Yet the trustbusters of yesteryear didn’t just say that “companies are too big.” They spent decades building the institutional framework for antitrust: a theory of exactly what kinds of bigness were bad and why, a legislative agenda to whack troublesome monopolies down to size and an administrative operation capable of turning those laws into effective action. Too, they recognized that antitrust was not, by itself, a winning agenda; it was only part of a broader program.

Republicans at the moment have none of this. Their only answer to social media concerns is to fiddle with the liability rules regarding tech platforms. As for schools, those decisions are made at the state or district level, not by Congress.

So, let me ask again: How do Republicans plan to govern? The GOP needs a positive program for reducing inflation, fighting crime, reforming health care, keeping entitlements solvent and boosting employment. The party also desperately needs the administrative capacity to get a recalcitrant civil service to carry out its plans. Without those things, the GOP will fail voters and quickly lose power again.