Conservative Review with Daniel Horowitz

Now is the time for serious governing. We need to cut expensive programs and reform the government’s role in our lives. With that said, I explain why I am pessimistic about the current leadership in Congress and their will to change their priorities. I also discuss my thoughts on Trump’s Cabinet picks and note that it’s the West Wing leadership that will control the direction more than department heads. The main course today is a deep dive into how the Federal Reserve is responsible for inflation and the housing crisis and how to reform it. Famed economist Brian Wesbury joins us for a comprehensive analysis of how the Federal Reserve’s mission creep into quantitative easing has contributed to inflation. Brian makes a case for terminating the Fed's ability to focus on employment, ending its authority to buy up assets, and reform its personnel and culture.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conservatives are celebrating Trump’s Cabinet picks, and undoubtedly the foreign policy and national security choices are great. However, the real shortcomings of the first term were in domestic policy. On that front, we still have a lot of work to do. I explain how success in dealing with inflation boils down to several proposals on cutting corporate and individual welfare and devolving them to the states. Any discussion about “waste, fraud, and abuse” is a fraud. Moreover, we just re-elected the same congressional leaders. Yet the Trump media mob are trying to demand that DeSantis appoint Lara Trump to the Senate rather than using their influence to go after RINOs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

First, we review the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s appointees so far. I make the case for shooting down Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary and Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. Also, with Marco Rubio becoming secretary of state, I argue that the best person to fill his Senate seat is James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ chief of staff. Next, we’re joined by my colleague Kevin Freeman, author of “Pirate Money,” for an update on his plan to enact transactional gold in the states. He offers a sobering view of the feasibility of ever cutting spending at the federal level. He believes the best we can do is work with the Trump administration to facilitate the designation of transactional gold as functional and legal tender. We are facing unavoidable economic pain; we as may as well build an escape hatch. Kevin has the most realistic plan to do just that. He believes that if Texas and Florida adopt this plan, it will be more transformational than anything we can hope for in Congress.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to forge transformational change, but only through a narrow path of issues and leverage points. Today, I explain how we are only in the pregame show and have not faced the adverse headwinds that will determine whether we succeed or not. On the personal level, going forward, I will not presuppose victory when it's not there yet, nor will I pre-judge failure based on problems with Trump’s first term. Part of utilizing this opportunity is finally leaning into primaries. Many conservatives are upset at GOP senators for supporting the same McConnell-style candidates for majority leader, but they should have gotten involved in primaries. Many of these RINOs are up in 2026, and the time to start planning is now. I also go through some of Trump’s political appointments. Finally, I warn about the coming “economic populism” canard from Democrats and how to disarm it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The discussion dives into the idea of a permanent ideological majority that Democrats have created despite losing electoral ground. It highlights the need for Republicans to redefine their identity away from liberal ideas. There's an analysis of Trump's appointments and the race for Senate majority leader, raising concerns about candidates like John Thune. Moreover, the potential for electing conservative governors is explored, stressing the importance of strategic endorsements and staying focused to truly shift the party's direction.

Now is when the real work begins. Voting is like a gun, but legislative activism is like the bullet to load that gun. Today, I offer a unique presentation on why spectacular electoral victories for the Right always end in both policy and political failure within two years. This time will be no different if we don’t change our approach. Weaving together some electoral observations from the election results together with policy analysis, I offer an agenda built on empowering states to go separate ways on a bunch of critical issues. Rather than promising to cut spending and then never doing it, Republicans should use the few leverage points they have to devolve welfare, agriculture, transportation, and education programs to the states so that they can go in separate ways. We also need to fortify red states from the inevitable Democrat comeback, and that will require a new focus on primaries. We must strike while the iron is hot. We will never enjoy more political capital than today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time must be different. Today, I explain why and how Republicans can use the mandate they have to save the country and build a durable electoral coalition. If they merely act the way they always do, they will not only screw us on policy but also lose their electoral viability. I explain the mixed bag on coalition shifting, how Republicans might not even win the House, and why the House didn’t track with the presidential election. Based on this assessment, I list some immediate challenges and opportunities. They have a clear mandate on crime and immigration, and those are the best issues for their coalition. Also, we must floor the gas pedal in red-state legislatures and 2026 gubernatorial primaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not everything hinges upon the presidency. Today, I take a deep dive into the doctrine of the lesser magistrate and how conservatives can and must create impervious red islands through which to govern in accordance with God and the Constitution. Thankfully, new data shows that people are self-sorting and this is already beginning to occur. If Trump wins, blue states will teach us a lesson in the power of federalism. They are already planning to implement their policies at the state level. We must learn from them and do the same thing if Harris wins. But here’s the kicker: Even if Trump wins, we must fortify red states while we still can. I explain how even some of our federal focus should be directed toward devolving power to the states. We have so much energy behind voting Republican in a presidential election. My final message for this year is that we must harness that energy every day in between presidential elections to focus on red-state primaries and legislative sessions.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody is putting forth a realistic solution to the twin economic and illegal immigration crises we face — regardless of who wins the election. We briefly broach the economic issues to show how we will suffer stagflation regardless of the outcomes, and we need serious thinkers to create escape hatches in the red states. As for illegal immigration, the solution is much easier. We’re joined by Ronald Mortensen, fellow at Center for Immigration Studies and a retired career U.S. Foreign Service officer, who has put forth a comprehensive list of ideas for states to clamp down on identity theft. He makes the case that ID theft is the critical path to illegal aliens remaining in the country and that if states only enforced and augmented those laws, we wouldn’t even need to deport many of them because the employment magnet would dry up. He offers some specific ideas on how states can enforce these laws. Going after ID thefts is the best political, strategic, and legal path to ending the problem, and it can all be done in red states.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While every conservative media personality is obsessed about cheesy election memes, red states are voting on life-altering ballot initiatives. The Left is outspending us everywhere, and outside Florida, there is no organized leadership at top levels of the party to fight these initiatives. Florida is the one place where churches are fully engaged thanks to the governor. We’re joined by Erik Dellenback, the faith- and community-based liaison to Gov. DeSantis, who shares his work with churches on raising awareness about Amendment 4. He explains the proper role of pastors in this fight and why they have an obligation to fight when politics steps into God’s dominion. He believes that because of their other initiatives, they have successfully created a model partnership with faith-based communities that should be replicated in other states. We also discuss why Republicans have been losing on abortion and how Florida’s efforts on behalf of child adoption are helping staunch that bleeding. Overall, we must engage churches on issues within God’s kingdom if we ever hope to stop the bad actors from "California-ing" red states.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices