies that help whites. The goal is to stir up fear among whites — and to encourage more tribalism and polarization.

I bring this up because I suppose it’s possible that some conservatives might embrace this term without fully understanding the racial and sexual implications. To some, it might be seen as an innocent jab — like calling someone a “squish” or a “RINO.” But as Erickson correctly observes, “Remember, if you hear the term ‘cuckservative,’ it is a slur against Christian voters coined by white-supremacists.”