I only recently learned what a “groyper” is - you may or may not be familiar with the term?
 
From what I can tell, a groyper is a hardline white nationalist.  Often anti-Semitic, groypers are hostile to mainstream conservatives.  To the extent they have a coherent agenda, groypers seem more national socialism than free-market capitalism.
 
Having been involved in the conservative movement for three decades, I’d hesitate to call anyone with such views conservative.  Indeed, I’d argue people that think like that are essentially hardline leftists. 
 
A generation or two ago, what it meant to be conservative tended to be defined by a small circle of influential thinkers. Figures like William F. Buckley Jr. and Russell Kirk articulated what it meant to be one of us.
 
Today, of course, it’s more complicated. One of the consequences of the digital revolution we’re living through is that anyone can define (and brand) themselves however they like.
 
If a small but loud group of groypers - whose ideas are as ugly as the green frog meme they inexplicably rally around - insist on calling themselves “conservative,” there’s a real risk that they end up shaping, in the public mind, what conservatism actually means.
 
Things aren’t helped by the fact that as in the early days of the printing press, when pamphleteers produced all sorts of scurrilous tracts, the digital revolution is still in the phase of rewarding all sorts of attention-seeking drivel.
 
Look at the mess that the left has got into in recent years, as it has been forced into taking indefensible positions.  From denying basic biology (no, a man cannot become a woman) to calls for defunding the police, progressive politics in both America and Britain has increasingly been shaped by its most extreme and unrepresentative activists.
 
The groypers might turn out to be little more than a passing meme, but here’s why I worry about the long term direction of politics in America and the wider West.
 
The world we live in is the product of the idea that all people are created equal. 
 
That’s not to say that we are all the same.  But it does mean that we are all of equal worth, and that we should be treated equally under the law.
 
When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, the principle that “all men are created equal” was a radical, revolutionary idea.
 
By the time Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a color-blind society where people are judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” that same principle had become the established moral orthodoxy.
 
Somewhere between Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 speech and the present day, the political left abandoned the ideal of equality before the law.  In its place emerged a new framework: one that measures a person’s intrinsic worth by their position in an ever-shifting hierarchy of victimhood.  Under this neo-Marxist lens, immutable characteristics - race, sex, sexuality - now determine moral value, assigning guilt to the so-called oppressors and virtue to the so-called oppressed.
 
This is what spawned leftwing ‘woke’ ideology.  Critical race theory, critical gender theory, and related doctrines took root in academia, then seeped into corporate HR departments, government bureaucracies, and the public sector at large.
 
That is why, for years, American university admissions offices and major corporations have openly discriminated on the basis of race - often under the banner of “diversity” or “equity.”  It is also why, in my native England - the country that gave the world the ideal of common law (a law that is genuinely common to all) - the legal system now explicitly grants preferential treatment to individuals with certain “protected characteristics.”
 
What if we are now witnessing the emergence of a mirror-image, right-wing “woke” ideology?  What if voices on the right begin to say, “Very well - if we are no longer permitted to believe that all are created equal, then let’s not”?
 
The progressive left has spent decades attributing unequal outcomes to systemic oppression.  What happens when the right stops arguing about the fairness of the system altogether and instead attributes those same unequal outcomes to inherent differences?
 
I fear the left may one day soon come to regret ever abandoning the principle that all of us, without exception, are created equal.
 
A few years ago, Joseph Henrich’s book The WEIRDest People in the World made a compelling case that Western exceptionalism is real.  Westerners, he argued, are genuinely psychological outliers: markedly more individualistic, analytical, guilt-oriented, and trusting of strangers than the rest of humanity.  These peculiar traits, Henrich contends, are what turned the West into the primary engine of modern science, innovation, and prosperity.
 
I happen to agree with much of Henrich’s analysis, although I am not convinced of his explanation. 
 
The danger is that if the universalist view of human nature is abandoned - if the left’s hierarchy of victimhood is answered by a right-wing hierarchy - much of the traditional conservative narrative collapses with it.
 
