Ep. 25 Oren Cass: The Man Reshaping the Republican Party

We The 66

In 2012, Oren Cass was the domestic policy advisor to Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign. Romney's economic policy epitomized that of the modern Republican Party: He celebrated free markets, free trade, and entrepreneurial capitalism. Since the time of Reagan, this worldview dominated the Right. But then, in the mid 2010s, something changed. An opioid crisis swept the Rust Belt, devastating communities that were thriving just decades ago. They suffered population decline, economic shrinkage, and the despair that accompanies both. This wasn't one small region experiencing this: It swept Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, West Virginia, Indiana, and Illinois. Even beyond the Rust Belt, working class towns and cities in every state saw factories close and workers lose their jobs. Coinciding with this trend was China's rise. China was the winner in this manufacturing shift. Whereas the United States was once the manufacturing leader of the world, China stole the crown in the mid 2010s and has put the United States in a $1+ trillion (!) trade deficit. In response to these changes, Oren Cass began publishing articles and writing the book "The Once and Future Worker." He then founded a think tank called the American Compass that makes the case for a worker- and community-first economic policy. He goes after Wall Street, Big Tech, and the neoliberal Washington, DC think tanks whose ideas shaped what he calls the "Old Right." He is one of JD Vance's major influences and has many disciples in Trump World. Some consider Cass to be the most important thinker of the New Right. So what does he believe? On this episode of We the 66, we talked to Cass and looked to find some answers. If you're curious, here is a link to Cass' new Substack: https://understandingamerica.substack.com/ For thoughts and feedback, email us at [e-mail].