Around a year ago, in the heat of the 2024 election campaign, The Wall Street Journal published a remarkable column authored by the paper’s Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip. When it was released online on October 31, the column was titled, “The Next President Inherits a Remarkable Economy.” Published in the print edition on November 1, the column appeared as, “Gift for Next President: Sturdy Economy.”
Both headlines were accurate and descriptive. Ip described the rapidly rising U.S. GDP that at the time outpaced the world’s other national economies. Inflation, a notorious post-pandemic problem globally, was down to 2.7 percent. Productivity was rising; hours worked were rising; wages, which had fallen in relation to inflation from 2021-23, had finally begun to outpace inflation since mid-2023.
Just about a year later, the U.S. wallows in a tariff-chaos environment that is raising costs on auto manufacturers ($11 billion annually, per the Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group), crippling soybean farmers and “pressuring businesses to slow-roll hiring and investment,” (according to the Comerica October 2025 U.S. Economic Outlook report).
The power to impose tariffs is of course vested in Congress, not the President. But the current MAGA Congress hasn’t demonstrated the courage to resist, or alternatively the recklessness to impose, any tariffs of their own.
Which brings us to a year from now. If historical trends hold true – an average loss of something like 20 to 40 House seats for the sitting president’s party in midterm elections – it will not be a MAGA Congress after 2026. Constitutionally barred from a further term, and confronted by a Congress dedicated to Constitutional order, the 47th President, then at age 80, may be one of the lamest lame ducks in modern history. And he will never appear on another presidential ballot.
Where, then, do Republicans go?
They return to conservative principles. Our Republican Legacy defines that renewed direction by advancing five core principles:
• Unity. We are the party of Lincoln, founded (according to many) in Jackson, Michigan, to forge a union of states free of the scourge of slavery. We now stand against the extremes of both right and left that divide Americans by exploiting emotions of grievance, rage and conspiracy.
• The rule of law, grounded in the Constitution. We are pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, the glue that holds together our diverse country. We are a country of laws, not men. Our allegiance to the Constitution includes acceptance of the vote of the people, obedience to the decisions of our courts and support for the peaceful transfer of power.
• Fiscal Responsibility. Historically, our party has stood for fiscal responsibility. In recent years, Republicans have joined Democrats in abandoning that responsibility. The profligate explosion of our national debt isn’t making America great. It is weakness, and we are accelerating toward an end that will never make America great again.
• Limited government. Our party once stood proudly for free enterprise. Governmental control, which is the inherent mark of failing economies from the Soviet Union to the banana republics of the underdeveloped world, is becoming the new hallmark of MAGA Republicans. Tariff regimes, government ownership in private corporations, federal regulatory power used to extract media compliance and law firm subservience; Republicans should rightly stand in the front lines opposing all of it.
• Peace through strength. We have been the party of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, carrying the responsibility of defending the West against Soviet, now Russian, aggression. We support a national defense that is second to none, and we encourage reliable alliances among democracies that protect our international interests. We believe that a peaceful world depends on a strong America that is steadfast in opposing aggression of hostile regimes and is unwavering in our support for our allies. American alliances have been the absolute envy of our adversaries for more than a hundred years. Undermining them won’t make America great again.
The time is now for Michigan Republicans to get to work if they are looking for a future beyond MAGA. Our Republican Legacy is the principled, conservative alternative to MAGA. We offer an alternative to angry populism that fails economically and, as we witnessed in 2022 with three catastrophically failed MAGA candidates, decisively loses elections in Michigan.
Our Republican Legacy is organizing in all 50 states, very much including Michigan. We are encouraging candidates at all levels in 2026, with major focus on 2028 as well. And it all begins now, with grassroots participation including Republican precinct delegate selection where you can make a difference with candidate registrations that begin in just a little over six months from now. We can rebuild a principled, conservative Republican Party that can win. But only if you get in the game with us.
Learn more, and join us at OurRepublicanLegacy.com.
—————
Chuck Brown is the Michigan chairman of Our Republican Legacy. A University of Michigan alum, Brown earned his juris doctor from Michigan State University College of Law. From 2000-16, he was an election day volunteer attorney for the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Lawyers Association. In 2024, he was a co-chair of Michigan Republicans for Harris.
