The Conservative Caucus Podcast #01 – Vicki McKenna | Election Night Coverage
Published: August 20, 2025
Network: Vicki McKenna Show
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff
In a revealing post-election analysis, Jim Pfaff of The Conservative Caucus joined Vicki McKenna to discuss the unprecedented Trump coalition that emerged victorious in the 2024 presidential election. This diverse alliance—spanning political ideologies, ethnicities, and traditional party lines—represents a fundamental realignment in American politics centered on protecting civil liberties and rejecting the Washington establishment. Pfaff argues this coalition marks not just an electoral victory, but potentially a new renaissance for American freedom and governance.
Topics Covered
- Election Night Outlook and Early Vote Analysis
- The Unprecedented Trump Coalition
- Civil Liberties as the Unifying Force
- Wisconsin’s Critical Role and the Paul Ryan Factor
- From Reagan to Trump: The True Conservative Legacy
- Key Takeaways
Election Night Outlook and Early Vote Analysis
Speaking the day after the November 2024 election, Jim Pfaff expressed cautious optimism about Donald Trump’s electoral prospects, projecting an electoral college victory in the range of 311 to 315 votes. His confidence stemmed not from wishful thinking but from careful analysis of polling trends and campaign dynamics in critical battleground states.
“All the recent polls in Wisconsin seem to indicate that trend is in Trump’s favor,” Pfaff noted. “It’s obviously very close and within the margin of error, but nationally, you know, it just seems to me that when I look at the two campaigns and what they’re doing and what they’re saying and what they’re capable of, it seems to me that Trump’s got the edge.”
Particularly telling was the Democrats’ behavior on Election Day itself. Kamala Harris was reportedly calling radio stations and staging door-knocking photo opportunities—actions that signaled desperation rather than confidence. Pfaff observed that contrary to Democratic expectations, early vote numbers weren’t showing the commanding lead they anticipated.
Campaign Dynamics Tell the Story
Democrats weren’t spending time in states they controlled—they were desperately trying to prevent losses in battleground states. This defensive posture revealed their internal polling likely showed a very different picture than their public messaging suggested.
The Unprecedented Trump Coalition
The most remarkable aspect of the 2024 election wasn’t just Trump’s victory—it was the extraordinary Trump coalition that made it possible. Pfaff and McKenna spent considerable time examining this diverse alliance that defied traditional political categorization.
“This is a coalition of people who have put aside your typical political differences for securing the basics of American civil liberties. It is odd. Michael Shellenberger, Bari Weiss, Jordan Peterson… Elon Musk, Joe Rogan, Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, obviously.”
— Vicki McKenna, Radio Host
The Trump coalition brought together figures and constituencies that would seem incompatible under normal political circumstances: former Bernie Sanders endorser Tulsi Gabbard alongside libertarian icon Ron Paul; tech entrepreneur Elon Musk with environmental advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; black voters and blue-collar whites; Jews and Muslims; Christians and atheists.
Pfaff emphasized that this wasn’t a typical left-right political alignment. “I’ve been talking for years about the fact that there really isn’t quite this left-right spectrum in political thinking,” he explained. “It’s kind of a little bit more like a half circle or maybe even a full circle where people on the left and right kind of meet in the middle of that curve on the area of civil liberties.”
This unusual alliance used celebrities and public figures as “placeholders” for much larger groups of ordinary Americans who recognized something fundamental was at stake in this election—something that transcended traditional partisan loyalties.
Civil Liberties as the Unifying Force
What could possibly unite such a diverse group? According to Pfaff, the answer is straightforward: the defense of fundamental American civil liberties against an increasingly authoritarian establishment.
“The reason that this is coming together is because our civil liberties really are at stake,” Pfaff stated emphatically. “People are noticing that when you think of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, Tulsi Gabbard who endorsed Bernie Sanders for president—the reason this Trump coalition is coming together is because our civil liberties really are at stake.”
McKenna outlined the specific threats that galvanized this coalition:
- The deep state’s unchecked power
- Catholics being jailed for praying
- Americans imprisoned for political protests
- An open border destroying civil order in cities and rural communities
- Corporate lobbyists dictating health policy
- Suppression of free speech
“That’s why blacks and whites and Jews and Muslims and Christians and atheists have come together here, I think, is because they have recognized we’re at a tipping point of whether this country survives as a free nation or not.”