We conservatives must be more ruthless in policing our own boundaries.  We cannot flirt with ideas that are as big a threat to conservatism as socialism, and pretend they are our ideas.

Big news on School Choice this week!  A fresh poll shows massive support in Mississippi to have families, not government, control their child’s education.  Mississippi voters say they’ll reward lawmakers who make it happen.

The brand-new statewide survey (October 27-30, 2025) conducted by The Tarrance Group shows rock-solid support for expanding education freedom.  There is massive bipartisan support across every region, race, and political affiliation. 

Any little cliques that try to derail school choice need to know what they are going to be up against.  Either they can support School Choice and President Trump, or they can side with leftwing teacher unions - and lose, as some anti School Choice lawmakers in Texas found out. 

Here’s what Mississippi voters are saying - loud and clear:

• 86% support parents, not government, choosing the best school for their child (58% strongly).
  Support spans demographics: 87% White, 83% Black, 93% Republican, 83% Independent, 76% Democrat.
• 75% support Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for all families—no income caps, no district restrictions.
  75% of K-12 parents agree. 83% of Republicans, 73% of Independents, 65% of Democrats.
• 79% are more likely to vote for legislators who expand ESAs statewide and universally (+58 net favorability).
  Even 71% of Democrats say they’re more likely to support pro-ESA lawmakers.
• 78% agree that when funding follows the child, schools become more accountable (35% strongly). 
• 77% support letting dissatisfied families switch schools and take their funding with them.
• Bonus boost: 66% say President Trump’s strong support for universal school choice makes them more supportive (+34 net).

Mississippians see progress and according to the poll, 58% say K-12 education is heading in the right direction - and 65% of parents agree.

Wanting School Choice is not fringe – it’s the mainstream position in Mississippi.
 
With your help, we’ll hold lawmakers accountable and deliver the education freedom Mississippi families deserve.

The future for our state looks bright.  In just the past five years, Mississippi has seen more economic growth than in the entire fifteen years before that combined.
 
We’re on track to phase out the state income tax entirely, allowing families to keep more of what they earn.  Mississippi has attracted a surge of new investment, and for the first time in years, our workforce participation rate is finally heading in the right direction.
 
Zoom out, and the picture gets even better.  Contrary to the endless gloom from the pundits, the American economy has consistently outperformed expectations for decades. Since the late 1990s, the U.S. has delivered strong, steady growth that few forecasters saw coming.
 
But there is one dark cloud on all our horizons that we cannot forever ignore; US national debt.

As of today, US national debt stands at $38 trillion (with a capital T).  
 
To grasp how enormous a single trillion really is, try this:
 

• One million seconds ago was just last week, right before Halloween. 
• One billion seconds ago was early 1994, when Clinton was president and the internet was dial-up. 
• One trillion seconds ago was roughly 30,000 BC, deep in the Stone Age, when humans were still chasing mammoths.

 
Now here’s the gut-punch: that $38 trillion mountain of debt has roughly doubled in just the past ten years.
 
Costly foreign wars, mega bailouts, COVID giveaways and all those federal entitlement programs LBJ said would “end poverty”, eventually add up.  (Incidentally, living standards for America’s poorest citizens are light-years higher than when those programs launched in the 1960s (indoor plumbing, air conditioning, smartphones, modern medicine), but the number of people dependent on government assistance is larger than ever).
 
Rather than pay for all that using tax receipts, the US government has borrowed, issuing IOUs.  Today we spend more money servicing all those IOUs than we do on defense.

As my fellow Brit, the historian Niall Ferguson, likes to point out, any great power that spends more on debt servicing than on defense risks ceasing to be a great power.  That was true of the Romans and the British, the Habsburgs and the Dutch. 
 
What must America do to avoid a similar fate?
 
When President Trump was first elected, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with an ambitious target: to reduce annual federal spending by $2 trillion.
 
