The GOP’s electoral wipeout in the 2026 midterms has kicked off a civil war over what the Republican Party should look like moving forward. Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, and Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, join Oren to discuss whether the party should go back to its pre-Trump identity. The group debates whether the Old Right’s pro-business support for open borders is tenable today, how (and whether) to talk about addressing the debt and deficit, and whether it’s finally time to raise taxes.
Finally, they turn to the Iran War, and whether President Trump’s decision to attack the country is possible to square with the lessons that should have been learned from previous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Further Reading:
“Republicans Have Two Paths Out of This. They’d Better Choose Wisely.“ Oren Cass, The New York Times
