Nov 12, 2026 · 1h 32m
Horton urges anti-war conservatives to fight inside the GOP
Scott Horton
The episode tests whether anti-interventionists can reshape the Republican coalition or will lose influence by pursuing a third party.
- 1The Iran war weakened Trump’s no-new-wars promise and created an opening for anti-interventionist candidates.
- 2Horton argues winner-take-all elections make third-party campaigns more likely to divide coalitions than replace major parties.
- 3Massie, Kent, and Carlson already have Republican influence that could matter more inside the party than under a Libertarian banner.
Don't miss
Horton invokes Pat Buchanan’s departure from the Republican primary as the clearest warning that a third-party strategy can neutralize an anti-interventionist figure.
The brief
Scott Horton joins Dave Smith to examine Thomas Massie’s failed impeachment effort against Pete Hegseth, presidential war powers, and the political fallout from the Iran war.
They argue the Iran war damaged Trump’s promise of no new wars, linked intervention to inflation and energy costs, and widened anti-interventionist sentiment among younger voters and independents.
Horton’s central strategic claim is that winner-take-all elections make third parties poor vehicles for replacing coalitions; anti-war conservatives should contest Republican primaries instead.
Massie, Joe Kent, and Tucker Carlson become the test case: their existing Republican reach, Horton argues, offers more leverage than a Libertarian Party takeover or new America First party.
The Pat Buchanan episode and Ron Paul’s campaigns supply the warning and the model: third-party exits can neutralize dissent, while major-party runs can reshape a coalition.
The discussion ends with a 2028 strategy built around multiple anti-interventionist Republican candidates, a clear program, and a direct fight over the party’s future.
Books & mentions
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Enough Already
Scott Horton’s book extends the episode’s case against U.S. military interventions and foreign-policy commitments.
Provoked
Horton’s other book provides a deeper account of the interventionist arguments debated throughout the episode.
Libertarian Institute
The organization is among the projects Horton discusses while outlining his broader foreign-policy work.
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