Because mandatory entitlement programs - Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - remained largely untouched, DOGE hasn’t come close to achieving that yet.  The federal deficit has barely budged.
 
Where, one might ask, are all those Tea Party types that railed against federal overspending ten years ago as the debt to GDP ratio went from 90 percent in 2010 to 125 percent today? 
 
If the US cannot rein in the growth of the debt, the only other way to avoid going the way of the Romans is to try to make the GDP part of the equation rise faster.  In other words, to try to grow our way out of the debt. 
 
In order to stabilize debt-to-GDP at the current 125 percent of GDP, America will need to achieve real GDP growth of about 4 - 5 percent for the next 10 to 20 years.  With the advent of AI and robotics, as Elon Musk suggests, it could be done.
 
Put it another way; without an AI / Robotics induced growth surge, US debt will hit 150 – 170 percent of GDP by 2050.  Mamdani-economics would then become the least of our worries, as inflation and tax rises became inevitable whoever held office.
 
The older I get, the more I think that there are two fundamental things that the federal government needs to get under control: mass immigration and the deficit.  Do that, and states like Mississippi have a bright future.  Don’t, and all the good that we might do will only matter at the margins.

Remember the tariff debates that dominated Washington just a few months ago?  For a while it was the only thing anyone seemed to talk about.
 
First tariffs were raised by eyewatering amounts.  Then they weren’t.  Eventually, after all sorts of back and forth, we saw tariffs imposed at the highest rates in decades. Free trade advocates warned of economic catastrophe, while protectionists claimed tariff revenue would fix the deficit. When immediate disaster didn’t strike, the issue seemed to fade – until now.
 
Two local stories that caught my eye this week suggest that we are going to hear a lot more about tariffs.
 
Agriculture is Mississippi’s largest industry, and soybeans the largest crop.  Only a few days ago, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced $10-15 billion in federal support for soybean farmers, including those in the Mississippi Delta.  Why is the federal government having to support soybean farmers in one of the most fertile places in America? Exports have collapsed. China, which once bought over half our soybean crop, now purchases from Brazil due to steep retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans, triggered by U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods.
 
In other words, federal funds are now bailing out farmers hurt by federal tariffs.
 
A second story that got my attention this week was about grocery prices.  53% of Americans say grocery costs are a major concern, with prices spiking last month at the fastest rate in three years.  I couldn’t help also notice another news item about how coffee prices have jumped 20% in the past year, partly because of a 50% U.S. tariff on Brazilian coffee imports.
 
It is said that we often tend to overestimate the impact of new technology in the short term and underestimate the impact in the long term.  I wonder if the same might be said of tariffs. The sky did not fall in when tariffs went up, but the lag effects of the historic hike are only just beginning to be felt by ordinary Americans. 
 
There may yet be something in what the free traders keep trying to tell us.  Defenders of free trade have been reluctant to speak up.  I suspect that may be about to change. By the time of the midterm elections, I suspect millions of Americans will be feeling the effects of tariffs.  Tariffs?  We are going to hear a lot more about them than some people expect.

The past few days have been deeply unsettling.  The assassination of Charlie Kirk, gunned down while addressing young Americans on a Utah college campus, was horrifying.

It seems clear that Charlie was targeted for his beliefs, which he expressed with remarkable clarity and conviction.

Over the past decade, Charlie Kirk emerged as one of a number of new conservative communicators who mastered digital media to connect with younger audiences who found traditional conservatism uninspiring.

Bold yet civil, Kirk fearlessly shared his views and welcomed open debate with those who disagreed. Tragically, it was during one such exchange that he was murdered.

The bleakness of the past few days has been amplified by a rush to vilify those on the “other” side.  Where does this appetite for indignation that makes us want to always assume the worst about others come from?  It risks driving us towards disaster.

Most liberals and progressives I know are as horrified about the events of the past week as my conservative friends.  Yet, I fear that too many Americans have elevated politics to be a sort of substitute religion.  It has become a belief system through which they try to make sense of the world.  It won’t work. 

