A Time for Choosing
On October 27, 1964 Ronald Reagan delivered a speech designed to help salvage Senator Barry Goldwater’s sinking presidential campaign. It did not accomplish that goal, but what has become known as the “A Time for Choosing” speech catapulted Reagan to national fame.
It was indeed a turning point for the nation and for the Republican Party’s conservative wing which was fighting an ideological battle against the then dominate moderate or “Rockefeller” wing of the party. It took until the Presidential election of 1980 for Reagan and conservatives to prevail.
Today both the Republican and Democrat parties are facing a new “time for choosing.” The choices they make will define not only their parties, but the future of America’s free enterprise system, and in fact of capitalism itself.
The Democrat Party is facing what famed political consultant James Carville has termed a “schism.” His comments came following the primary election victories of three so-called Democratic Socialist congressional candidates in New York City. The trio were endorsed by New York’s communist Mayor Zoran Mamdani along with other far-Left notables including Congresswoman Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez and the socialist/oligarch U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.
The Democratic Socialist movement has taken strong root in the nation’s most Left-wing cities including the election of Katie Wilson as Mayor of Seattle and Janeese Lewis George who will become Mayor of Washington, D.C. In Maine, Democrats nominated a socialist adorned with a Nazi tattoo on his chest for the U.S. Senate. This along with other looming socialist victories has Carville sputtering “If it’s such a powerful, sweeping movement that’s got momentum everywhere, then go ahead and be at the head of it. Don’t use the Democratic Party to advance it.”
Following the New York City congressional victories, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senator John Fetterman called the socialists the “dirtbag Left” and has engaged in a war of words with Maine U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner.
While the socialist Left is winning in heavily urban strongholds their far -Left positions are toxic elsewhere. Carville and Fetterman are correct in understanding that Donald Trump and Republicans will paint traditional Democrats with the socialist brush which could be decisive in competitive congressional districts in November and render the party uncompetitive in the 2028 Presidential election.
The Republican Party is also facing a “time for choosing,” although the divide is far less deep and relatively easier to bridge. There is no doubt that President Donald Trump is the most dominate figure in the party and will remain so through the 2028 election cycle. His businesslike approach to governing coupled with populist rhetoric appeals to and motivates what has been broadly termed the MAGA movement.
But there are important policy differences between MAGA populists and Reagan-style conservatives. Populism is a governing strategy, not an ideology. That does not make it bad, but for a political party to remain cohesive it must have an underlying ideological base. The Democrat Party has suffered a schism because it no longer has such a unifying ideological underpinning.
It is safe to say that most voters who consider themselves to be “MAGA” also consider themselves to be conservatives. But, they are more willing to stray from conservative principles in the name of pragmatism than are Reagan conservative devotees.
The Right is blessed with a robust network of “think tanks” and policy organizations that give the GOP the ideological base the Democrat Party lacks. There is, however, friction within the ranks. The venerable Heritage Foundation has tilted incrementally toward the populist position opening the door for organizations such as Advancing American Freedom where traditional conservatives have found a home.
That is not to say that any of this is necessarily bad. Unlike the Left, which requires ridged adherence to its policy objectives (ask John Fetterman about that), conservatives tend to think for themselves resulting in robust policy debates that ultimate make the movement and by extension the Republican Party stronger.
This tension has also manifested itself in primary election battles such as that which saw the stalwart conservative Thomas Massie lose his primary re-election bid after pushing purity past the point of voter acceptance. Where that line lies can sometimes be difficult to ascertain.
After the 2026 mid-term elections where that line lies will become the big debate within the Republican Party. President Trump will continue to be a dominate force, but his influence on the 2028 elections will be determined by the outcome of the 2026 mid-terms. Reagan-style conservatism will remain the party’s ideological base, but after November the GOP will have a “time for choosing” as to how far from that it wishes to stray.
The Republican “time for choosing” is far less stark than that which confronts Democrats. It is, however, no less important.
(Lowman S. Henry is Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly American Radio Journal and Lincoln Radio Journal. His e-mail address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org.)
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