— Vicki McKenna
Pfaff noted with some irony that he longed for the days when he could return to having normal political disagreements with left-leaning figures like Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi. “That’s when politics was normal,” he said, referencing the famous graphic Elon Musk frequently shares showing how the political left has moved dramatically away from center while he remained in the same position.
Wisconsin’s Critical Role and the Paul Ryan Factor
Wisconsin emerged as particularly significant in Pfaff’s analysis, not just as a battleground state but as a microcosm of the broader transformation happening within the Republican Party. He identified two critical Wisconsin connections to the 2024 election outcome.
First, Wisconsin’s electoral votes could prove decisive in securing Trump’s victory. But the second connection was equally important, though less obvious: the absence of Paul Ryan from Republican leadership.
“If there’s anything that held back the Donald Trump agenda that was very positive after 2016, it is Paul Ryan,” Pfaff stated bluntly. As someone who worked on Capitol Hill for Representative Thomas Massie during Trump’s first term, Pfaff witnessed firsthand how Ryan, as Speaker of the House, systematically thwarted Trump’s agenda.
The Paul Ryan Model
McKenna described the “Paul Ryan model of the GOP” as characterized by establishment politics, globalist sympathies, and an explicit rejection of cultural conservatism. Ryan himself has stated publicly: “I’m not a culture war guy.” This approach, which dominated Wisconsin Republican politics for years, contributed to losses in state assembly and senate elections, the governor’s mansion, and the state Supreme Court.
The Paul Ryan wing represented what Pfaff called the “oification of the GOP in Wisconsin”—a party more concerned with being polite and not rocking the boat than with actually advancing conservative principles or fighting cultural battles. This establishment approach, Pfaff argued, is now definitively over.
“That kind of politics is over for sure,” Pfaff declared. “I have this book I’ve never written, but I did a brief podcast with the title of ‘Against Nice.’ Listen, for people who are believing Christians out there, there’s no command to be nice at all. We are to be kind. It’s not like we’re supposed to be a-holes to everybody, but there is no reason, particularly in politics, to be nice about anything.”
From Reagan to Trump: The True Conservative Legacy
Perhaps the most provocative aspect of Pfaff’s analysis was his argument that Trump, not the Bush-Cheney-Ryan establishment, represents the true heir to Ronald Reagan’s legacy. This claim directly challenges the narrative that Trump represents a departure from traditional conservatism.
Pfaff noted with satisfaction that the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party—represented by Dick Cheney, likely George W. Bush, and the late John McCain—had effectively defected to support Democrats. “There’s one aspect of the Trump coalition which is not part of that coalition anymore that has gone over to Democrats that’s very significant, and that’s Dick Cheney,” he observed.
Far from being a loss, Pfaff argued this represented a clarifying moment for the conservative movement. The Reagan-Trump connection, he maintained, centered on several key principles:
- Opposition to unnecessary war: Reagan hated war and sought to win the Cold War “without firing a bullet,” according to Peter Schweizer’s book “Reagan’s War”
- Tax cuts: Both Reagan and Trump prioritized reducing the tax burden on Americans
- Deregulation: Both presidents pursued aggressive regulatory reduction
- Skepticism of the military-industrial complex: Reagan resisted pressure for nuclear confrontation; Trump resists pressure for endless foreign interventions
“Donald Trump is actually reasserting the Reagan coalition once more—the actual idea that war is not good. Ronald Reagan hated war. He was a hawk in the sense of fighting the Soviet Empire, but Peter Schweizer documented how Ronald Reagan tried to win the Cold War without firing a bullet. It was his intent. It was his belief. That’s consistent with Donald Trump.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus
Pfaff reminded listeners that Reagan faced neoconservative criticism in his final years for urgently pursuing nuclear arms reduction treaties with the Soviet Union as the communist empire collapsed. The foreign policy establishment of that era—the intellectual ancestors of today’s neocons—viewed Reagan’s peace initiatives with suspicion, just as they now oppose Trump’s reluctance to pursue military adventures.