When politics becomes your religion, you view those who share your beliefs as inherently good and those who don’t as inherently bad. This Manichean mindset erodes respect for differing opinions and abandons civility. Once you start to use your social media feed as the moral yardstick by which you judge the actions of others, you enter a world without redemption.  It will be hell.

As a conservative think tank, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy relentlessly pursues practical solutions like eliminating income tax, cutting red tape, and expanding school choice to improve our state.

But what value do these victories hold if the next generation of Americans is indoctrinated with extreme ideologies?  What good is tax reform today if young people are taught to see their country as irreparably beyond redemption; that only the darker parts of our history are to define us, and not the ideals of freedom that the Founders clung to?

Charlie Kirk understood the importance of teaching young Americans the principles that made the nation great. Through Turning Point USA, he educated students on freedom, free markets, and limited government.

We need to stand firm in our advocacy for these principles.  Respectful but absolutely resolute. 

Four years ago, we began the Mississippi Leadership Academy precisely because we recognized that shaping young hearts and minds is just as vital as pursuing legislative reform.

Our Mississippi Leadership Academy, which starts next week, is a two-part program designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge to become effective change agents in our state, ready to defend American principles and free markets. After this week’s events, the need for the Leadership Academy seems more urgent than ever. 

It’s also why we run our Speaker Series, bringing leading advocates for liberty, such as Douglas Murray and Corey De Angelis to our state. 

In the wake of this week’s tragedy, it’s understandable that some friends have felt despair. Two hundred forty-nine years after America’s founding, some may wonder, is this where our nation stands?

So let me say this as an immigrant that came late to your country; the United States is an extraordinary nation—the greatest republic in human history.  America will remain great, able to overcome every challenge, as long as you hold fast to the founding principles and freedoms that built this nation.

Now more than ever, our mission must be to pass those principles on to the next generation.

This week, I’ll be traveling to Washington, D.C. talking about Mississippi’s remarkable progress, including our elimination of the income tax and how we might best advance school choice in our state.
 
Mississippi is gaining national attention for our transformative public policies. Once seen as a perennial underdog, our state is now recognized as a leader in free-market reforms that are driving unprecedented economic growth.  A lot of folks in Washington and elsewhere are starting to notice our state for the right reasons! 
 
Over the past five years, under Governor Tate Reeves’ leadership, we’ve achieved more economic progress than in the previous fifteen years combined, attracting massive investment.  The folk making the decisions to put their dollars into our state know success when they see it. 
 
This week, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy was honored with an award for our role in eliminating the income tax—a milestone in a series of reforms, including labor market changes in 2021, flat tax implementation in 2022, and school funding reforms in 2023.
 
As I said in my speech when I accepted the award on behalf of our Mississippi team, together these reforms make a potent policy combination.  Click on the image below to hear what I said to the audience about Mississippi’s success story. 

Now, we’re focused on the next critical step: school choice.   Momentum is building, and there’s strong support from Team Trump, who see it as “the civil rights issue of our time.”
 
This week, two senior Trump administration officials, Deputy Assistant Secretary Laurie Todd-Smith and Deputy Chief of Staff Lindsey Burke, visited Mississippi to advocate for education reform before the House Select Committee on Education Freedom. Their compelling case was met with enthusiasm from parents, who outnumbered the entrenched status-quo lobbyists.
 
Mississippi is on the cusp of ensuring every family has access to the educational opportunities their children deserve. Your support is vital as we work to make school choice a reality.
 
Thank you for standing with us.

What would it take for Mississippi to embrace School Choice? How can we join our neighboring states in empowering families to control their child's share of the education budget? For School Choice to happen, we would need to see several steps.   
 
Number one, we would need a committed Governor, ready to invest his political capital in this great conservative cause. Great news!  This week, Governor Tate Reeves signaled in an interview with SuperTalk that School Choice will be his top priority for the 2026 legislative session.

