“The establishment is the establishment for a reason,” says talk radio host Laura Ingraham, reflecting on her 2014 endorsements of long-shot Republican challengers to incumbent politicians. “They usually win; they kind of have it all tied up.”

Once a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, Ingraham cited the conservative champion as her political inspiration.

In an interview with Breitbart News, Ingraham reflected on her radio and television media career as it increasingly verges towards political activism and away from punditry.

Ingraham recently made headlines for endorsing Joe Carr, the challenger to Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander. After she held a rally in support of Carr, former Governor Sarah Palin stepped up to support Carr as well. And she even recently said she’s considering running for office herself.

She acknowledged that Carr’s challenge was a different race than the surprise victory of David Brat against House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia, but said that she was willing to support it on principle–noting that there were some similarities between the two fights.

On top of it all, she noted that there were 50 million people out of work in the United States, but the government was willing to bring in 30 million immigrants into the country.

In response, critics from both parties have criticized her for her uncompromising stance on the issue.

The ferocity of the attacks against her, Ingraham explained, are the clearest indication that she is making progress, dismissing them as typical character assassinations accusing her of being a “xenophobe” or a “restrictionist.”

Ingraham scoffed at her Republican critics, accusing them of imitating the left.

But Ingraham thinks that Republicans have a lot to answer for, and she’s not interested in becoming a pundit that reflexively “circles the wagons” when the party is criticized.

She argued for a modern Republican party that would not only fight for it’s conservative ideals, but be willing to admit their failures to the American people.

In spite of the many flaws that Ingraham sees in the Republican Party, she notes that she draws inspiration from the new surge of political activity.