The betrayal, in Pfaff’s view, came from the succession of establishment Republicans from George H.W. Bush through Mitt Romney who abandoned Reagan’s principles. “What has betrayed us over all these years is that annoying problem… we’ve had with the National Party, and that is leaving the foundation of Ronald Reagan from the moment George H.W. Bush was elected president to now, Mitt Romney included, that has totally befuddled any idea of advancing a conservative ideal. Thirty-five trillion dollars in debt later, it’s time to make that change, and I think Donald Trump will do that.”
McKenna drew a direct line from JFK through Reagan to Trump, identifying a consistent thread of skepticism toward the military-industrial complex, defense of civil liberties, and faith in American dynamism over bureaucratic management. “It’s JFK to Ronald Reagan to Trump,” she said. “You can draw an arrow from JFK to Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.”
Looking Forward: A Potential Renaissance
Both Pfaff and McKenna expressed hope that this election could mark the beginning of a genuine American renaissance—but only if the coalition holds and the agenda is actually implemented.
Pfaff highlighted the potential of having Elon Musk and Ron Paul working together to reduce government size and scope as particularly promising. “It could be an economic renaissance in this country,” he said. “Donald Trump’s the guy that brought that all together. It wasn’t Paul Ryan.”
The key, Pfaff emphasized, would be having a Speaker of the House willing to work closely with Trump rather than obstruct him. While not enthusiastic about then-Speaker Mike Johnson, Pfaff suggested that any speaker willing to advance Trump’s agenda rather than undermine it would represent a massive improvement over the Paul Ryan era.
McKenna shared Pfaff’s optimism about what victory could mean: “We are on the verge of something amazing, something historical, something wonderful.” But she also emphasized the conditional nature of that hope—it all depended on people actually voting and the coalition remaining unified around core principles.
The Promise of Coalition Politics
Pfaff emphasized that if “that center holds with that coalition being able to work together even amongst disagreements, it could be a renaissance for America. That’s the hope, I believe, of a Trump election.” The challenge will be maintaining unity among groups that disagree on many specific policies while remaining focused on the fundamental issues of freedom, civil liberties, and restraining government overreach.
The conversation revealed an understanding that this election represented more than just another partisan victory. It potentially marked a realignment of American politics around a new axis—not the traditional left-right spectrum, but rather a division between those who trust centralized power and those who prioritize individual liberty and limited government.
Key Takeaways
- Historic Coalition – The Trump coalition united diverse Americans across traditional political, ethnic, and religious lines around the defense of civil liberties, representing an unprecedented political realignment.
- Civil Liberties Central – The unifying force wasn’t traditional partisan ideology but rather shared concern about threats to fundamental freedoms, including free speech suppression, political persecution, and deep state overreach.
- Wisconsin Significance – Wisconsin played a dual role: providing crucial electoral votes and symbolizing the rejection of the Paul Ryan establishment Republican model that prioritized politeness over principle.
- Reagan’s True Heir – Trump represents a return to Reagan’s actual legacy of peace through strength, deregulation, and tax cuts—not the neoconservative interventionism of the Bush-Cheney era that falsely claimed Reagan’s mantle.
- Potential Renaissance – With figures like Elon Musk and Ron Paul potentially working to reduce government size, and without Paul Ryan-style obstruction, Trump’s second term could deliver the economic and cultural renewal his first term promised but couldn’t fully achieve.
- End of Establishment GOP – The Paul Ryan model of establishment Republicanism—characterized by globalism, cultural surrender, and resistance to populist conservatism—has been decisively rejected by the party’s base and replaced by a more combative, America-first approach.
- Neocon Exodus – The defection of neoconservatives like Dick Cheney to support Democrats clarifies rather than weakens the conservative movement, removing those who never shared its core principles of limited government and restrained foreign policy.
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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.
Originally broadcast August 20, 2025 on Vicki McKenna Show.
Peter J. Thomas is a veteran conservative political strategist and seasoned policy expert dedicated to upholding the principles of the Constitution and democracy. As a founder and the chairman of the Conservative Caucus, he has played a pivotal role in promoting and shaping the conservative agenda across the nation for over half a century.