Both headlines were accurate and descriptive. Ip described the rapidly rising U.S. GDP that at the time outpaced the world’s other national economies. Inflation, a notorious post-pandemic problem globally, was down to 2.7 percent. Productivity was rising; hours worked were rising; wages, which had fallen in relation to inflation from 2021-23, had finally begun to outpace inflation since mid-2023.
Just about a year later, the U.S. wallows in a tariff-chaos environment that is raising costs on auto manufacturers ($11 billion annually, per the Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group), crippling soybean farmers and “pressuring businesses to slow-roll hiring and investment,” (according to the Comerica October 2025 U.S. Economic Outlook report).
The power to impose tariffs is of course vested in Congress, not the President. But the current MAGA Congress hasn’t demonstrated the courage to resist, or alternatively the recklessness to impose, any tariffs of their own.
Which brings us to a year from now. If historical trends hold true – an average loss of something like 20 to 40 House seats for the sitting president’s party in midterm elections – it will not be a MAGA Congress after 2026. Constitutionally barred from a further term, and confronted by a Congress dedicated to Constitutional order, the 47th President, then at age 80, may be one of the lamest lame ducks in modern history. And he will never appear on another presidential ballot.
Where, then, do Republicans go?
They return to conservative principles. Our Republican Legacy defines that renewed direction by advancing five core principles:
• Unity. We are the party of Lincoln, founded (according to many) in Jackson, Michigan, to forge a union of states free of the scourge of slavery. We now stand against the extremes of both right and left that divide Americans by exploiting emotions of grievance, rage and conspiracy.
• The rule of law, grounded in the Constitution. We are pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, the glue that holds together our diverse country. We are a country of laws, not men. Our allegiance to the Constitution includes acceptance of the vote of the people, obedience to the decisions of our courts and support for the peaceful transfer of power.
• Fiscal Responsibility. Historically, our party has stood for fiscal responsibility. In recent years, Republicans have joined Democrats in abandoning that responsibility. The profligate explosion of our national debt isn’t making America great. It is weakness, and we are accelerating toward an end that will never make America great again.
• Limited government. Our party once stood proudly for free enterprise. Governmental control, which is the inherent mark of failing economies from the Soviet Union to the banana republics of the underdeveloped world, is becoming the new hallmark of MAGA Republicans. Tariff regimes, government ownership in private corporations, federal regulatory power used to extract media compliance and law firm subservience; Republicans should rightly stand in the front lines opposing all of it.
• Peace through strength. We have been the party of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, carrying the responsibility of defending the West against Soviet, now Russian, aggression. We support a national defense that is second to none, and we encourage reliable alliances among democracies that protect our international interests. We believe that a peaceful world depends on a strong America that is steadfast in opposing aggression of hostile regimes and is unwavering in our support for our allies. American alliances have been the absolute envy of our adversaries for more than a hundred years. Undermining them won’t make America great again.
The time is now for Michigan Republicans to get to work if they are looking for a future beyond MAGA. Our Republican Legacy is the principled, conservative alternative to MAGA. We offer an alternative to angry populism that fails economically and, as we witnessed in 2022 with three catastrophically failed MAGA candidates, decisively loses elections in Michigan.
Our Republican Legacy is organizing in all 50 states, very much including Michigan. We are encouraging candidates at all levels in 2026, with major focus on 2028 as well. And it all begins now, with grassroots participation including Republican precinct delegate selection where you can make a difference with candidate registrations that begin in just a little over six months from now. We can rebuild a principled, conservative Republican Party that can win. But only if you get in the game with us.
Learn more, and join us at OurRepublicanLegacy.com.
—————
Chuck Brown is the Michigan chairman of Our Republican Legacy. A University of Michigan alum, Brown earned his juris doctor from Michigan State University College of Law. From 2000-16, he was an election day volunteer attorney for the Michigan Republican Party and the Republican National Lawyers Association. In 2024, he was a co-chair of Michigan Republicans for Harris.
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