Within the GOP, a war is brewing. Underneath our big tent, we have always had many factions (libertarians, paleoconservatives, etc.), which has led to vastly differing opinions by different party members. Now that the election season is over, we see people like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger attempting to move the GOP to the left, moderating on social issues. Having talked with other young right-wingers across the country, I can tell you that almost none want Liz Cheney’s GOP. People tell me they wish the GOP were like the right-wing in Hungary or Poland.

What would this hypothetical GOP look like? It would be effective, pushing out hundreds of bills a month on everything from architecture to families. It would push policy that helps families and small businesses, not mega-corporations. It would stand for Americanism in our schools, bringing back troops from overseas, protecting our border and our workers. It would stand against loan companies bleeding you dry with sky-high interest rates. A GOP that was nationalist in economics and traditional on social issues would win every election in a landslide.

Trump coming onto the scene in 2016 signaled a fundamental shift away from the donor class in the GOP. Trump said what people believed; he did not blather about nonsense that the average person does not care about. This involved standing up and having a spine, which many establishment GOP careerists found challenging to do. These establishment types did everything in their power to stop President Trump from enacting his “America First” agenda. Because people were so fed up with the establishment GOP, many Senators and Congressmen were primaried in favor of Trump candidates.

Even as he left office, our president has maintained sky-high approval ratings, with many still proudly supporting him. (I know I still have my Trump signs up, same with many people in Ames.) President Trump has pushed the GOP into a winning ideology, and these establishment people are desperately trying to fight against it. It is time for real conservatives to run the party. Conservatives like Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar and many others represent what voters want, not what think-tanks desire.

Ryan Hurley is a junior in marketing and is the president of Iowa State College Republicans.