Podcast Summary: “GOP Senator Pushes ‘Heritage American’ Caste System”

Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Host(s): Tim Miller, with guest Andrew Egger
Date: September 4, 2025

Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes spotlights a concerning trend emerging within segments of the right: the elevation of “heritage Americans” as a privileged caste, as articulated by Missouri GOP Senator Eric Schmidt at the National Conservative Conference (NatCon). Host Tim Miller and Bulwark’s Andrew Egger (White House Correspondent) break down Schmidt’s speech, the growing meme of “heritage Americans,” and how this movement is both novel and a reanimation of exclusionary traditions that contradict core American values. They also discuss the disjointed nature of the contemporary “national conservative” coalition and the resurgence of hardline debates over issues like gay marriage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of “Heritage American” Identity

• Schmidt’s Speech as a Case Study:

  • Eric Schmidt, a freshman GOP senator, publicly praised “blood and soil Mayflower Americans,” a reference to those whose ancestors arrived in America before the Revolutionary War.
  • Miller and Egger note the irony that Schmidt himself doesn't belong to this so-called “heritage” group.

• The Meme-ification of American Caste ([01:27-02:11])

  • A right-wing meme categorizes Americans by ancestry arrival:
    • Grade A: Colonial old stock (1607–1789)
    • Grade B: Antebellum stock (1789–1861)
    • Grade C: Ellis Islanders (1861–1945)
    • Grade D: New arrivals (1945–present)
  • Egger: “We’re bringing back jingoism against The Ellis Islanders. 1861 to 1945.” ([02:02])

• The Language of “Stock” and “Heritage”

  • The hosts highlight the problematic and dehumanizing language, like “stock,” which evokes animal breeding or aristocratic bloodlines.
  • Miller: “Stock is a strange word to talk about a group of people…feels almost like you’re talking about a racehorse.” ([04:32])

• Parallels and Contradictions

  • Miller points out the contradiction: These nativist attitudes mimic the exclusionary, caste-based ideologies many Americans’ ancestors fled in Europe.
  • Quote: “[That] was the ideology in Europe that these people fled…they came to America for something different. And these guys are trying to now reanimate that here under the American flag. It’s a really perverse deal.” ([05:51])

2. Who Does This Appeal To?

• Egger characterizes this movement as appealing mostly to a small, “race science obsessed” online minority. For most Americans—including self-described “MAGA people”—it strikes as bizarre and unappealing. ([06:52-07:25])

• Broader Right-Wing Grievance Politics

  • Schmidt’s rhetoric, and the National Conservative approach, blends racialized identity with economic and social grievances.
  • Notable Schmidt Quote:
    • “Trump’s movement is the revolt of the real American nation. It’s a pitchfork revolution driven by…millions of Americans who felt they were turning into strangers in their own country … whose neighborhoods were transformed beyond recognition by immigration.” ([08:00])
  • Egger notes the coded way that appeals to a sense of alienation are fused with race and nativism.

3. National Conservative Messaging and Internal Dissonance

• Lack of Coherent Agenda ([09:04-10:05])

  • The NatCon coalition is primarily united by what it opposes (modernity, immigration, “woke corporations,” free trade, the left, and neoconservatives), not by a positive governing platform.
  • Miller: “…they seem to be struggling to gather a proactive agenda among the NAT cons, right? They know what they don’t like…but…our platform is this, they seem to be struggling with that a little bit.” ([09:44])

• “You Can Just Do Things” Slogan

  • The prevailing attitude is an aggressive rejection of old-school, limited government conservatism in favor of wielding federal power to achieve their goals—even if they’re unclear what those goals are.

• A Fractured Movement ([10:05-12:30])

  • The movement is a jumble: strongly pro-Israel and anti-Israel factions, tech optimists and anti-tech Luddites, Christian nationalists and more ecumenical “Judeo-Christian” groups.
  • Egger: “It’s not at all clear…as they're all having all of these fights that they are reconcilable in any way...the way that they get over that in the meantime is by focusing on the common enemies...” ([11:33])
  • Much of their unity is driven by fealty to Donald Trump and antagonism toward perceived enemies—without these, the coalition is unstable.

4. Resurgence of Hardline Social Policy: The Gay Marriage Debate

• New Push to Overturn Obergefell ([13:57-14:39])

  • Discussion surfaced at NatCon about trying to overturn the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision, Obergefell v. Hodges.
  • Miller expresses skepticism this is likely, but notes it marks a significant shift that it’s again being discussed:
    • “...the fact that they want to try is telling in a pretty noted sense. See change from like where these kind of discussions would have been a few years ago.” ([13:57])

• Contradictions Within the Coalition

  • The presence of out gay men in the Trump administration and the historical backing of the NatCon conference by Peter Thiel (an openly gay tech investor) signals deep tension within the movement ([14:39-15:26]).
  • Egger: “It’s very interesting and notable that…the explicitly Christian nationalist faction of that faction is at least I guess, running the conferences now.” ([16:02])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Caste Meme:

  • Egger: “It literally is like, it’s a little cheat sheet…Grade A Americans who are colonial old stock…Grade D are the new arrivals.” ([01:27])

• On the Language of ‘Stock’:

  • Miller: “Stock is a strange word to talk about a group of people, you know what I mean? It feels almost like you’re talking about a racehorse.” ([04:32])

• On American Identity:

  • Miller: “That was the ideology in Europe that these people fled…They came to America for something different. And these guys are trying to now reanimate that here under the like American flag. It’s a really perverse deal.” ([05:51])

• On the NatCon Movement’s Platform:

  • Miller: “…they know what they don’t like, right? They don’t like immigrants, they don’t like modernity, they don’t like woke corporations…But when it comes to saying, okay, but our platform is this, right? Like that, they seem to be struggling with that a little bit.” ([09:44])

• On Internal Division:

  • Egger: “There are super pro Israel foreign policy people in this coalition and there are super anti Israel foreign policy people…There are incredible tech optimists…And there are enormously anti tech…Like all these things are…not at all clear…that they are reconcilable in any way.” ([10:50-11:35])

• On the Resurgence of Anti-Gay Marriage Sentiment:

  • Miller: “...the fact that they want to try [overturning Obergefell] is telling in a pretty noted sense. See change from like where these kind of discussions would have been a few years ago.” ([13:57])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00-01:27 – Introduction; recap of Eric Schmidt’s NatCon speech and the rise of “heritage Americans.”
• 01:27-02:11 – Breakdown of the “American caste system” meme; arrival categories.
• 04:32-06:51 – The rhetoric of heritage, stock, and the neo-Confederate undertone.
• 07:14-09:04 – Limited popular appeal and how “heritage” is laundered into mainstream grievance politics.
• 09:04-12:50 – Internal contradictions within “National Conservatism;” struggle to present a unified policy agenda.
• 13:57-16:02 – The possible overturning of Obergefell; open conflict between Christian nationalist factions and the movement’s libertarian/tech influences.

Closing Perspective

Miller and Egger warn that while the “heritage American” movement is deeply fringe and internally incoherent, its growing influence—particularly among those already in government—makes it a trend worth close scrutiny. The episode closes on a sober note: many former NatCon attendees now work in government positions, underscoring the real-world stakes of these culture war debates.