Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts ripped two leaders of the Republican establishment for failing to engage with the party’s base in a lengthy Twitter thread.
Roberts, who heads one of the most powerful conservative groups in the country, began expressing his thoughts after seeing “two elitists,” establishment Republican political figures George Will and Karl Rove, “lecture conservatives about the future of our movement at the [LBJ Library] of all places.”
“They’re out of touch with reality and living in a bygone era,” Roberts declared.
It's comical to see two elitists—@GeorgeWill & @KarlRove—lecture conservatives about the future of our movement at the @LBJLibrary of all places.
They're out of touch with reality and living in a bygone era. https://t.co/4ELxPHnIEj
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) December 1, 2022
Roberts proceeded to make the case that modern Republicans have a political enemy fundamentally different from any time in history.
“From the 1980s through the 2000s, conservatives faced a much different political adversary,” wrote Roberts on Twitter. “We should stop pretending today’s far-Left radicals are akin to the liberals of yesteryear.”
He explained, “The woke war raged by today’s Left is fundamentally different from what Reagan & others faced.”
Neither Will nor Rove – still considered one of the most influential strategists in Republican politics – have any “idea what is motivating” the Republican Party’s base.
Long before the @LBJLibrary event, it was quite clear @GeorgeWill & @KarlRove didn't understand conservatism. They're latest comments confirm it.
They have no idea what is motivating working-class conservatives.
Self-governance—not elite control—is at the heart of conservatism.
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) December 1, 2022
“Conservatives long ago rejected uncontrolled immigration & an interventionist foreign policy. There’s nothing conservative about being the world’s policemen & opening the borders for mass immigration,” Roberts declared.
He expanded that Republicans “still clamoring” for the era of “John McCain & Ted Kenndy” is “why conservatives distrust ‘elites’ and ‘adults in the room.'”
“Gay marriage, open borders, and Bush’s foreign policy are not the future of conservatism,” Roberts declared. “It’s the opposite!”
To see these pundits still clamoring for ideas espoused by John McCain & Ted Kennedy explains why conservatives distrust the "elites" and "adults in the room."
Gay marriage, open borders, and Bush's foreign policy are not the future of conservatism—it's the opposite!
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) December 1, 2022
Roberts then compared comments by Rove “about a certain ‘element’ of our movement” to Hillary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables” comment that many say contributed to her landslide loss to 45th President Donald Trump in 2016.
Will and Rove “can pontificate from their ivory towers (or at the LBJ Library), defending the failed policies they were responsible for without offering new ideas or solutions,” he declared, adding that “Heritage is taking a different approach.”
@GeorgeWill & @KarlRove can pontificate from their ivory towers (or at the @LBJLibrary), defending the failed policies they were responsible for without offering new ideas or solutions.
But @Heritage is taking a different approach.
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) December 1, 2022
He then declared that, under his leadership at The Heritage Foundation, the non profit “is fighting tirelessly for this country” unlike Will and Rove.
“We put the ‘think’ before ‘tank,'” Roberts concluded, adding that Will “just wants the tanks without thinking.”
Conservatives do have a positive vision for America's future—and @Heritage is fighting tirelessly for this country each and every day.
We put the "think" before "tank." @GeorgeWill just wants the tanks without thinking.
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) December 1, 2022
If Roberts is sincere in his commitment to support new, pro-Make America Great Again candidates, it would mean that one of the most influential groups within the Republican Party appears to have ditched the party’s establishment.
It is worth reporting, however, that The Heritage Foundation gave a job to former vice president Mike Pence after he left government in 2021.
Pence, who is emerging as a critic and adversary of Trump’s 2024 campaign, served as a “distinguished visiting fellow” before leaving the group earlier this year.
This news and commentary by Tom Pappert originally appeared on Valiant News.