Step two, we would have to have a supportive House Speaker.  Once again, good news.  This week, Speaker Jason White confirmed that the House is actively crafting legislation for 2026.
 
Thirdly, we would have to have strong grassroots support.  Polling already shows that more than two-thirds of Mississippians support School Choice.
 
This week, Americans for Prosperity – Mississippi hosted an outstanding event in Jackson, led by the amazing Starla Brown.  Speakers like Pastor Greg Divinity and Leah Ferretti powerfully articulated the moral imperative: Every family should have the choices that today are reserved only for the wealthy.

Fourth, it would be a big help to have the endorsement of Team Trump.  Fantastic news on that front, too—having discussed this at the White House some time ago, it's evident to me that Team Trump is not just supportive; they're deeply passionate, viewing School Choice as "the civil rights issue of our time."

Fifth, if we are to allow families control of their child’s share of the budget, it would be helpful to know what “their share” consists of.  Thanks to the 2024 school funding reforms, every child now receives a base amount of about $7,000 annually.
 
All we ask is that those who want to have that money paid into an Education Savings Account that they can then allocate to a school of their choice.
 
Finally, it would be tremendously helpful if those against School Choice endlessly resorted to misleading claims and hyperbole.  I don’t think we’ll be disappointed there, either. 
 
Claims that school choice would force your local school board to accept students from outside areas are simply untrue—and I believe many of those that suggest otherwise know it.  Every proposal I’ve seen ensures school boards retain the final say on capacity.
 
As I learned from the Brexit campaign, dishonest claims from opponents only undermines the credibility of their campaigns.  Having been able to rely on establishment opinion for too long, they’ve never mastered the art of making their case convincingly. 
 
All the ingredients are there for Mississippi to adopt School Choice in 2026. 

I’m thrilled to share that momentum for School Choice in Mississippi is growing! Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker Jason White, and even the White House are championing this transformative opportunity to empower parents and enhance education for our children.

This week, WTOK TV aired an in-depth segment exploring how School Choice could benefit families across our state. I had the pleasure of discussing this important topic with news anchor Anna-Hope Bigham. You can watch our conversation by clicking on the image below: 

The Neshoba County Fair is a Mississippi tradition, bringing together thousands of folk at the height of summer for a week of Southern celebration—music, dancing, food, cattle shows, horse racing, and, of course, politics.  Ever since Ronald Reagan kicked off his 1980 presidential campaign at the Fair, it’s been the place where public officials in our state go to share their vision.

Of course, not every speech I’ve heard at Neshoba was always memorable or historic.  This Thursday was different.  House Speaker Jason White delivered a powerful speech making the case for universal school choice, which may mark a turning point for Mississippi. 

Reflecting on his promise last year to eliminate the income tax—a promise he kept—Speaker White made it clear that we can expect to see a comprehensive bill to extend school choice in 2026.  “Every child regardless of their zip code,” he said “deserves a fair chance to succeed. …. Parents know what’s best for their children”.

White emphasized that Mississippi families should control their child’s share of state education funds, empowering them to choose the best education—public, private, or homeschool—for their children.

White’s speech was frequently interrupted by prolonged applause from the crowd.  Enthusiasm was obvious when the Speaker framed school choice, or what President Trump calls “Parent Power,” as a cornerstone of conservative policy. The Trump White House, Speaker White noted, is fully supportive of his push for Parent Power.

Governor Reeves, who followed Speaker White at the podium talked about school choice at the press huddle afterwards.  Reeves made it clear he is 100 percent onboard with White’s plan.  The Governor suggested that Mississippi needed to prioritize school choice now that so many other southern states had done so. Every neighboring state—Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana—has embraced school choice, giving families choices for their kids that once only rich people had.
 
The 2025 Neshoba County Fair could go down in history as the occasion where the House Speaker came out clearly for School Choice – and the conservative movement, urged on by the Trump White House, rallied in support. 
 
I might not have been at Neshoba for Reagan in 1980, but I was there for Jason White in 2025.  A historic inflection point for our state.