What is it, exactly, about America that conservatives love?
It's not our government, obviously. You know, the one thing all Americans have in common. Conservatives want less of that, and automatically distrust anyone who participates in or works for it.
It's not their fellow Americans. According to most conservatives, most of their fellow Americans are lazy, just wanting to get by based on what the government will get them.
It's not the troops. Constant cuts to the VA have shown that. I mean, sure, support them while they're fighting, but can you really claim to love something that you only support when it is away, in harms way?
The actual land in the "land of the free?" Nope, conservatives fairly consistently oppose environmental protections for that.
What does this leave... the flag? Sure, conservatives love that. They'll seek to protect it even (or especially) at the cost of liberty. So there it is. Conservatives love the flag.
So while I'm sure that more Conservatives claimed patriotism, I'm not exactly sure what they meant by it. In the end, conservative patriotism is like being a fair-weather sports fan. They're only gonna support winners, and ultimately, they're cheering for laundry.