Principled conservatives are still here — and preparing for what comes after Trump

Image: “President Reagan speaking at a rally for Senator Durenberger” – February 8, 1982. Image credit: Michael Evans via NARA / Reagan White House Photographs. (C6289-25A) also Flickr. Public Domain. Commentary article by Lynn Schmidt. Missouri Independent – April 27, 2026.

Recently, columnist Janice Ellis asked the question: “Who is the real Republican Party? Look at how it governs.” As the Missouri state chair for Our Republican Legacy, here is my answer. The Republican Party belongs to history, not to one man. The principled Republicans and conservatives are still here. And we’re not going anywhere. There is a temptation, understandable if mistaken, to believe that what we see today is what conservatism will look like forever. That the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan, has been permanently remade in the image of one man, one moment, one movement defined more by grievance than by governance. We reject that premise. And we are ready for what comes next. […]

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