Mike Pence’s ‘Progressive GOP’ Delusion

In this The American Conservative article, Scott Greer argues that Mike Pence is overstating the Republican Party’s supposed leftward shift on economics, claiming that MAGA-era GOP rhetoric may sound more populist but actual policy remains largely tax-cutting, deregulatory, and fiscally conservative.

• Greer frames Pence as politically “irrelevant” but still able to generate headlines with a new book warning that the GOP is drifting toward “progressive” economics.
• Pence’s core complaint is that some right-wing populists now support industrial policy and welfare-state-style aid for families, which he calls a return to “big-government Republicanism.”
• The article says this alleged realignment is exaggerated: while some Republicans use working-class populist language, they generally still oppose higher taxes, expanded regulation, and major welfare-state growth.
• Greer points to Trump’s second-term agenda as evidence, noting that despite his protectionist trade views and tariffs, Trump’s major economic moves have included making tax cuts permanent and pursuing deregulation.
• The article argues that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and broader deregulatory push look more like standard Republican economics than progressive economics.
• Greer also uses Ron DeSantis as an example, saying that despite being admired by parts of the New Right, DeSantis is currently emphasizing a libertarian-style push to reduce or ban property taxes rather than expand government programs.
• The piece notes that DeSantis has used “tax the rich” language when discussing wealthy out-of-state or foreign property buyers, but Greer argues this is more rhetorical than genuinely progressive policy.
• According to the article, red states are far more interested in cutting or curbing property taxes than creating new services, entitlements, or taxes on corporations.
• Greer concedes that Pence is right that his old brand of conservatism—free trade, immigration-friendly politics, limited-government slogans, and interventionist foreign policy—is no longer dominant in the GOP.
• The article’s conclusion is that Trumpism may be “big government Republicanism” in some sense, but not because it has embraced socialist or progressive economics; rather, the GOP remains committed to tax cuts and deregulation while adopting a different kind of populist posture.

Read the full story: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/mike-pences-progressive-gop-delusion/