Former vice president says GOP 'lost its way before losing the election'; breaks with Vance on Iran war

Former Vice President Mike Pence [AP]
Former Vice President Mike Pence [AP]

As Republicans reeled from a sweeping midterm defeat, former Vice President Mike Pence — who served under Donald Trump's first administration — blamed the party's embrace of economic populism for the losses and urged a return to traditional conservative principles. On Iran, Pence broke sharply with current Vice President JD Vance, arguing that the problem was not the war itself but Washington's failure to fully eliminate the Iranian regime's threat.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday (local time) in an op-ed titled "Begin the Conservative Revival," Pence said the Republican Party "lost its way before it lost the election" and argued that "conservative principles can lead us to victory again."

"This midterm was not merely a defeat — it was a verdict," Pence wrote. "The American people rejected the Republican Party's turn toward economic populism."

Pence criticized the party for failing, despite holding a congressional majority for the past two years, to prevent the national debt and federal spending from swelling to record highs.

He particularly took aim at conservatives for standing by as the government expanded spending and intervened in markets.

"In the meantime, the administration acquired stakes in private companies, imposed unconstitutional tariffs on allies and adversaries alike, and abandoned the right to life," Pence said.

On the war with Iran, Pence faulted the Trump administration for failing to see the conflict through to a decisive conclusion.

"The war with Iran was left unfinished and became a heavy burden for the Republican Party," he wrote. "Washington stopped short and chose appeasement, and our military lost the opportunity to completely and permanently eliminate the threat posed by the Iranian regime."

The assessment stood in direct contrast to that of Vice President Vance, who had identified the Iran war itself as a key reason for the midterm losses. Pence declined to blame the war as such, arguing instead that leaving it unresolved was what weighed the party down.

On the Democratic Party, Pence warned that it "is no longer the party of John F. Kennedy" and expressed concern that Democrats "will become more radical than ever."

"When conservative principles are once again at the center of our movement and our party, the American people will entrust us with their votes again," Pence said.

He added that the country must "summon the strength to save it and begin to rebuild," and said he intended to intensify efforts to revive the conservative movement through the voice and work of Advancing American Freedom (AAF).

Pence founded AAF, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., in 2021 after leaving the vice presidency.

Within the Republican Party, Pence has long represented traditional conservatism and a hawkish stance on foreign policy and national security. On abortion, Pence has firmly maintained an anti-abortion position rooted in religious conviction.

A loyal deputy during Trump's first term, Pence broke with Trump after the then-president refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and attempted to overturn the outcome.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com