The Dig Rogue Elephant w/ Paul Heideman
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Apr 28, 2026 Paul Heideman, historian and author of Rogue Elephant, traces how the Republican Party shifted from business discipline to chaotic factionalism. He explains clashes between corporate power and insurgent movements. He outlines how primaries, fundraising revolutions, and Trump-era dealmaking reshaped party institutions and prospects. The conversation maps cycles of insurgency, business influence, and mounting unpredictability.
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Primaries Make U.S. Parties Porous To Insurgents
- U.S. parties are weak because primaries, often mandated by state law, let outsiders claim a party ballot line.
- Contrast UK Labour where party leadership controls candidates and prevents insurgent takeovers at the nomination stage.
Parties Became Service Networks Driven By Money
- Parties shifted to a service model: provide campaign services and channel money instead of setting policy.
- Rising ad costs and fundraising dominance transformed leadership into whoever controls money rather than coherent policy-makers.
Capital's Political Weakness Is A Result Of Weak Labor
- U.S. capital is politically weak as a class because labor and left movements never forced coherent class-wide organizing.
- That allowed firms to pursue sectional interests, enabling small industries to exert outsized political influence.