Editorial: Republicans are preparing for the midterms. They should be worrying about the party's future.

By all accounts, America is set to celebrate in style for her 250th birthday this summer.

The White House has plans for a sprawling "Great American State Fair" and the erection of a new "Triumphal Arch," as well as other spectacles such as a UFC fight on the White House lawn and a potential mass pardon event.

A generous view of these ceremonies is that it’s both desirable and legitimate to celebrate our country’s past in singular fashion and look forward to what’s in store for the future we share, whether we like it or not. A more skeptical view is that most of this administration’s over-the-top plans and largesse would have our Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves.

And yet, who could possibly argue that 250 years is not worth honoring?

To our mind, this momentous anniversary offers the opportunity for a moment of genuine reflection. Especially for the Republicans who presume to love our country so deeply and whose historical brand is inextricably linked with patriotism.

The impulse even to like America, let alone celebrate her, has become Republican-coded. Meanwhile, the left flank of the Democrats, at a minimum, has become far more inclined to emphasize America's flaws.

But what is it that we're all liking or disliking?

America at its purest is the pursuit of the idea that free people can govern themselves and build meaningful lives through liberty, responsibility and opportunity.

These foundations are central to the traditional Republican Party, a movement that was driven by faithfulness to our Constitution, to limited government, to low taxes and civil liberty, traditions and instincts many Americans of all persuasions are drawn to innately. So, too, are those who have arrived here from nations without those ideals.

Last week, we weighed in on the Democrats' need to confront their own shortcomings, and lamented their decision to go 18 months without releasing their internal autopsy, which presumably picked apart what went wrong in the 2024 defeat.

Republicans may think they have no need of such self-reflection. They control both houses of Congress and the White House, after all. They would be foolish, however, to assume the Democrats' weakness automatically guarantees long-term Republican strength, especially as Democrats continue to dominate America's biggest cities and big blue states, and President Donald Trump’s popularity continues to decline.

We suggest Republicans use America's 250th anniversary as a moment not only to honor the country, which is something that should come naturally to them, but also to reflect on how they further the great American experiment - and live up to its history.

Leading up to 2024, Republicans clearly were the party focused on issues voters deeply felt. A porous border. The rising cost of living. Out-of-control crime. Profligate spending. Polarizing cultural issues. Things Democrats were often too quick to dismiss.

The Republicans carved out a distinct advantage on each of these issues, a victory that played out at the ballot box. Even here in Illinois, Trump got nearly 44% of the statewide vote in 2024 and Republicans continued making gains with working-class and nontraditional voters, though our gerrymandered maps didn't reflect that in statehouse results. (Even though Illinois House Republicans won 45% of the statewide vote in 2024, there were precisely zero seat changes, and Democrats held onto a 78-40 supermajority.)

The party also benefited from lingering resentment and frustration among independent and conservative voters in blue states, including Illinois, where governors ruled with an iron executive fist during COVID, mandating economic and educational shutdowns that lasted far longer than those in red states, with devastating economic and educational results. Republicans' inherent skepticism of institutions and their willingness to rail against executive overreach at this critical moment resonated.

Now that they're on the winning side, they've shown a pathetic willingness to accept the unacceptable.

Yes, many of us cheered our federal tax refund - or at least a lower bill - but that's cold comfort when gas is over $5 a gallon here in Illinois. Whether it's tariffs that raise prices at the checkout line and subvert free global markets or seemingly forever wars Republicans once promised to avoid, the Republican majority has largely stayed silent, apparently just pleased to have a leader in power who's able to win and willing to seize the reins.

Trump's victory reflected deep frustration with inflation, disorder, institutional distrust and progressive cultural overreach - frustrations Democrats ignored at their peril.

Republicans would do well to remember that. Grievance politics may have gotten them both Congress and the White House, but it's hardly a winning ticket to responsible governance.

It also doesn't help when they pick partisan fights that betray their foundational principles.

Republicans correctly criticize Democrats in Illinois for extreme gerrymandering and anti-competitive maps. But nationally, Republicans increasingly engage in exactly the same behavior whenever given the opportunity, reinforcing public cynicism that neither party truly believes in fair process once power is at stake. When Texas reignited the congressional gerrymandering fight last summer, they seemingly weren't thinking - or didn't care - about the long-term consequences. States are supposed to be the laboratories of democracy, not chess pieces on the board of political power, or so we thought conservatives believed.

This is a fight nobody wins. And one that America looks destined to lose.

Criticizing these mistakes is as important for those who tend to be more conservative as it is for Republicans' opponents. As we noted when dissecting the Democrats last week, healthy parties tolerate internal debate and dissent.

Increasingly, that's something the often feckless Republican Party is unwilling to do.

Just look how the party treats one of the most reliably conservative members of Congress. Thomas Massie's reelection race in Kentucky is a great proxy for this problem. Massie, who has been outspoken in demanding transparency around the Epstein files, critical of the Iran war and a general counterbalance to the Trump establishment's comfort with executive overreach, is more of a libertarian than a Republican. His instincts on waste and fiscal restraint add appeal to a different set of voters who are essential to the conservative cause. His voice is important for achieving a party equilibrium of sorts. He's also been willing to stand not just with his fellow Republicans, but Democrats - most prominently, California Rep. Ro Khanna - based on the issues. Again, something we need more of from both parties. Former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash was pushed out of the party in a similar manner toward the end of Trump's first presidency.

That Massie is fighting for his electoral life ahead of Kentucky's May 19 primary is an indicator of the health of Republicans' big tent. Which currently has Trump written in capital letters on the marquee.

Massie's Republican primary challenger, Ed Gallrein, has been endorsed by the president, whose strategy seems to be a purge of those he perceives as disloyal to him, even if they're good for the party, the people and the country.

The demographic breakdown of Massie/Gallrein primary voters is also something to watch.

Gallrein wins handily among voters ages 56 to 75, while Massie does much better with younger and middle-aged voters, according to May 13 polling from Quantus Insights. This is not dissimilar to Democrats’ generational misalignment, in which the younger cohort pulls very far to the left, away from the establishment. In the case of the Republicans, however, it's the older generation that appears more willing to abandon the establishment and the party's core principles under the guise of party strength.

Is internal disagreement going to be allowed in the Republican Party? Or will it continue to be viewed as disloyalty? If so, expect the party to grow smaller and smaller. True conservatives don't like purity tests.

There are plenty of rational folks who voted for Trump; 44% of Illinoisans are not fools. But those normie voters don't like what they're seeing now that Republicans are in power. Whether they defect, or return, to the ranks of a murky, shapeshifting Democratic Party or opt out of politics altogether remains to be seen. It's hard to imagine a critical mass remaining loyal to a murky, shapeshifting Republican Party.

Still, Democrats’ unwillingness to confront their own foibles with honesty - and correct course - has kept Republicans politically competitive ahead of crucial midterm elections, despite mounting dissatisfaction with the party in power.

Whether Republicans squeak by and hold onto some measure power or suffer body blows in Congress (the more likely outcome), their long-term health depends on returning to their roots.

The best of both parties give most of us something to believe in, and both sides, balanced, give each other a healthy, all-American push and pull.

Republicans shouldn’t be afraid of their core identity. The party's big ideas appeal to people who want to work hard. Who want to keep more of their hard-earned money. Who are inspired by those who want to build something big and new and special. Who believe in the goodness and potential of our 250-year-old country. And who would prefer to be free to make their own choices.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 5:28 AM.