Conservative Economists

Is the term "Conservative Economist" an oxymoron?

In other words, is it possible to be a legitimate economist, and also be a Conservative?

It depends, of course, on the precise definition of "economist."

If an economist is somebody whose field of expertise is economic theory, then I suppose that "conservative economist" is a valid—i.e., non-oxymoronic—term. A theorist, after all, is just somebody who makes up theories. The theories don't have to be realistic, consistent, true, honest or anything else (see creationism, "intelligent design," etc.).

But if the definition of an economist is somebody who studies economic reality, then I'm sorry, but "conservative economist" just can't work. When the theories one proposes and/or espouses are consistently shown to be unrealistic, un-worldly and and purely ideological frameworks that have become (or always were) unconnected to the actual reality in which we live, then it's rather insulting to the field of economics to call oneself an economist.

Maybe the practitioners in the field should be segregated into sub-categories called "those who use fiscal and monetary analytical tools to try to understand reality" and "emotionally-driven ideologues  who use big fiscal and monetary words to promote their latest theories about why society's resources need to be consistently, thoroughly and disproportionately directed to the rich and powerful."